THE HISTORY and RATIONALE of SWEDISH PROSTITUTION POLICIES Sven-Axel Månsson Malmö University

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

THE HISTORY and RATIONALE of SWEDISH PROSTITUTION POLICIES Sven-Axel Månsson Malmö University Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence Volume 2 | Issue 4 Article 1 September 2017 The iH story and Rationale of Swedish Prostitution Policies Sven-Axel Månsson Malmö University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity Part of the Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Månsson, Sven-Axel (2017) "The iH story and Rationale of Swedish Prostitution Policies," Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence: Vol. 2: Iss. 4, Article 1. DOI: 10.23860/dignity.2017.02.04.01 Available at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss4/1https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss4/1 This Research and Scholarly Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The iH story and Rationale of Swedish Prostitution Policies Abstract This article analyses the history and rationale behind “the Swedish model” of regulating prostitution. The most controversial and debated part of this model is the 1999 ban on purchases of sexual services. To be fully understood the ban and the comprehensive policy regime of which it is a part, the new model has to be placed within a broader framework of policy areas such as gender, sexuality, and social welfare. Thus, the contemporary policy regime will be traced back to the mid-1970s when gender norms and sexual mores were renegotiated in Sweden, which in turn led to a radical reconsideration of men’s role and responsibility in heterosexual prostitution. Also, the outcomes, critiques, and controversies of “the Swedish model” will be discussed. A reduction of demand for prostitution implies changes on many levels, both societal and individual. From a normative point of view, it has been women who have played a leading role when it comes to working for such a change. A radical change would presuppose men’s participation in the process. If so, the crucial question is: Is there reason to believe that men are prepared to engage in anti-sexist politics that can challenge existing beliefs about gender difference and the idea of men’s rights to use women in prostitution for their sexual purposes? Keywords Sweden, prostitution, policies, gender equality, sex buyer, sexual commerce, law Creative Commons License Creative ThiCommons works is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Acknowledgements Dignity acknowledges and thanks the following reviewers of this article for their time and expertise: Trine Rogg Korsivk, senior lecturer, University of Oslo, Norway, and Agnete Strom, co-founder and international coordinator, Women’s Front, Norway. This research and scholarly article is available in Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss4/1 Månsson: History of Swedish Prostitution Policies Volume 2, Issue 4, Article 1, 2017 DOI:10.23860/dignity.2017.02.04.01 THE HISTORY AND RATIONALE OF SWEDISH PROSTITUTION POLICIES Sven-Axel Månsson Malmö University ABSTRACT This article analyses the history and rationale behind “the Swedish model” of regulating prostitution. The most controversial and debated part of this model is the 1999 ban on purchases of sexual services. To be fully understood the ban and the comprehensive policy regime of which it is a part, the new model has to be placed within a broader framework of policy areas such as gender, sexuality, and social welfare. Thus, the contemporary policy regime will be traced back to the mid-1970s when gender norms and sexual mores were renegotiated in Sweden, which in turn led to a radical reconsideration of men’s role and responsibility in heterosexual prostitution. Also, the outcomes, critiques, and controversies of “the Swedish model” will be discussed. A reduction of demand for prostitution implies changes on many levels, both societal and individual. From a normative point of view, it has been women who have played a leading role when it comes to working for such a change. A radical change would presuppose men’s participation in the process. If so, the crucial question is: Is there reason to believe that men are prepared to engage in anti-sexist politics that can challenge existing beliefs about gender difference and the idea of men’s rights to use women in prostitution for their sexual purposes? KEYWORDS Sweden, prostitution, law, policies, gender equality, sex buyer, sexual commerce urchase of sexual services was criminalized in Sweden in 1999. Few if any changes in legislation have attracted so much attention. One reason for this P is that it cuts right into some of the most burning issues about the public control and regulation of prostitution. From those, who argue for the acceptance of prostitution as work and for commercial sex to be seen as a legitimate industrial sector in society, the law has been met with considerable criticism. Among those who view prostitution as an expression of (primarily) men’s sexual exploitation of women, it is considered to be a breakthrough and an important step towards a more gender equal society. In short, politicians, journalists, activists and research- ers all over the globe relate their arguments concerning the pros and cons of pros- titution to the “Swedish model,” debating whether it constitutes the best practice in dealing with prostitution. Regardless of which position is taken by different ac- tors in this debate, there is no doubt that the model is spreading. In February 2014, the European Parliament voted in favor of a report produced by the rapporteur and MEP Mary Honeyball recommending the “Swedish model” of tackling prostitution, i.e. criminalizing the buyer of sexual purchase (Report 2013/2013 INI). The reso- Published by DigitalCommons@URI, 2017 1 Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence, Vol. 2, Iss. 4 [2017], Art. 1 lution is non-binding and therefore is not a law, but implications are that EU mem- ber states are encouraged to adopt regressive stances on prostitution in harmony with the Swedish model. And no doubt, the recent legislative prostitution reforms in Ireland (2014), Northern Ireland (2015) and France (2016), prohibiting the buy- ing of sex, have been designed “in harmony” with this model. Furthermore, a sim- ilar development has also been seen in countries outside Europe, such as South Korea (2003), South Africa (2007) and Canada (2014). The first part of this article aims at tracing the history and rationale of the law as part of a broader historical spectrum of Swedish prostitution policies. As it stands, the law is part of a comprehensive policy model including both legal and social measures, which has to be placed within a broader framework of other policy areas such as gender, sexuality, and social welfare to be fully understood. Further- more, no country approaches prostitution in a vacuum; distinct regimes and mod- els cross borders. Prostitution policies have also changed in other parts of the Nor- dic region. Both Norway (2009) and Iceland (2009) have criminalized the buying of sex, and Finland (2006) has criminalized the buying of sex from victims of traf- ficking or persons involved in pimp- organized prostitution. These changes do not imply that the Nordic countries take an identical approach; national policies have emerged from different ideological and empirical contexts (Skilbrei & Holmström, 2013). However, in this article, my focus will be particularly on Sweden and will touch only en passant on issues pertaining to the Nordic context. The contemporary policy regime in Sweden will be traced back to the mid- 1970s when gender norms and sexual mores were renegotiated, which in turn led to a radical reconsideration of men’s role and responsibility in heterosexual pros- titution (Isaksson, 2007; Nilsson 2009). Also, at that particular time in history prostitution increasingly came to be viewed as a social problem, which coincided with the growth and expansion of the welfare state. As a symbol of poverty, the reduction of prostitution became an explicit goal and a basis for diverse policy ef- forts. These normative goals and how they have permeated the content and organ- ization of Swedish prostitution policies until today will be analyzed in the first part of the article. In the second part, the outcomes, critiques, and controversies of the “Swedish model” will be described. Finally, I will discuss the values and expectations that this policy is built upon. A reduction of demand for prostitution implies changes on many levels, both societal and individual. From a normative point of view, it has been women who have played a leading role when it comes to working for such a change. However, a radical change would presuppose men’s participation in the process. If so, the crucial question is: Is there reason to believe that men are pre- pared to engage in anti-sexist politics that can challenge existing beliefs about gen- der difference and the idea of men’s rights to use women in prostitution for their sexual purposes? THE GENDER EQUALITY DISCOURSE The gender equality discourse stands strong in Swedish public life. Since the 1960s its presence is practically everywhere. From the outset, the gender equality policy mainly focused on women’s right to work and to equal pay, but over the years it has become a distinctive feature of nearly all aspects of society. The overarching principle is that everyone, regardless of gender, has the right to work and support themselves, to balance career and family life, and to live without the fear of abuse https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol2/iss4/1 2 DOI: 10.23860/dignity.2017.02.04.01 Månsson: History of Swedish Prostitution Policies or violence.
Recommended publications
  • A MORAL ARGUMENT for the DECRIMINALIZATION of PROSTITUTION by DAVID A
    University of Pennsylvania Law Review FOUNDED 1852 Formerly American Law Register VOLUME 127 MAY 1979 No. 5 COMMERCIAL SEX AND THE RIGHTS OF THE PERSON: A MORAL ARGUMENT FOR THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION by DAVID A. J. RiCaRDs t Contents I. PROSTITUTION: ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ..................................... 1203 II. TH ARGUMENTS FOR THE CRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION ..................................... 1215 A. Criminogenesis ................................. 1215 B. Venereal Disease ............................... 1217 C. M oral Arguments .............................. 1219 III. THE CONCEPTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE PUBLIC MORALITY UNDER CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY ........ 1222 A. The Rights Thesis .............................. 1222 B. Autonomy and Equality as the Values Underlying the Rights Thesis .................................. 1224 C. ContractarianTheory and Human Rights .......... 1228 D. The Concept of the Public Morality and the Criminal Law .......................................... 1231 0 Copyright @ David A.J. Richards 1979. f Professor of Law, New York University. A.B. 1966, Harvard University; D. Phil. 1970, Oxford University; J.D. 1971, Harvard University. Member, New York Bar. This essay profited from conversations with Donald Levy of the Brooklyn College Philosophy Department and with my colleagues Paul Chevigny, Lewis Kornhauser, Sylvia Law, and Laurence Tancredi. Research assistance was ably given by N.Y.U. law students Becky Palmer and Robert Freedman. (1195) 1196 UNIVERSITY OF
    [Show full text]
  • SEX WORKER RIGHTS July 2013 (Almost) but Were Afraid to Ask Wanted to Know Everything You
    (ALMOST) EVERYTHING YOU SEX WORKER RIGHTS SEX WORKER WANTED TO KNOW BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK July 2013 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Written by Corinne Goldenberg, Sarah Gunther, Anne Lieberman, Jesse Wrenn and Gitta Zomorodi FRONT COVER Las Golondrinas works to protect and respect sex workers’ rights through human rights education, sexual and reproductive health trainings, and advocacy with local authorities in Nicaragua. Photo by Stefanie Rubin. BACK COVER Sex Workers from Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) in West Bengal march at the Sex Worker Freedom Festival in Kolkata, July 2012. Photo by Dale Kongmont, Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW). THE QUESTIONS 1 What is sex work? 2 Why does AJWS fund sex worker rights? 3 Who are sex workers? 4 Why do people do sex work? 5 In places where sex work is illegal, what human rights do sex workers have? 6 What’s the difference between sex work and human trafficking? 7 If sex work and human trafficking are two different things, what are sex worker rights organizations doing to combat human trafficking? 8 Why not just help sex workers leave the industry, instead of focusing on making it better inside the industry? 9 What’s wrong with the criminalization of sex work? 10 What does it mean to decriminalize sex work? 11 What is the difference between “decriminalization” and “legalization”? 12 Why not just criminalize people who buy sex? Won’t that help end sex work? 13 I’m a feminist. Why should I condone sex work? 14 What’s the history of sex worker rights organizing? 15 What has AJWS done in support of sex worker rights? What are we doing now? Appendix: Dos and Don’ts Glossary American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is the leading Jewish organization working to promote human rights and end poverty in the developing world.
    [Show full text]
  • Forced Prostitution
    VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION – 1 Virginia State Crime Commission _______________________ Forced Prostitution _______________________ 2013 VIRGINIA STATE CRIME COMMISSION – 2 Forced Prostitution Executive Summary During the 2013 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly, three bills were introduced that dealt with the crime of prostitution. House Bill 1541 and Senate Bill 1273 both would have permitted the expungement of police and court records related to an arrest, charge, or conviction for prostitution if the person had been abducted and “induced to engage in prostitution through the use of force, intimidation, or deception.” Senate Bill 1273, as amended, would have limited expungement to those cases where the person had been abducted before the age of 16, and would only apply to prostitution offenses that occurred before the person had turned 21. House Bill 1541 did not contain those limitations, and additionally provided an affirmative defense to a charge of prostitution, if the conditions of abduction and coercion applied. The third bill, House Bill 1991, created a nearly identical affirmative defense to a charge of prostitution, if the situation of coercion applied, yet without a requirement of abduction. House Bill 1991 also would have decriminalized juvenile prostitution; any juvenile found to have engaged in prostitution would not have committed a crime, but would be subject to a CHINS petition, pursuant to Va. Code § 16.1‐228. (It would still be a crime under the bill for a person to solicit any person, including a juvenile, for purposes of prostitution). These bills were referred to the Crime Commission for review. The public policy in Virginia is to limit expungement of police and court records to those cases where an individual is actually innocent of the crime for which they were arrested or charged, or if he has received an absolute pardon from the governor.
    [Show full text]
  • The Swedish Women's Lobby Written Statement for the 57Th Session of The
    ǯwritten statement for the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), declares that States must take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women (Article 6). Even so, and despite the increasing understanding and agreement that trafficking and prostitution seriously viǯǡthe purchase of human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation is still not prohibited in all countries. Prostitution and trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a severe form of ǯviolence against women and an international crime of increasing global Ǥ ǯ ǯǯ odities that can be bought and sold. The prevalence of prostitution is an obstacle to equality between women and men. Furthermore, it is our strong conviction that when adopting the perspective of equality and human rights it is not possible, nor relevant, to make a distinction between voluntary and non-voluntary prostitution. In order to prevent and combat the purchase of sexual services and trafficking, Governments need to address the demand. The most effective way of doing so is by criminalizing the purchaser of, and not the person who sell sexual services. Such a shift addresses the root cause of the exploitation which is the demand, and not the person being exploited. Sveriges Kvinnolobby/ Swedish Womenǯ Norrtullsgatan 45, 113 45 Stockholm 08-33 52 47 / 070- 239 60 08 [email protected] On 1 January 1999, Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce a legislation criminalizing the purchase, but not the sale, of sexual services.
    [Show full text]
  • The Illegality of Pornographic Film As Prostitution
    Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality Volume 13 Issue 2 Article 2 December 1995 Sex for Money is Sex for Money: The Illegality of Pornographic Film as Prostitution Sarah H. Garb Follow this and additional works at: https://lawandinequality.org/ Recommended Citation Sarah H. Garb, Sex for Money is Sex for Money: The Illegality of Pornographic Film as Prostitution, 13(2) LAW & INEQ. 281 (1995). Available at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/lawineq/vol13/iss2/2 Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality is published by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. Sex for Money Is Sex for Money: The Illegality of Pornographic Film as Prostitution Sarah H. Garb* I live in a country where if you film any act of humiliation or torture, and if the victim is a woman, the film is both entertain- ment and it is protected speech. - Andrea Dworkin' Introduction The debate over pornography continues to divide the feminist movement. There is little consensus about whether pornography should be criminalized: some call the regulation of pornography censorship, 2 others denounce the very existence of pornography as a violation of the civil rights of women, 3 and there are numerous varying positions along this continuum. This article introduces a viable alternative method for elimi- nating one aspect of the pornography industry,4 pornographic film. A carefully drafted prostitution statute directed at the process of pornographic ifimmaking could circumvent First Amendment con- * Sarah H. Garb will receive her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in May of 1996. She would like to thank the board and staff of volume 13.2 for their assistance in bringing this article to its present state, especially Maureen Cavanaugh, Carla Hensley, Kim Otte, Scott Wolfson, and Carlos Nan.
    [Show full text]
  • Criminalization of Trafficking Victims
    Criminalization of Trafficking Victims Submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of United States of America Second Cycle Twenty Second Session of the UPR Human Rights Council April - May 2015 Submitted by: International Women’s Human Rights Clinic, City University of New York Law School Trafficking Victims Advocacy Project, Legal Aid Society of New York Contact Name: Cynthia Soohoo Contact Phone/Email: 01.718.340.4329/[email protected] The Trafficking Victims Advocacy Project addresses the comprehensive needs of victims of human trafficking who are arrested and prosecuted for prostitution, and other criminal offenses, across New York City. TVAP provides specialized legal advocacy and representation for victims of trafficking. It also works to create greater access to post- conviction relief for trafficking survivors to mitigate the devastating collateral consequences of prior criminalization. Widely recognized for its expertise and contributions to gender jurisprudence and human rights practice, the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic advocates before international and regional human rights bodies and national and local courts and legal institutions. The Clinic works to combat gender discrimination and sexual violence, advance reproductive and sexual rights and economic and social rights, and promote women's participation and empowerment. I. SUMMARY 1. This Stakeholder Report is submitted by the Trafficking Victims Advocacy Project (TVAP) of the Legal Aid Society of New York and the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at the City University of New York. It is based on TVAP’s direct legal representation of trafficking victims in criminal proceedings and the IWHR’s report Clearing the Slate: Seeking Effective Remedies for Criminalized Victims of Trafficking,1 which is based on interviews, testimony and statements of trafficking survivors, attorneys and experts.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding the Nordic Approach to Prostitution
    DEMAND CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING THE NORDIC APPROACH TO PROSTITUTION Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia 2017 WHO ARE WE? The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia (CATWA) is the Australian branch of CATW International, a Non-Governmental Organisation that has Category II consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. We are a secular, feminist organisation that works locally and internationally to end all forms of sexual exploitation of women and children, especially prostitution, trafficking, and pornography. OUR POSITION CATWA argues that no effective policy can be developed against the trafficking of women into prostitution – which is the most common form of trafficking – without an understanding of its connection to the industry of prostitution. Indeed, research now shows that the full legalisation of prostitution tends to increase inward flows of trafficking. We recommend what has been termed the ‘Nordic Model’, which criminalises the purchase of ‘sexual services’* but decriminalises those within systems of prostitution. This approach recognises that systems of trafficking and prostitution are largely driven by demand and, accordingly, it targets the (overwhelmingly male) buyers rather than those (predominantly women) who are prostituted. The Nordic Model also focuses on public education programs about the harms of prostitution and the importance of providing a range of dedicated support services for those in prostitution to enable them to exit. Furthermore, the available evidence suggests that the Nordic Model is effective in reducing sex trafficking. This model has been adopted in Sweden, Norway and Iceland as well as Canada, Northern Ireland, Ireland and France and is under consideration in Israel, Luxembourg and Italy.
