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Baltimore
Newbie Poster
Username: Baltimore
Post Number: 3
Registered: 03-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 05:04 pm: | 
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www.justicewomen.com/cj_sweden.html
Sweden's Prostitution Solution:
Why Hasn't Anyone Tried This Before?
In a centuries deep sea of clichés despairing that 'prostitution will always
be with us', one country's success stands out as a solitary beacon lighting
the way. In just five years Sweden has dramatically reduced the number of its
women in prostitution. In the capital city of Stockholm the number of women in
street prostitution has been reduced by two thirds, and the number of johns has
been reduced by 80%. There are other major Swedish cities where street
prostitution has all but disappeared. Gone too, for the most part, are the renowned
Swedish brothels and massage parlors which proliferated during the last three
decades of the twentieth century when prostitution in Sweden was legal.
In addition, the number of foreign women now being trafficked into Sweden for
sex is nil. The Swedish government estimates that in the last few years only
200 to 400 women and girls have been annually sex trafficked into Sweden, a
figure that's negligible compared to the 15,000 to 17,000 females yearly sex
trafficked into neighboring Finland. No other country, nor any other social
experiment, has come anywhere near Sweden's promising results.
By what complex formula has Sweden managed this feat? Amazingly, Sweden's
strategy isn't complex at all. It's tenets, in fact, seem so simple and so firmly
anchored in common sense as to immediately spark the question, "Why hasn't
anyone tried this before?"
Sweden's Groundbreaking 1999 Legislation
In 1999, after years of research and study, Sweden passed legislation that a)
criminalizes the buying of sex, and b) decriminalizes the selling of sex. The
novel rationale behind this legislation is clearly stated in the government's
literature on the law:
"In Sweden prostitution is regarded as an aspect of male violence against
women and children. It is officially acknowledged as a form of exploitation of
women and children and constitutes a significant social problem... gender
equality will remain unattainable so long as men buy, sell and exploit women and
children by prostituting them."
In addition to the two pronged legal strategy, a third and essential element
of Sweden's prostitution legislation provides for ample and comprehensive
social service funds aimed at helping any prostitute who wants to get out, and
additional funds to educate the public. As such, Sweden's unique strategy treats
prostitution as a form of violence against women in which the men who exploit
by buying sex are criminalized, the mostly female prostitutes are treated as
victims who need help, and the public is educated in order to counteract the
historical male bias that has long stultified thinking on prostitution. To
securely anchor their view in firm legal ground, Sweden's prostitution legislation
was passed as part and parcel of the country's 1999 omnibus violence against
women legislation.
An Early Obstacle in the Path
Interestingly, despite the country's extensive planning prior to passing the
legislation, the first couple years into this novel project nothing much
happened at all. Police made very few arrests of johns and prostitution in Sweden,
which had previously been legalized, went on pretty much as it had gone on
before. Naysayers the world over responded to the much publicized failure with
raucous heckling, "See? Prostitution always has been, and it always will be."
But eminently secure in the thinking behind their plan, the Swedes paid no
heed. They quickly identified, then solved the problem. The hang-up, the place
where their best efforts had snagged, was that law enforcement wasn't doing
it's part. The police themselves, it was determined, needed in-depth training and
orientation to what the Swedish public and legislature already understood
profoundly. Prostitution is a form of male violence against women. The
exploiter/buyers need to be punished, and the victim/prostitutes need to be helped. The
Swedish government put up extensive funds and the country's police and
prosecutors, from the top ranks down to the officer on the beat, were given intensive
training and a clear message that the country meant business. It was then
that the country quickly began to see the unequaled results.
Today, not only do the Swedish people continue to overwhelming support their
country's approach to prostitution (80% of people in favor according to
national opinion polls), but the country's police and prosecutors have also come
around to be among the legislation's staunchest supporters. Sweden's law
enforcement has found that the prostitution legislation benefits them in dealing with
all sex crimes, particularly in enabling them to virtually wipe out the
organized crime element that plagues other countries where prostitution has been
legalized or regulated.
