BRADFORD spends more than £2m a year on services to help victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and people who work in the city’s sex industry.

The money comes from Bradford Council and local NHS groups.

In 2016/17 it help 18 per cent of the women who sought help to leave the sex industry altogether.

Despite spending cuts to other services Bradford Council has ring-fenced money for vulnerable women. We think it is right to do so.

Prostitution used to be called the “oldest profession in the world”, an insulting expression which gained familiarity after the First World War.

But we should be clear: prostitution is not a job. Selling your body to feed a drug addiction is not a career choice. It is exploitation of the worst kind.

Prostitution needs to be set against a background of abuse, poverty, addiction, low self-esteem and hopelessness.

No wonder that according to the American Psychiatric Association, sex work can cause the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

There is a school of thought that taking on the sex trade will only drive prostitution underground and that the best way to keep prostitutes safe is to exercise tolerance. Others maintain that selling sex for cash should be a personal decision and who are we to say it should be illegal.

If that is your view we ask: is becoming a sex worker a decision you would like your sister or daughter to make?

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