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.