Introduction/current law
In response to growing attention towards hate crimes, there is an ongoing debate as to whether to include or not to include sex workers as a hate crime category. It has been well established that sex workers are often victims of direct violence based on the work they do. The aim of this report is to first, review the current law. second, go through the arguments against the addition of sex workers as a hate crime category. Third, go through the arguments for its addition and the flaws in the arguments against its addition. Finally, to conclude that sex workers should be included as a hate crime category.
There is no statutory definition of hate crimes, but the police and the CPS have agreed on the following definition
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Therefore, decriminalisation of sex crimes would be the first major step in improving the lives of these workers socially and economically, providing them safety and getting criminals off the streets which would further help tackle the major argument in the law commission report 2021 by providing working rights to sex workers, protecting them from violence and regulating sex work similar to already working models present in countries like Belgium and Netherlands and turning an ‘inherently harmful’ practice into a non-harmful one. In terms of the inclusion of sex workers being an unsuitable policy course as per the report because of specific concerns that a criminal justice approach might not be the right one, ground reports provide a different picture altogether as Crimes against sex workers were classified as "hate crimes" by Merseyside police in 2006, making them the nation's first and only force to do so. The outcomes have been striking. There was only one conviction for a string of assaults on sex workers in the five years prior to the new style of working starting to take effect in 2007. Currently, rape conviction rates are 67% and the overall conviction rate for offences against sex workers is 84%. The national average conviction rate for rape is merely 6.5% . This showcases what a massive impact the addition of sex workers as a hate crime category will have at the ground level and how the criminal justice approach is the right one to not just protect sex workers but also put behind bars various unreported sex offenders in the