This Act gave effect to Directive No. 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 20111 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA, and for that purpose amended certain enactments including the Criminal Evidence Act 1992, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993, the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 and the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008.
The Act strengthens existing law to combat child pornography, the sexual grooming of children, incest, exposure and other offensive conduct of a sexual nature. It is an offence for a person to pay to engage in sexual activity with a prostitute or a trafficked person, regardless of nationality. The person providing the sexual service is not subject to an offence. The purpose of introducing these provisions was primarily to target the trafficking and sexual exploitation of persons through prostitution.
Part 4 (section 27) of the Act contains a specific reporting requirement on the implementation of the Act within three years, including in respect of the number of arrests and convictions and an assessment of the impact of the legislation on the safety and well-being of persons who engage in sexual activity for payment
