On 1 January 1999, Sweden became the first country in the world to introduce legislation criminalising the purchase, but not the sale, of sexual services. The penal provision – the prohibition of the purchase of sexual services – is currently found in Chapter 6, Section 11 of the Penal Code. The ban on the purchase of sexual services was introduced since it was deemed that fighting prostitution was of pressing social interest. Unlike previous measures and initiatives, criminalisation targeted the demand for sexual services, i.e. purchasers of sex and prospective purchasers of sex. The ban was intended to help fight prostitution and its harmful consequences in a more effective manner than was possible using the previous measures against prostitution. The legislative proposal stated that it is shameful and unacceptable that, in a gender equal society, men obtain casual sexual relations with women in return for payment and that Sweden, by introducing a ban on purchasing sexual services, also sent an important signal to other countries highlighting our outlook on purchasing sexual services and prostitution. It pointed out that prostitution entails serious harm to both individuals and to society. It was expected that criminalisation would have a deterrent effect on prospective purchasers of sex and serve to reduce the interest of various groups or individuals abroad in establishing more extensive organised prostitution activities in Sweden, which would have an inhibitory effect on the prevalence of prostitution here.