    [Show full text]
  • Right of Privacy Challenges to Prostitution Statutes
    Washington University Law Review Volume 58 Issue 2 January 1980 Right of Privacy Challenges to Prostitution Statutes Catherine D. Perry Washington University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview Recommended Citation Catherine D. Perry, Right of Privacy Challenges to Prostitution Statutes, 58 WASH. U. L. Q. 439 (1980). Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol58/iss2/8 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RIGHT OF PRIVACY CHALLENGES TO PROSTITUTION STATUTES INTRODUCTION The abortion cases, Roe v. WadeI and Doe v. Bolton,2 led legal com- mentators and feminists to speculate that prostitution statutes violate the right of privacy recognized in those decisions.3 Although initially successful in some cases, the right to privacy argument ultimately has not prevailed in litigation challenging prostitution statutes. Other chal- lenges to the constitutionality of prostitution statutes have also been only marginally successful. Courts have recently considered whether prostitution statutes are impermissibly vague,4 violate equal protec- 1. 410 U.S. 113 (1973). 2. 410 U.S. 197 (1973). 3. See W. BARNETT, SExuAL FREEDOM AND THE CONSTITUTION (1973); J. JAMES, J. WITH- ERS, M. HAFT, S. THEISS & M. OWEN, THE POLITICS OF PROSTITUTION (2d ed. 1977) [hereinafter cited as J. JAMES]; Rosenbleet & Pariente, The Prostitutionof the CriminalLaw, I I AM. CRIM. L. REV.
    [Show full text]
  • Decriminalizing Survival
    PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ACLU Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, LGBTQ Caucus Black Alliance for Just Immigration Black and Pink Black Youth Project 100 Center for Constitutional Rights Collective Action for Safe Spaces DECRIMNOW DC Decrim NY Harm Reduction Coalition HIPS Human Rights Campaign DATA FOR PROGRESS If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice Immigrant Defense Project DECRIMINALIZING Mijente National Black Justice Coalition SURVIVAL: National Center for Lesbian Rights POLICY PLATFORM AND POLLING ON National Center for THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF SEX WORK Transgender Equality National Lawyers Guild National LGBTQ Task Force Reframe Health and Justice The Center for HIV Law and Policy TRANScending Barriers Transgender Law Center URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity Nina Luo, Data for Progress, Fellow Witness to Mass Incarceration Women’s March TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Executive Summary 4 What is the sex trade? 6 What is US government policy on the sex trade? 9 Why should we decriminalize sex work? 14 What about trafficking? 17 Criminal legal models of the sex trade 19 Policy platform for decriminalization 21 National polling on decriminalization and vice policing 27 Conclusion 28 Endnotes ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nina Luo is a fellow at Data for Progress, organizer, media strategist, and writer. Previously at VOCAL-NY, she led prosecutor accountability and sex workers' rights campaigns. Nina is a founding member of both Decrim NY and Survivors Against SESTA. She has also organized with Sex Workers Outreach Project-Boston and Massachusetts Sex Worker Ally Network. COVER PHOTO BY COREY TORPIE DECRIMINALIZING SURVIVAL 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For the first time in presidential primary history, 2020 candidates have competed for a progressive position on the sex trade.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Pornography Is Not Prostitution: Folk Theories of Sexuality in the Law of Vice
