Sex Slavery in our Time

Marianne Eriksson, Eva-Britt Svensson
Sex Slavery
in our Time
About an industry that wants
to be clean
Focus on the buyer
“It is time to spotlight the role of the buyer as a primary actor in
the global sexual exploitation of women whose demand for the
sex of prostitution generates and helps sustain the modern expansion of the sex industry. The buyer of ‘sexual services' should no
longer remain invisible. The new UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and
Children, does recognize the ‘demand’ that encourages all forms
of exploitation of women and children.
The 1949 Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others constitutes a decisive step in the struggle for women’s human rights. It
could be strengthened further by a monitoring mechanism that
recognizes the role of the buyer in creating the demand for prostitution that, in turn, generates global sex trafficking.”
Malka Marcovich, Guide to the UN Convention of
Dec 1949 for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of
Others.
Röda EU-tema (the Red EU special features series) nr ,
English edition, published by the Swedish delegation of GUE/NGL
ASP F , European Parliament, Rue Wiertz,  Brussels, Belgium
www.vguengl.org
www.guengl.org
Production: Amledo&Co. www.amledo.com
Graphic design: Mats Einarsson
Illustrations: Åsa Cigel
Printed: Centraltryckeriet, Linköping, Sweden 
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Contents
Focus on the customer ......................................................................... 
Foreword ............................................................................................ 
Introduction ........................................................................................ 
Sex is not a job like any other............................................................... 
The slave trade of our time .................................................................. 
Prostitution and trafficking .................................................................. 
The great crusade ................................................................................ 
 years of struggle are not in vain ....................................................... 
The triumph of the new women’s movement ...................................... 
The expansion of the sex industry ....................................................... 
Prostitution is violence against women ................................................ 
Legislation on prostitution in EU member states .................................. 
Swedish legislation .............................................................................. 
Important dates in the struggle
against sexual exploitation and prostitution .......................................... 
3
Foreword
In July , I was replacing Marianne Eriksson as a member of the European Parliament, representing the Swedish Left Party.
I´m happy to say that I had the possibility to work as the nd chair in the
committee for women..... the so called FEMM-committee.
One of the most important issues in the FEMM-committee is to continue the work Marianne Eriksson started and pushed/inspired the debate
concerning trafficking and prostitution.
Since  the EU has been discussing trade of human beings/trafficking
Although a big majority of the trade of human beings is the trade of
women and children for sexual exploration, it is quite recently the debate
has been more focused on sex industry and its impact on this disgusting
trade.
Marianne Erikssons contributions in this work against trafficking and
prostitution and by showing how the sexindustry works has ”bidragit ”to
the attention and awareness and debate about how prostitution and pornographi increase the number of trafficking victims among women and
children.
During the spring of , the parliament adopted one resolution about
strategies how to fight the trade on women and children who are in the
risk zone for sexual exploration (/(INI)). The parliament also
adopted an other resolution about ”forced” prostitution and international
sports events. (PS-TA())
Connected to the debate about this resolution I did argue for deleting
the word ”forced” and just use the word prostitution. By using ”forced”
you also agree in that some prostitution is ”frivillig”. I don´t agree! All
prostitution is forced. Women doesn´t choose to work as prostitutes- they
are forced! They are victims of organized crime, but alsopoverty,
unemployment and ”utslagning” causes prostitution. Unfortunately a big
majority, both in the FEMM-committee and in the parliament, do make
4
this distinction between ”forced” and ”frivillig”. There are, according to
research, correlations between prostitution and women who has been abused, both physichal, psykological and sexual.
