Men may be jailed if they pay for sex

Prostitution laws face a sweeping overhaul which could see tough jail terms for men who pay for sex.

Ministers are drawing up plans to replace redlight areas with "toleration zones" where sex workers will be offered access to counselling and health clinics.

The Home Office proposals outline a "stick-and-carrot" approach to regulation of the industry, with more support for prostitutes, and harsher punishments for those who use them.

Under current legislation, paying for sex is not illegal. However, laws prohibit associated activities, such as kerb crawling, soliciting, and brothel keeping. The focus of the Government's review will be to help women escape prostitution by creating managed zones in cities, where they would be offered help and advice.

Ministers are also thought to be considering following the lead of Sweden, where men can be imprisoned for up to six months if they are caught paying for sex.

The plans are expected to be unveiled later this summer. Tolerat ion zones have already been tried in pilot schemes in a number of British cities, including Manchester and Glasgow.

They allow sex workers to operate in strictly defined areas, away from residential streets.

Women working in the zones may have to register with the local authority and undergo compulsory medical tests. Tough new measures on customers would apply only to those paying for sex outside the toleration areas.

The proposals are expected to be resisted by prostitution support groups, who fear the changes could give police powers to discriminate against sex workers who do not comply with the regime.