Child prostitution convictions to be expunged under bill amendments

Amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill will see ‘child prostitution’ convictions disregarded and pardoned, the government has said. 

Under the new provisions, people who were convicted or cautioned as children for loitering and soliciting for prostitution offences will automatically have these convictions or cautions disregarded and pardoned.

As a result, the criminal records for these offences will be expunged ‘removing the lasting psychological burden, social stigma and barriers to employment and other freedoms these historic convictions have caused’.

The new provisions, a direct response to one of the recommendations in Baroness Casey’s review of grooming gangs published earlier this year, are expected to benefit hundreds of people, the government said.

Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: ‘These amendments send a clear message: we will not allow failures of the past to define the futures of those who were let down by the system in so many ways. Victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation deserve nothing but compassion and support, not a criminal record. We are taking decisive action to put that right.’

The disregard and pardon scheme will apply to individuals convicted for on-street prostitution offences when they were under 18, before the concept of child prostitution was abolished from legislation in 2015.

Once the bill receives royal assent, the scheme will apply automatically.

Gabrielle Shaw, chief executive of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood, said: ‘Our own research, drawn from over 46,000 interactions with victims, tells us that both recognition of the abuse and being believed are integral to how survivors themselves define a positive justice outcome. The decision to disregard and pardon these convictions is a significant step towards building a justice system that can offer better, more survivor-centred outcomes.’

The bill passed its second reading in the House of Lords last month. The committee stage is next week.