Tightening the Laws on Prostitution in France: What Impact on Prevention?
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TUAD0102 Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? L. Geffroy , F. Bourdillon, S. Musso, N. Hesnault-Pruniaux, J-P. Dozon, B. Cadoré, Y. Briand, M. Celse, W. Rozenbaum. French National AIDS Council (Paris, France) Hello everyone, I’m going to present French government policy on prostitution and its impact on prevention. 1 1. BACKGROUND In 2003, France adopted a law 2000’s2003 against procuring and soliciting in order to discourage the practice of prostitution . In 2009, The National AIDS Council sought to assess its impact on sex workers in terms of prevention. - 1. BACKGROUND - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? In 2003, France adopted a law against procuring and soliciting in order to discourage the practice of prostitution. In 2009, the National AIDS Council sought to assess its impact on sex workers in terms of prevention. The opinion with recommendations “HIV and the Sex Trade” was released in September 2010. 2 2. METHODS Around 30 hearings with: representatives of the relevant authorities associations researchers Review of the literature and a carefuly study of the annual reports of French NPO’s - 2. METHODS - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? Around 30 hearings were held with: - representatives of the relevant authorities, - associations, - researchers. A review of the literature and a carefully study of the annual reports of French NPOs, were added to the hearings. 3 3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK • Law of 18 March 2003 on Internal Security (LIS) 1 SOLICITING "fact of proceeding publicly to solicit another party, by all means, including a passive attitude , in order to incite the party to sexual relations in exchange for remuneration or the promise of remuneration, punished by two months' imprisonment and a €3,750 fine (~$4500)." PROCUREMENT Intermediaries who live with a sex worker and cannot 2 document income, or the fact of “(…) holding at the disposition (…) to persons, vehicles (…), in the knowledge that they will be committing acts of prostitution… ” - 3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? Now, I’d like to move on to the law of 18 March 2003 on Internal Security. Let’s examine the five main measures. First, the LIS states that "the fact of proceeding publicly to solicit another party, by all means, including even passive attitude, in order to incite the party to sexual relations in exchange for remuneration (…) is punished by two months imprisonment and a €3,750 fine." Despite the existence of that offense, prostitution remains licit in France. One of the objectives of the law is the eradication of visible forms of street-based prostitution and the promotion of public tranquility. According to the former minister of Interior, soliciting is a form of "delinquency that affects daily life, troubling the tranquility of citizens and mocking their right to security" . The criminalization of passive soliciting had been abandoned in 1994. At the time, the government quoted "the lack of precision of the elements characterizing this offense, which led to its uneven and random application by the police services". Nevertheless, in the early 2000’s, bylaws were passed by several local mayors to limit the presence of sex workers on public thoroughfares and to punish passive soliciting. I’ll now examine the second main point. The government had also aimed to fight organized crime and adopted specific measures against human trafficking and procurement. Basically, in France, our definition of procurement is very broad. Procurement is defined as: - Profiting from the prostitution of another person, or employing or inciting a person to practice prostitution. - Assisting or protecting the prostitution of another person; The LSI added even more cases of procurement such as: - intermediaries who live with a sex worker and cannot document income. - the fact of "holding at the disposition (…) to persons, vehicles (…), in the knowledge that they will be committing acts of prostitution… ”. 4 3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK PROTECTION “Any person who is victim of the exploitation of 3 prostitution must benefit from a system of protection and assistance…." RESIDENCE “A temporary residency permit may be issued to the foreign 4 national who files a legal complaint against a person accused of committing…” procurement or human trafficking. “If the accused person is definitively judged guilty, a residency permit may be issued…” EVALUATION Every year from 2004, the government must register a 5 report (…) that evaluates the change in the demographic, health and social situation of sex workers, as well as the means available to the bodies who assist them. - 3. LEGAL FRAMEWORK - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? I'll now briefly address three other points. The law places the stress on victim protection. First, “Any person who is victim of the exploitation of prostitution must benefit from a system of protection and assistance…." Second , “A temporary residency permit may be issued to the foreign national who files a legal complaint against a person accused of committing…” procurement or human trafficking . “If the accused person is definitively judged guilty, a residency permit may be issued” to these foreign nationals. Concerning evaluation, the law stresses that every year from 2004 onwards, the government must register a report that evaluates changes to the demographic, health and social situation of sex workers. 5 4. IMPACT Sources : CNS hearings, Transcripts of the Senate session of 11 May 2010, Evaluation report of the change in the demographic, health and social situation of persons involved in prostitution, as well as the means available to the bodies who assist them, 2006. - 4. IMPACT - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? Now, let’s take a look at the impact. As you can see, LIS enforcement has led to a sharp increase in legal charges for soliciting. Over five thousand legal proceedings for soliciting were initiated by the national police in 2004. In comparison, 267 tickets were issued for soliciting in 2001. The number of legal charges for soliciting has tended to decline in recent years. This graph doesn’t show two elements: First, following the application of the LIS, sex workers have been charged with other offenses, including sexual exhibition and offenses under the traffic code. Second, LIS enforcement appears extremely uneven across the territory and varies from one city or one district to the next. For instance, in the Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur region, charges for soliciting have remained rare in the city of Marseille , while those charges have been far more frequently filed in the neighboring city of Toulon, leading to the displacement of sex workers to other locations and the closure of a local office of a NPO. 6 4. IMPACT Sources : CNS hearings, Transcripts of the Senate session of 11 May 2010, Evaluation report of the change in the demographic, health and social situation of persons involved in prostitution, as well as the means available to the bodies who assist them, 2006. - 4. IMPACT - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? The number of legal convictions following charges of soliciting has also increased, but it remains significantly lower than the number of charges filed. The number of convictions for soliciting rose from 291 in 2003 to 996 in 2005, and in the subsequent two years it stabilized. The resulting sentences have generally been less severe than those foreseen in the law. Sex workers who are charged are sentenced to a €400 fine, on average, that is dissuasive for persons in precarious financial circumstances. And in several cases the prosecution has filed appeals in order to obtain tougher sentences than those applied by the court of first instance. 7 4. IMPACT Sources : CNS hearings, Transcripts of the Senate session of 11 May 2010, Evaluation report of the change in the demographic, health and social situation of persons involved in prostitution, as well as the means available to the bodies who assist them, 2006. - 4. IMPACT - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? As I said, law enforcement has led to a sharp increase in legal proceedings against sex workers, but it has not led to significant increases in charges filed against procurers. In 2004, 717 persons were charged for procurement, compared with 643 in 2002, prior to the passing of the law. In the vast majority of cases these legal charges appear to involve procurement for the assistance of sex workers. Cases of exploitative procurement have been in the minority. 8 4. IMPACT Protection: 2009, 684 victims of human trafficking and procurement identified by the Police. 56 victims referred to the coordination body in charge of victim support services. Residence: 2009, 79 residency permits of minimum six months duration issued in consideration of admission of victims to residency. In the Paris area, 1 person was issued a ten years residency permit. Evaluation: since 2003, 1 report was registered in March 2006 (unpublished). The report provides no data concerning the specific question of health in France. - 4. IMPACT - Tightening the laws on prostitution in France: what impact on prevention? Now I will give you some facts about the three other main points of the law. Regarding victim protection, in 2009, 684 victims of human trafficking and procurement were