La Strada Documentation Center

Prostitution – Which Stance to Take?

Document number
1313
Date
2007
Title
Prostitution – Which Stance to Take?
Author/publisher
Rapporteur: Mr Leo PLATVOET, Netherlands, Group of the Unified European Left, Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, Council of Europe
Availability
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Document type(s)
Meeting Documentation/Conference Reports,
Keywords
Doc. 11352, Women's rights; Women; Control and regulation of prostitution, Protection, Punishable forms of prostitution, Prostitution; Sex work; Unionisation of sex workers; Clients, Abolitionism; New Abolitionism; Prohibitionism; Regulationism,
Summary
Forced prostitution and trafficking in human beings should be unreservedly condemned as modern-day slavery and one of the most serious violations of human rights in Europe today. These crimes must be resolutely combated, and its victims protected, ideally on the basis of the Council of Europe Convention on Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. Child prostitution needs to be combated as energetically, if not more, than other forms of forced prostitution. A zero-tolerance approach based on prevention, protection of victims, and prosecution of clients should be adopted. Regarding voluntary prostitution, defined as prostitution exercised by persons over the age of 18 having chosen prostitution as a means to make a living of their own accord, the approaches adopted in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe vary widely. Historically, three different approaches can be defined, prohibitionist, regulationist and abolitionist. Sweden has recently invented a new approach, which is generally defined as neo-abolitionist. Council of Europe member states should formulate an explicit policy on voluntary adult prostitution. They must avoid double standards and policies which force prostitutes underground or into the arms of pimps, which only make prostitutes more vulnerable – instead they should seek to empower them. In particular, member states should refrain from criminalising and penalising prostitutes. They should develop programmes to assist prostitutes to leave the profession should they wish to do so, and address personal vulnerabilities of prostitutes. Underlying structural problems also need to be addressed, to prevent people being “forced” into prostitution by circumstances.
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