It is 1. It's been quite a night,'' he says with a self-satisfied smile. Though I don't see why I can't have this sort of night out in my own country without ending up in court. His itinerary went like this. A minute taxi ride across the five-mile long Oresund bridge that links his home city with Copenhagen in Denmark. Never mind the embarrassment of a court summons landing on his family's doormat.
Nine years ago, Sweden took the step of punishing the men who buy sex rather than the women who sell it. There, it is legal to be a prostitute. But the man who pays for her service is committing an offence. Was it a wise move? The ladies of the Townswomen's Guild, one of Britain's leading women's groups, with 35, members, believe it was. When they gather at the Riviera International Leisure Centre in Torquay on Tuesday, it will top the agenda for debate.
Should their mandate be passed, they will lobby Parliament to introduce similar legislation in Britain. I'll say. We're expecting a fiery debate,'' says Sue Smith, 62, the group's chairman. But while the Guild has a long history of debating social issues, its membership is widely representative of middle England — not exactly known for its espousal of socialist and feminist views.
But we represent women at all levels. We all have a real interest in issues that affect women. When Steve Wright murdered five prostitutes in Ipswich two years ago it made a lot of us think about the whole issue of prostitution. Those girls did not deserve to die; it's time we gave serious debate to their safety. These girls have got to be protected. The debate comes as the Government here is drawing up proposals for law reform that could de-criminalise prostitutes who would, instead, be offered help to get out of the vice trade or given anti-social behaviour orders, in favour of a crackdown on men who trawl for sex.
The approach, championed by women ministers such as Harriet Harman, has met with fierce resistance from the Home Office. The question is would such a system work here? At face value, the Swedes have got it right.
