Dr. Kathryn McGarry:

That is an interesting question. My approach is one of removing prostitution from the criminal justice code while determining the best ways of intervening to address the needs of the most vulnerable. Much of the rigorous evidence base suggests an approach that considers social justice in terms of not restricting by way of policy the rights of those involved in the sex industry to health care, social care and so on.

It should not be restricted because of policy and there must be recognition of the vast array of experiences within the sex industry, including both male and female sex workers.

There is an issue regarding redistribution, which has come up time and again. There is an idea that prostitution should never be the only choice that somebody has, and it would be very wrong in our society if that was the case and we were not pooling our resources and putting them to use to ensure it is not the only choice somebody has. That is as opposed to criminalising the buyers, which has been found to negatively impact the most vulnerable people within prostitution.

This is not coming from an ideological standpoint as to the rights or wrongs of prostitution but rather consideration of ways in which we can take prostitution from the criminal code and address the support needs of individuals without any restrictions or limitations. I am not coming at this from an ideological standpoint.