The Failure of Legalization and/or Regulation Strategies
This Swedish experiment is the single, solitary example in a significant
sized population of a prostitution policy that works. In 2003, the Scottish
government in looking to revamp its own approach to prostitution enlisted the
University of London to do a comprehensive analysis of outcomes of prostitution
policies in other countries. In addition to reviewing Sweden's program, the
researchers chose Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands to represent various
strategies of legalizing and/or regulating prostitution. The researchers did not
review the situation where prostitution is criminalized across the board as it
is in the US. The outcome of that approach is already well known. The failures
and futility of the revolving door of arresting and rearresting prostitutes is
all too familiar the world over.
But the outcomes, as revealed in the Univ. of London study, in the states
under review that had legalized or regulated prostitution were found to be just
as discouraging or even more discouraging than the traditional all round
criminalization. In each case the results were dramatic in the negative.
Legalization and/or regulation of prostitution, according to the study, led
to:
A dramatic increase in all facets of the sex industry,
A dramatic increase in the involvement of organized crime in the sex
industry,
A dramatic increase in child prostitution,
An explosion in the number of foreign women and girls trafficked into the
region, and
Indications of an increase in violence against women.
In the state of Victoria, Australia, where a system of legalized, regulated
brothels was established, there was such an explosion in the number of brothels
that it immediately overwhelmed the system's ability to regulate them, and
just as quickly these brothels became a mire of organized crime, corruption, and
related crimes. In addition, surveys of the prostitutes working under systems
of legalization and regulation find that the prostitutes themselves continue
to feel coerced, forced, and unsafe in the business.
A survey of legal prostitutes under the showcase Netherlands legalization
policy finds that 79% say they want to get out of the sex business. And though
each of the legalization/regulation programs promised help for prostitutes who
want to leave prostitution, that help never materialized to any meaningful
degree. In contrast, in Sweden the government followed through with ample social
services funds to help those prostitutes who wanted to get out. 60% of the
prostitutes in Sweden took advantage of the well funded programs and succeeded in
exiting prostitution.*
* The full Scottish government report on prostitution policies can be seen at
www.scottish.parliament.uk
So Why Hasn't Anyone Tried This Before?
Why, then, with Sweden's success so clearly lighting the way, aren't others
quickly adopting the plan? Well, some are. Both Finland and Norway are on the
verge of making the move. And if Scotland takes the advise of its own study, it
will go in that direction too. But, the answer to the question of why other
countries aren't jumping to adopt Sweden's plan is probably the same as the
answer to the question of why governments haven't tried Sweden's solution before.
In order to see prostitutes as victims of male coercion and violence it
requires that a government first switch from seeing prostitution from the male
point of view to the female point of view. And most, if not virtually all,
countries of the world still see prostitution and every other issue from a
predominantly male point of view.
Sweden, in contrast, has led the way in promoting equality for women for a
very long time. In 1965, for example, Sweden criminalized rape in marriage. Even
by the 1980's there were states in the United States that still hadn't made
that fundamental recognition of women's rights to control her own body.
The Swedish government also stands out in having the highest proportion of
women at all levels of government. In 1999, when Sweden passed its
groundbreaking prostitution legislation, the Swedish Parliament was composed of nearly 50%
women.
Sweden's prostitution policy was first designed and lobbied for by Sweden's
organization of women's shelters and was then fostered and fought for by a
bipartisan effort of Sweden's uniquely powerful and numerous female
parliamentarians. Nor has Sweden stopped there. In 2002, Sweden passed additional
legislation bolstering the original prostitution legislation.
The 2002 Act Prohibiting Human Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual
Exploitation closed some of the loopholes in the earlier legislation and further
strengthened the government's ability to go after the network of persons that
surround and support prostitution, such as the recruiters, the transporters, and
the hosts.
