A flagrant prostitution of morality
In Britain’s only ‘legal’ red light district, violence, murder and drugs exist side by side with families and children – yet an official report trumpets its success. What a twisted tale of our times...
houses on the edge of the zone have become brothels.
Karen Cuthbertson owns and runs Christine’s cafe, serving fryups to construction workers. Occasionally, she says, some of the prostitutes come into her premises. She sees them as victims.
She says: ‘If they want to do it, they need a place to go. The problem is that it’s all coming out of the zone. One of the blokes from a local hostel was caught just near here on CCTV with a woman down on her knees. You just can’t have that.’
The Rev Rolf Mason is curate of St Luke’s in Holbeck. He chairs a community group and is preparing an alternative report to the one just published
Rev Mason firmly believes the prostitution zone has had a detrimental effect on many of the residents living nearby.
‘We’ve had problems with sex litter, kerb crawling,’ he says. This litter might include used condoms and syringes, women’s clothing and vomit — much of which can carry the risk of disease.
Rev Mason adds: ‘There are other problems — among them women approaching men, asking for business. And women causing fights. It will be in the middle of the night, screaming at punters because they haven’t been paid.
‘Or a pimp getting into a fight with a punter because they’ve not agreed to certain terms. What we underestimate is how many of the women actually live in Holbeck — and operate out of their homes.’
He is particularly concerned about how these women at the edge of society can be exploited by cruel and merciless pimps. ‘Unfortunately, with many of the women, there is going to be a history of trauma and child abuse,’ he says. ‘You’ve definitely got sex trafficking going on.’
Some defenders of the MA argue that many of the prostitutes might be doing the work anyway, so it is better to keep them in one place.
However, the many residents opposed to the zone believe the MA acts as a perfect haven for traffickers.
The new ‘ independent’ report into the zone is a mealy-mouthed affair, couched in corporate gobbledygook. Its verdict, which some believe to be a whitewash, is that the council and the police are doing a good job and that progress has been made in reducing the number of prostitutes in the area.
It is very short on specifics — and, oddly, neither the council nor West Yorkshire Police were prepared to discuss its findings in detail.
This curious reluctance to answer questions even extended to the report’s principal author, Prof Jason Roach of Huddersfield University. He told me simply: ‘The report speaks for itself.’
Similarly tongue- tied was Paul Money, Head of the Safer Leeds Partnership, who also refused an interview.
The review cost £ 50,000 to produce — on top of the estimated £200,000 per year that the Managed Approach costs.
One politician who would talk to me was independent Cllr Sarah Field. She said: ‘I am appalled at this so- called “independent” review . . . Just 30 people were interviewed and fewer than half of those had no vested interest. A whole neighbourhood of Leeds has been given over to prostitution.
‘We see academics enthralled by “sex positivity” while they would never live in Holbeck, nor entertain the notion of themselves, their daughters or their wives “working” there.’
Another critic, independent Cllr Mark Dobson, says the scheme was poorly thought-out.
‘Whatever the report says, it has done nothing to help residents or vulnerable women. If the scheme is a success, why won’t anyone from the council talk about it?’ he asks.
A pertinent question. And though a similar scheme in the Netherlands was dropped after its backers admitted it failed, this report has just rubber-stamped the council’s scheme — and the Managed Approach is set to continue.
This is bad news for so many of the nearby families whose lives have been blighted by the project. But it’s good news for those seedy men in hoodies shuffling around these streets after dark.