UK Catholic Bishop supports legalization of prostitution

The background:

The Hampshire branch of the [International Union for Sex], which has 7,000 members, voted to legalise brothels at its annaul meeting held in the small village of Holybourne.

Members said they had been distressed and moved by the murders of five prostitutes in Ipswich last year and wanted to do something to help.

Now they hope their resolution will be selected for a national WI debate and they intend to lobby MPs and local councillors to change the law.

The local bishop's response?

"If you are going to take a pragmatic view and say prostitution happens, I think there is a need to make sure it's as well regulated as possible for the health of people involved and for the safety of the ladies themselves," Hollis said.

"That's not to say I approve of prostitution in any way. I would be very much happier if there was no prostitution in Portsmouth," he told The Portsmouth News.

"But it's going to be there whatever we do and it has been from time immemorial. So I think that is something we have to be realistic about."

His comments won praise from Rachel Frost, from the International Union for Sex Workers.

"The bishop should be commended for having the guts to come out and say that," she said.

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