And Why Can't We Copy Sweden's Success Here?
While it's probably true that we and other countries are still much more
steeped in patriarchal darkness than Sweden, there's no reason we can't push now
for the policy changes that Sweden has made. The beauty of it is that once the
ground has been broken and the proof of success has been established, it
should be ever much easier to convince others to go down that path.
Feel free to photocopy and distribute this information as long as you keep
the credit and text intact.
Copyright (c) Marie De Santis,
Women's Justice Center,
www.justicewomen.com
rdjus-@monitor.net
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Mahoganyanais
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mahoganyanais
Post Number: 174
Registered: 01-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 21, 2005 - 05:49 pm: |
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Very interesting, Baltimore. Thanks for posting it. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1092
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 10:03 am: |
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I have seen this article before. I think it is all bushwah. |
Kola_boof
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Kola_boof
Post Number: 200
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 11:23 am: |
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It's so OBVIOUS...that when you start targeting the JOHNS, the rate of prostitution drops drammatically.
Look at cities in the U.S. where "the John" is arrested and his name is PUBLISHED in the newspaper! That shit cut right out.
If people REALLLLY wanted to stop "rape" or "prostitution" or any other sex related crimes.....all they have to do is begin actively enforcing the law against MALES......and that crime rate DROPS.
It's been proven time and time again.
______________
By the way, I support the legalization of Adult Prostitution. I don't think it's anyone's business what business arrangements are made between two consenting adults.
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Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1094
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 12:26 pm: |
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Why do I say it is Bushwah?
Here is St. Louis it already IS against the law--the offense is promoting prostitution--it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to I think $1,000 and a year in jail.
Now, how do they bust somebody for it? Since the prostitutes are also liable for prosecution, they ain't dropping dime on anybody (and in a country like ours where there is supposed to be equal protection under the laws I can tell you a law where only the john is prosecuted will not pass Constitutional Muster)--
They get an undercover police woman to put the bite on somebody. Useually it is some stupid working stiff too dumb to know an undercover cop from a real prostitute. When they take them to jury trial the defense attorneys load up the juries with WOMEN and have his wife and kids sitting there and they slap them on the wrist.
Not only this, this overlooks the reason women are driven to prostitution these days which, is not purely economic--most of them these days are crack addicts. Kind of hard to get job training, hold a job when you got a crack habit.
All of which also overlooks the biggest reason prostitution flourishes here--the uptight attitudes about sex. I would like somebody to do a study on sexual attitudes in Sweden Denmark and Norway vs here.
And let us add another reason why it ain't stopping--the cops, prosecutors, bail bondsmen, judges, etc are also supported by the traffic--directly or indirectly. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 1096
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 22, 2005 - 12:37 pm: |
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All:
And I forgot the main reason why legislators and leaders here will never criminalize the buying of sex--because then they would have to criminalize themselves.
We tried Prohibition here with alchohol. Nobody obeyed the law.
Have you also thought of this--
man wants to score with woman. Buys her dinner, show, perfume, etc. They go knock boots. Hasn't he broken the law?
Another--
It is a couple's wedding anniversary. Man comes home with flowers, has dinner catered, hot oil rubs, etc. They knock boots. He also buys her a fur coat. Hasn't he broken the law?
You'll say that isn't what the law was intended to stop. That didn't help Jack Johnson.
Ta ta. I think Kola's solution is the only correct one. Decriminalize an activity that nobody is going to stop, anyway. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 2369
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - 08:53 am: |
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Chris,
I agree we should let grown men and women do with each other what they want, already!
You’re right. The “Johns” will NEVER be aggressively prosecuted/persecuted because there are TOO many people in law enforcement themselves who qualify as such.
And I agree that most sexual relationships involve ‘reciprocation’ of some sort with, perhaps, the clearest distinction being that most hookers insist on cash. |
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