    Saint Louis University Law Journal Volume 60 Number 2 (Winter 2016) Article 4 2016 Why Pornography Is Not Prostitution: Folk Theories of Sexuality in the Law of Vice Anders Kaye Thomas Jefferson School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Anders Kaye, Why Pornography Is Not Prostitution: Folk Theories of Sexuality in the Law of Vice, 60 St. Louis U. L.J. (2016). Available at: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lj/vol60/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Saint Louis University Law Journal by an authorized editor of Scholarship Commons. For more information, please contact Susie Lee. SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW WHY PORNOGRAPHY IS NOT PROSTITUTION: FOLK THEORIES OF SEXUALITY IN THE LAW OF VICE ANDERS KAYE* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 245 II. THE MEANING OF “PROSTITUTION” AND THE ANOMALY OF PORNOGRAPHIC ACTING .......................................................................... 249 A. The Meaning of “Prostitution” ......................................................... 249 B. The Anomaly of Pornographic Acting .............................................. 252 III. ARE THERE PLAUSIBLE RATIONALES FOR DIVERGENT TREATMENT? ..... 255 A. The Courts’ Rationales for Divergent Treatment ............................. 255 1. First Amendment Rationale
    [Show full text]
  • Sex Work Legal Frameworks in CEECA, SWAN
    SEX WORK LEGAL FRAMEWORKS in Central-Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) Briefing paper THE SEX WORKERS’ RIGHTS ADVOCACY NETWORK (SWAN) In Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia Bertalan Lajos u. 22. fsz.6. Budapest, H-1111, Hungary Phone: +36 1 787 6267 Fax: +36 1 782 2199 www.swannet.org [email protected] THE SEX WORKERS’ RIGHTS ADVOCACY NETWORK (SWAN) is a network of 24 civil society organizatons in 17 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia advocatng for the human rights of female, male and transgender sex workers. SWAN member organizatons work with or are led-by sex workers and sex worker leadership is an organizing principle of the network. SWAN was founded in 2006 and was ofcially registered as the SWAN Foundaton in January of 2012. SEX WORK LEGAL FRAMEWORKS in Central-Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA) Briefng paper Copyright©SWAN 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 5 A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEX WORK LAWS AND POLICIES IN THE REGION ... 7 ADMINISTRATIVE AND CRIMINAL PROVISIONS ON SEX WORK ............ 12 Sex workers .......................................................................................... 13 Clients ................................................................................................... 20 Third parties .......................................................................................... 21 FURTHER LEGAL PROVISIONS IMPACTING SEX WORKERS ................... 24 Public health
    [Show full text]
  • Buyer Beware: Why Johns Should Be Charged with Statutory Rape for Buying Sex from a Child Amanda Shapiro
    Journal of Law and Policy Volume 23 | Issue 1 Article 9 2014 Buyer Beware: Why Johns Should Be Charged With Statutory Rape For Buying Sex From A Child Amanda Shapiro Follow this and additional works at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/jlp Recommended Citation Amanda Shapiro, Buyer Beware: Why Johns Should Be Charged With Statutory Rape For Buying Sex From A Child, 23 J. L. & Pol'y (2014). Available at: https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/jlp/vol23/iss1/9 This Note is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at BrooklynWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Law and Policy by an authorized editor of BrooklynWorks. BUYER BEWARE: WHY JOHNS SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH STATUTORY RAPE FOR BUYING SEX FROM A CHILD Amanda Shapiro* Despite the common conception that human trafficking is pri- marily a problem beyond our shores, sex trafficking is a growing epidemic within the United States. Sex traffickers are increasingly preying on children in particular in response to growing demand for paid sex with younger girls and boys. Strikingly, the criminal justice system charges and prosecutes these trafficking victims for selling sex even though they have been forced into the trade. Un- like trafficked children, the adults who buy sex from them are rare- ly charged and, if they are, the charge—a low-level misdemeanor or violation—fails to reflect the gravity of their crime. Take away the exchange of money, and the justice system appropriately deems these children victims and their patrons rapists for engaging in the exact same acts.
    [Show full text]