Sex in the Suburbs: Bodies are their own business – E&S readers speak out

Sex is for sale like never before over the internet, with hundreds of women and men advertising their services in plain sight.

But the rules concerning prostitution are complicated. The sale and purchase of sex is currently legal in Britain, but soliciting, pimping, running a brothel and kerb-crawling are illegal.

Sex workers have been banned from advertising in phone boxes for many years.

Express & Star readers are divided, although the majority do not back a further tightening of the rules, preferring to let women and men who know the risks decide for themselves what they do with their own bodies.

An online poll on our website asked if it should be illegal to accept money for sex. And 69 per cent said no.

And on Facebook, reader Richard Banks said: "Totally dependent on the situation, but one person shouldn't have the power to dictate what another does with their body."

Gemma Harris, a full time mother, disagreed: "Damn right it should be illegal," said said. "And more prosecutions should be made instead of programmes like Secret Diary of a Call Girl glamourising it. What messages are we sending to kids when we're saying the law thinks this is an acceptable career?" Mick Tambs urged people to consider the industry as a whole and the dangers sex workers faced.

"Much bigger picture to look at here," he said on Facebook.

"It's the pimps that need to be stopped getting the girls dependent on drugs and forced into a no-win situation."

John Elwell believed people should be allowed to do as they please when it comes to sex work as long as they do no harm.

"Why don't you just give up making more laws for people to follow, and allow people to live how they please as long as they're not hurting other folks," he said.

And Glynn McWilliams had a very liberal view about sex work and marriage.

"None of anyone's business what a woman does with her body, it's her body and probably saves men leaving their wives," he said."

Steve Wellings added: "Look at the continent and copy their framework. It's been run successfully run for years. Instead of driving it all underground."

Susan Steatham, agreed: "Unfortunately due to our UK culture and heritage we prefer to be the proverbial ostrich, sticking our head in the sand and pretending th