This is adapted from someone more eloquent than me:
The UK government is trying to sneak in 'The Nordic Model' which would be devastating for sex workers and kink spaces.
What is "The Nordic Model' In summary, it is a work around to sex work which involves criminalising the purchase of "sexual activities"
How is being snuck through? There is a Bill working through Parliament called 'The Crime and Policing Bill' - it is in what is known as the committee stage. So the initial bill passed parliament and now committees scrutinise the bill to flesh it and add amendments. There are a series of amendments being added
How is that bad for sex workers? They're not the ones being criminalised There's a lot of writings on this in the wider web, but in simple terms - there becomes a percentage of buyers who simply now do not partake, in turn this reduces the client based and in turn means the SWer has less bargaining power and may have to accept beyond what they reasonably would As the law also limits online advertising, this in turn removes a massive resource As it also criminalises those who profit, including things like dungeon spaces or Spas etc - this reduces those locations meaning the worker has to host at riskier locations. It also removes many vetting tools.
I have some sources at the bottom.
Oh, but it's just "prostitutes" - not Dommes? I mean, people often try to argue what Dommes (and Pro Subs, Pro Masters, etc) is not sexual services - but, it is - and the lawmakers won't differentiate.
So, how does this affect kink spaces? I wanted to include this because sometimes people do not care unless it affects them, so here goes. SWers play a massive part in the kink eco system. It doesn't matter if you would never pay. Most of the hireable dungeons, and dungeon parties etc are run by SWers to some degree - the rest would require their bookings for sessions for income. It's not, ahem, "lifestyle couples" filling all the bookings. So if those spaces do not get the use/hire required then they close, which means no lifestyle couples, no dungeon parties, so on. Also, who do you think the biggest purchasers are of toys, furniture, clothing, etc?
Equally. Any form of fetish party (and swingers club) runs into an issue. The issue being House Dommes, House Subs, "Hosts", etc. That, if you have paid entry and guaranteed play it can be argued this was being paid for as part of an entry fee. Certainly a big argument for anywhere with gendered pricing. Certainly the "I paid in and no one played with me" arguments also - whilst a defence, comes with the idea that play was included.
Come on, slippery slope fallacy mate. When Bristol introduced the 'nil cap' to close their strip clubs, a lot of people had a "Meh, doesn't affect me" And then a London Council used it to close a fetish club. And then another fetish club.
The whole "profiteering from sex work", someone was prosecuted for building someone a website they were paid to build. Is selling toys and furniture to sex workers is just that?
the UK should just adopt the (most of) Aussie model and decriminalize it. the nordic model (which is neo-abolitionism) is a flawed and failed idea that's just abolition by stealth through making it legal to sex but illegal to buy.
at the least, be like germany and legalize it but tightly regulate it. i could go on a whole rant about how the stupid arguments like "decriminalized sex work increases crime" are complete and utter bullshit and that most arguments the puritans use are actually the exact opposite of the reality but it's late, i'm tired and, well, anyone with an ability to reason and apply logic could understand it themselves.