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
UPDATE: Good news, WRC took out the criminalisation of clients from the CEDAW shadow report but new wording is still problematic: “We recommend that the government recognise prostitution as a form of violence against women and girls, rather than legitimising the purchase of access to women’s bodies as a form of commerce.” Please respond with your […]
Last night Sophie Walker, the leader of the Women’s Equality Party responded to a comment by a sex worker on twitter by calling her a “sex bot”. For Walker to disparage and dehumanise sex workers in that way is sickening. Is the Women’s Equality Party not for equality and respect for all women, whatever our […]
Lilith Brouwers – 2017Legal status of sex work:There are multiple laws that criminalise or limit sex work in Sweden, the most well-known of which is the 1999 Sexköpslag (Sex Purchase Law). This legislation criminalised the purchase, or attempt to purchase, casual sexual services in exchange for any kind of compensation including alcohol, gifts, meals, or […]
By Joel HellewellI’m going to use the term woman/women in prostitution even if it is a bit clunky, since it is hopefully tolerable to both sides of the debate. I have never sold sex, so I cannot speak to the experiences of women that have. I hope that what comes through is a genuine desire […]
By Joel Hellewell This post is a response to the “meme” created by Nordic Model Now, claiming that the rate of sexual assault in New Zealand has increased since 2003, primarily because of the decriminalisation of prostitution in the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. Link to the meme: https://nordicmodelnow.org/2016/08/11/meme-about-new-zealand-since-the-full-decriminalisation-of-the-sex-trade/ The first thing to do to the […]
Is Feminism Failing Sex Workers?Niki Adams | Spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes, Adams campaigns for the decriminalisation of sex work and for sex workers’ safety. Does money make good women bad? If a woman in the street asks a man “Will you sleep with me?”, that is perfectly legal. But if he says yes […]
Emma Grinfeld and Leonore Schick discuss young women’s issues. This week VLW are joined by members of the English Collective of Prostitutes who campaign for the decriminalisation of prostitution as well as for sex workers’ rights and safety. We’ll be talking about the real effects that the current laws in the UK have on sex […]
The Scottish Nationalists’ conference in Aberdeen backs a motion condemning the sale of sex as ‘a form of violence against women’The Scottish National Party has backed changes to prostitution laws to criminalise those paying for sex, but not those who sell it.Delegates at the party’s conference in Aberdeen voted in favour of a motion proposing a “Scottish model” […]
By Frankie Mullin And here we are in 2016, discussion raging once more. Sex workers sidelined, once more. When the current UK inquiry gathered oral evidence there were three main witnesses: just one current sex worker, Laura Lee; a former prostitute and survivor of abuse within the industry, Mia de Faoite; and UK Feminista’s Kat […]
Sex workers in France are in our hearts and minds today as the French National Assembly passed a law to criminalise clients. This law will be a disaster for sex workers by forcing women to work in more isolated areas and make them more vulnerable to attack. At a time of economic crisis when poverty […]