Criminal commercial sexual services offences
-
Under the Crimes Act it is an offence for a person to induce another person to:
engage in or continue to engage in commercial sexual services (s 53L); or
provide or continue to provide them with a com-mercial benefit, payment or reward (including the supply of a drug of dependence) derived directly or indirectly from commercial sexual services (s 53M).
Inducement can include:
assaulting or threatening to assault them or another person;
intimidate them or another person;
supply or offer to supply a drug of dependence to them or another person; or
make a false representation or use any false pretence or other fraudulent means.
These crimes are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment each.
A person must not knowingly live wholly or in part on, or derive material benefit from, the earnings of commercial sexual services provided by a person in any of the above circumstances (Crimes Act s 53N). This is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
-
Under the Crimes Act it is an offence for a person to:
cause someone to provide or continue to provide commercial sexual services or not to be free to leave the place where these services are provided (s 53B);
cause or induce another person to provide, or continue to provide commercial sexual services and they are not free to leave the premises where these services are being provided (s 53C); or
conduct a business (this includes management, exercising control or direction or financing) that involves the provision of commercial sexual services by another person who is not free to stop providing those services or leave the premises where these services are being provided (s 53D).
People are made to do these things by:
someone using force against them or any other person;
someone unlawfully detaining them or any other person;
someone engaging in fraud or misrepresentation in relation to them or any other person; or
someone using a manifestly excessive debt owed by them or any other person.
Each of these offences is punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment.
If the person against whom an offence under sections 53B, 53C or 53D of the Crimes Act is committed is under the age of 18 and the person knows that they are probably under the age of 18; this is considered aggravated sexual servitude (s 53E). This is punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
-
Under the Crimes Act it is an offence for a person:
to cause or induce a child to take part in or continue to take part in commercial sexual services (punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment) (s 53H);
to indirectly or directly obtain a commercial benefit, payment or reward (including a drug of dependence) for commercial sexual services provided by a child (punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment) (s 53I); or
who owns or occupies a premises, or who manages or assists in the management of a premises, to allow a child to enter or remain on the premises for the purpose of taking part in commercial sexual services (punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment) (s 53K).
‘Taking part’ includes as a client or in any other capacity.
It is not necessary to prove that the accused knew the other person was a child. It is a defence if the accused took all reasonable steps to find out the age of the child and believed on reasonable grounds that the child was aged 18 years or more.
Under the Crimes Act it is an offence for a person to enter into or offer to enter into an agreement under which a child provides commercial sexual services (punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment) (s 53J).
It is not necessary to prove that the accused knew the other person was a child. It is a defence if at the time the child was aged 16 years or more and the accused took all reasonable steps to find out the age of the child and believed on reasonable grounds that they were aged 18 years or more.
A person must not knowingly live wholly or in part on, or derive material benefit from, the earnings of commercial sexual services provided by a person in any of the above circumstances (s 53N). This is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
Pursuant to section 38C of the SO Act it is an offence for a person who carries on a business that provides commercial sexual services, or who assists in the management of that business, to allow a child who is over 18 months of age to enter or remain on premises, unless those premises are primarily used as residential premises. This is punishable by 120 pu or imprisonment for one year. It is a defence if the accused took all reasonable steps to find out the age of the child and believed on reasonable grounds that the child was 18 years of age or over or a child who was 18 months of age or under. If a police officer has reason to believe that a person in such premises is under 18 years of age, they can demand the particulars of the person’s age and if they suspect that this information is false may require the person to provide evidence. A person cannot refuse, fail to give particulars or give false evidence or particulars. This is punishable by 20 pu.
(See ‘A note about penalty units’ in Additional Information).
-
It is an offence to solicit, loiter to solicit or invite any person to engage in commercial sexual services in a public place that is near a school, educational institution, care service, or children’s service. For a first offence, the penalty is a fine of 10 pu, or imprisonment for up to one month.
A person must not intentionally solicit, loiter to solicit or invite any person to engage in commercial sexual services in a public place that is at or near a place or worship between 6 am and 7 pm or on any prescribed day. For a first offence, the penalty is a fine of 10 pu, or imprisonment for up to one month (SO Act s 38B) (see ‘A note about penalty units’ in Additional Information).
The terms ‘solicit’ and ‘loiter’ in relation to commercial sexual services offences mean:
solicit: to offer your commercial sexual services or someone else’s; and
loiter: to stand, wait or walk slowly with no obvious purpose.
Criminal commercial sexual services offences
Chapter: 3.4: Sex work
Contributor: Suzan Gencay, Family Violence and Victims Legal Service Coordinator, South-East Monash Legal Service
Current as of: 1 September 2024
Law Handbook Page: 150
Next Section: Discrimination against sex workers
