Criminalisation, of sex workers or clients, undermines safety.
The law criminalising clients, first implemented in Sweden in 1999 and known as the “Nordic Model” is touted as feminist because it criminalises men (i.e. the clients) rather than women (i.e. the victims). But its effect on women has been disastrous. Sex workers face increased stigma, are more at risk of violence, and are less able to call on the protection of the police and the authoritie as this can lead to police harassment, the loss of custody over children, or deportation.
For more information please see our briefing No Nordic Model
Independent escort Laura Lee and the English Collective of Prostitutes respond to RadFemUK’s piece on the European Parliament’s vote in favour of adopting the Nordic Model, which criminalises the purchase of sex. The English Collective of Prostitutes: Criminalising clients will not stop prostitution, nor will it stop the criminalisation of women. But it will make it […]
Mary Honeyball said: The English Collective of Prostitutes, one of the groups who have contested my report most fiercely, seem to agree with me that prostitution is a last resort. “Every time there’s a benefit cut, it forces women on to the game,” they admit. Yet in response they argue that, in the age of […]
Niki Adams cautions against ‘the Swedish Model’ and raises concerns about the role of the religiously-motivated, State-funded Irish pressure group ‘Ruhama’. Olaf Tyaransen “To the moralist, prostitution does not consist so much in the fact that the woman sells her body, but rather that she sells it out of wedlock.” – EMMA GOLDMAN, Anarchism And Other Essays […]
Dear friends, a motion by MEP Mary Honeyball to criminalise sex workers’ clients is being voted on in Europe tomorrow Wednesday 26 February.Lobby your MEP TODAY – Information from the International Committee for the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe here and model letter below:”Dear (insert name of MEP here)The 570 NGOs and civil society organisations […]
STOP CRIMINALISATION: SAFETY FIRST – PROTEST AGAINST RAIDS, EVICTIONS AND CRIMINALISATION. Walkers Court, Soho.Wednesday 26 February, 11am-12pm. On 3 March, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Prostitution reports and is likely to recommend criminalisation of clients. Criminalising clients will not stop prostitution, nor will it stop the criminalisation of women. But it will make it […]
The European Parliament’s Committee on Gender Rights and Women’s Equality, FEMM, has approved a report that recommends criminalizing clients of sex workers as a way to “reduce prostitution and trafficking”. This recommendation will be up for a vote in the European Parliament on 27 February 2014. Sex workers are speaking out against it, and calling on […]
Fionola MeredithFeminists and religious fundamentalists shouldn’t mix. If they do find common cause, it’s often a sign that one-dimensional moral or ideological fanaticism – rigid adherence, fuelled by heightened emotion, to absolutist messages and beliefs – has become more important than what happens to real people in the real world.Take the planned introduction of new […]
ICRSE CoordinatorFollowing a series of article in the UK newspaper The Guardian, ICRSE and many sex workers organisations, academics and allies have signed a letter demanding a fairer representation to the debate on criminalisation of clients.To this date, the letter (or its shorter version) have not been published and The Guardian has not contacted ICRSE.Dear […]
The French parliament has been discussing the criminalisation of sex workers’ clients and will be voting on it tomorrow. The proposals are based on the ‘Swedish model’, and claim to decriminalise the women while criminalising the men.The English Collective of Prostitutes campaigns for the decriminalisation of prostitution, and together with STRASS, the French sex workers’ […]
A controversial move by French lawmakers to prohibit prostitution by targeting those who pay for sex will put the lives of prostitutes in danger, organizations representing sex workers told FRANCE 24 this week. On Tuesday a show of hands from members at the National Assembly in Paris was enough to set in motion a move […]