‘The Etsy of sexual exploitation’

The UK government has pledged to reduce violence against women and girls by half within a decade. Meeting this ambitious target will involve targeting key areas where women most often face violence. New laws to tackle the online advertising of prostitution have now been mooted, but the government will need to ensure that they are enforceable and effective, and that they avoid any unintended consequences.

During a March 2025 House of Commons debate on the Crime and Policing Bill, Conservative MP Rebecca Paul spoke of the horrors of young people being ‘treated as merchandise, with the sole purpose of turning a profit for pimps and traffickers’, and the need to break this business model. Ms Paul described the websites hosting such content as ‘the Etsy of sexual exploitation, fuelling sex trafficking by providing a convenient centralised platform for sex buyers to access what they want in their local area.’ Ms Paul suggested MPs would be