Hull's Prostitution Shame

Could the Red Light district ruin Hull's 2017 bid to be crowned the UK City of Culture?

The dark scene behind the City's bright lights.

Kingston upon Hull, formally known as just Hull, has long been looked down on by the rest of England. Many say Columbus brought syphilis to our shores but this has been disputed after after the discovery of apparent syphilis damage to bones at a 13-14th century Augustinian friary in Kingston upon Hull. One of the main reasons Hull is targeted with disdain is because of the local people - they are brash, most smell and are fairly impolite (and I am speaking as someone who loves this city). The actual city has had quite a revamp in recent years, however, with millions being spent to make Hull a more attractive place to dwell.

Behind the high-street shops, unique cafés and impressive university lies a more sinister scene. Hull's Hessle Road has become infamous throughout the region as a bustling red light district. The road transforms from a regular high street with shops on either side to a sex-punter's paradise.

A short drive down the road can offer sometimes up to 5 women standing by the side of the road, making come-to-bed eyes at passing cars.

The police have claimed they are "cracking down" on the prostitution problem - sending letters to cars seen driving up and down the road repeatedly, placing those seen soliciting the women's services on courses to stop them from re-offending, and offering help to the prostitutes themselves by "advising" them.

This rise in police action has been sparked by a growing number of complaints by residents. One female local said, "We have had children looking out of their bedroom windows and seeing people having sex, there are often discarded condom wrappers left around. It is really unpleasant for the people who are living here."

But how effect are these actions at curbing the outcry for sex workers?

A newly established local organisation called Ordinem Venántium has been founded to try and proactively help these women however they need. The anonymous founders had this to say on recent police efforts - "It's simply ineffective. We have personally seen the rise in numbers of women trying to sell themselves on Hessle road and a surrounding estate. We witnessed one woman successfully pick up a client on foot, they walked to two separate cash points to get money and then walked to a brothel. When we reported it to the police we were told they are fully aware of brothels in the area, yet it seems as though nothing is being done. The police were more interested in us (two men and a woman) than the sex workers or their clients.

The founder went on to say, "we even saw one prostitute, stumbling all over the pavement, worryingly close to the road with moving traffic, and falling on her face several times. Whether or not these women are selling themselves for drugs or the financial gains, they are at incredible risk."

The organisation are in agreement with many others when they demand effective legislation in place, and that prostitution should be legalized. The arguments for it be legalized are thus: employment rights for the prostitutes; unions to enforce the industry; greater safety for the prostitute (regular health checks and better protection from the law); taxes. Some argue that it is the woman's choice what she does with her body and point out the hypocrisy of it being illegal when others are free to have sex for other gains e.g. dinner, jewelry etc.

Prostitution is an age-old career and is known as "the world's oldest profession" - it's always been around and almost certainly always will be. Rather than trying to keep it as a dirty secret, isn't it about time something was really done?