Should prostitution be legalised? From adverts in the local papers and on the internet, we've found a total of 70 brothels, massage parlours and escorts, who are either based in the county, or who travel here in return for payment for sex. The number of adverts in the local papers has increased dramatically over the past few years - and there may be many more places we're not aware of. Join in the debate! OR - Take part in our vote and tell us if you think prostitution should be legalised.
Why do this investigation? I began to wonder whether adverts in local papers were really for brothels, and whether we were looking at one place with lots of phone numbers or if there was a significant number of places people were going to for sex. This isn't an attempt to sensationalise or moralise on the issue. It's up to you to decide whether you approve of it or not. The aim of the investigation is to find the extent of the sex industry in Cambridge and to listen to the stories of the people involved in it - all we're saying is, it exists.
Some of you probably know this already, some of you don't. So, how many brothels are there? I spoke to Steve, who used to run a massage parlour in the Mill Road and Coleridge Road areas of Cambridge: "From the centre of Cambridge it would take ten minutes to find somewhere, and if you could get a cab it would be two minutes.
As soon as you could knock on the door, that's how long it would take". After researching the local papers and the internet I've found a total of 70 opportunities to pay for sex in the county. This includes brothels, massage parlours, single women and men based in the county or prepared to travel here in return for payment for sex.
It's obviously difficult to be sure about the numbers of prostitutes who work on the streets. The Papers I spoke to 34 massage parlours advertised in the local papers. A further 17 couldn't be contacted so are not included in the overall figure.
