MEDIA RELEASE

28 September 2011

Street Prostitutes Intimidate Pregnant Mum To Back of House

Family First NZ says that Christchurch prostitutes have relocated to residential areas and have forced a family expecting their first child to live in the back rooms of the house to avoid the noise and nuisance being caused.

The family who live north of Bealey Ave contacted Family First NZ because their attempts to resolve the issue with the Council and the police were ignored. They told Family First:

Prostitutes operate directly outside my home and other residential houses, in front of the day care centre and a home for individuals suffering from mental illness. From around 10.30pm at night they start to generate considerable noise, people beep their horns, yell out comments, we even hear them discussing their terms of trade and men discussing who gets to go first (all from our bedroom window). There is rubbish including human defecation. Their presence is also intimidating. This is happening 7 days a week.

The stress of the situation is starting to take its toll. We are about to have our first child and I am concerned about bring a child into this environment. My wife is very stressed about the noise so we have moved to the back of the house were the noise is less (but still present).

The police are passively supportive of where the prostitutes have situated themselves. Initially the police informed us that there was nothing that could be done, so some of the residents and I occupied a street corner to let the prostitutes know they were not welcome. A prostitute hailed a police officer over and spent time talking to them. The police came over to talk to us. He informed us that our number and presence was intimating to the prostitutes. He informed us that there had been a number of deaths in the previous year and it was safer for the prostitutes being up our end of Manchester Street.

"It is a disgrace that we are exposing families to this," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. "And for Christchurch families to have to deal with this problem while dealing with the trauma of recent events is completely unacceptable."

"The decriminalisation of prostitution has been a community disaster harming families, businesses, and the welfare of workers caught in the industry. This case highlights the urgency of fixing the law," says Mr McCoskrie.

Family First is calling for the immediate banning of residential brothels and street prostitution.

ENDS

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