“Children forced to work as prostitutes are being deterred from seeking help because of the threat of prosecution, according to a coalition of youth justice groups. Decriminalising the offence of soliciting for those aged under 18 would recognise that they are victims of abuse and aid detectives’ efforts to combat enforced trafficking of foreign children into the UK, the charities claimed. An attempt to alter the law will made in the House of Lords tomorrow, when peers will be urged to support an amendment during the committee stage of the policing and crime bill.”
The Guardian, 1st July 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk