Northern Ireland Criminalises Paid Sex Monday June 01,2015

 

The Northern Ireland Assembly has passed the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill, which includes a clause criminalising payment for sex.

The private member's bill was brought before the house by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) peer Lord Morrow and passed

Northern Ireland is the first part of the UK to criminalise buying sexual services.

The bill will be submitted to the Queen for Royal Assent, before becoming law

Under the new law, section 15 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act, it will be illegal to obtain for payment sexual services from anyone  - whether or not there is "exploitation". Anyone convicted under the new legislation can be sentenced to a maximum of one year’s imprisonment, or a fine, or both. 

The architect of Northern Ireland's change in law was DUP peer Lord Morrow and one of the key campaigning groups advising him was the Christian charity Care, which also opposes abortion and same-sex marriage