When one looks at the laws of Sweden concerning sฤx workers, it stirs up the question of what exactly do these Swedes want? Do they want to legalize prostitution or do they not want to?
This uncertainty comes from the confusion that dates back to the year 1999 when Sweden became the first country to criminalise the purchase of sฤx.
However, the law still allowed prostitutes to carry out their business undisturbed. In other words, selling sฤx is legal, however, paying a prostitute for it comes with heavy repercussions such as jail time.
This model has been adopted by other countries like Norway, Iceland, and, more recently, Canada and Northern Ireland. However, organisations like Amnesty Internationalโs have come up with a controversial proposal that rejects this absurd law.
The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women says Amnestyโs proposal would see it โadvocate the legalisation of pimping, brothel owning and sฤx buying โ the pillars of a $99bn (ยฃ64bn) global sฤx industryโ.
Swedenโs official evaluation of the law, published in 2010, concluded that from 1998 to 2008 street prostitution in the country fell by half, largely as a result of the legislation.
However, some people argue that criminalising the purchase of sฤx harms prostitutes by making their clients stressed and nervous, and driving the trade underground.
One thing, however, is clear: if countries are going to adopt the Swedish model, there are ways to do it that avoid at least some of the most negative consequences for those who choose to be in sฤx work.
For example, Swedish sฤx workers are tormented by the threat of eviction, because, under current law, landlords are vulnerable to pimping charges if they collect money earned from selling sฤx.