The correlation between a legalized prostitution and the increasing sextrade must be shown. Legislation who admits prostitution has to be evaluated and compared with the Swedish legislation which criminalizes the
buyers/costumers. Within the Swedish
prostitution legislation the responsibility for sex trade is focused in a
right way, the buyers/costumers is visiable. It is the buyers/costumers of
sex services who must be responsible for their own sexuality without buying women and their bodies
To ban sexual exploration and prostitution doesn´t mean that I
”moraliserar”or put blame/guilt on the women in the prostitution buisiness. No, it is the other way around. We want to give all women the
possibility to their own sexuality without abuse and oppression and sexuality on equal basis. Women are not buyable – Women are not for sale
Brussels  maj 
Eva-Britt Svensson
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Introduction
The following text has been written with the intention of presenting the
reader with some major issues pertaining to prostitution and trafficking,
reviewing them both in the long and the short term, in a historical perspective and a perspective for the future. It is the result of my collaboration
with Malka Marcovich, historian, feminist and activist. She lives in Paris
and is the Chair of MAPP, Movement for the Abolition of Prostitution
and Pornography and All Forms of Sexual Violence and Sexist Discrimination. Malka is involved in the struggle for human rights and has written
widely about prostitution and trafficking, anti-semitism and ‘the final solution’. She is also the author of “Guide to the UN Convention of  for
the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the
Prostitution of Others”, which has been an important source of knowledge
and inspiration in the writing of this text. The Convention of  proved
to be of great significance in the wording of Article  on trafficking in
women and women’s prostitution in the UN Convention of . (Kommentar: Kunde det vara bra att här infoga följande brasklapp: ”I have quoted extensively from The Guide”??)
As for myself, I was elected in the autumn of  to the European
Parliament as a member for the Left Party in Sweden which belongs to the
GUE/NGL group, the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. I have
also since then served on the Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities
Committee. During the period of office from June  till June  I
was its Vice-Chair.
I met Malka Marcovich at a conference on prostitution in London in
the winter of , and we found then that we held similar views. We have
since seen each other in connection with various activities around Europe
where we hitherto have defended a minority point of view.
Marianne Eriksson
6
Sex is not a job like any other
When Germany legalised brothels in , a good deal was
written in the media about the heated dispute prevalent in
Europe at the time as to how the hundreds of thousand
women who sell their bodies should be viewed.
Indeed, we may ask – how are these women, in actual
fact, looked upon?
At the time we were shown pictures such as that of a
middleaged, smiling woman in front of a computer keyboard doing her accounts, looking rather like a demure
secretary to some managing director. Other pictures featured practically naked women warming themselves in front
of open fires or sitting poised on steel tube bar stools, half
hidden under a tumble of hair. In their country buying sex
is banned, or at least not ‘socially condoned’. The question
is – should we perceive them as individuals, as women with
their own life stories, or as something all together different?
The controversial and much debated law on prohibition
against the purchase of sexual services in Sweden is still
unique. This is so chiefly because it is the only legislation in
the world until now that focuses on the fact that a customer is involved in
this market – the man who buys sex. We ask ourselves, when will the
spotlight be trained on him?
The same year, a number of my colleagues and I took the initiative of
organising a conference on prostitution in the EU Parliament in Brussels.
Not even then did the press manage to convey the phenomenon otherwise
than in the shape of a female body without a head, wearing a mini skirt and
excessively high heeled shoes. I suggested as an alternative a male body
without a head with his penis in one hand and a couple of euro notes in the
other. For some reason no one jumped at the idea!
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How should we interpret this ongoing political struggle that we are
engaged in at the present time, not only in Europe, but all round the
world? I often maintain that what we are faced with is an industry that
wants to be seen as clean and above reproach. Globally it has a turnover
exceeding that of the drug trade, and ingenuous politicians see in this industry new sources of income in terms of tax revenue. It is an industry that
exploits particularly women and girls just as ruthlessly as some manufacturing industries the world over draw on child labour, or establish free zones
where women work for a mere pittance.
Can sex be considered a job like any other? The answer is no, definitely
not. I have heard the argument in favour of viewing prostitution in this
light for some years now, usually put forward by men. I have wondered
many a time how labour market legislation could be imposed in this area.
How would it work with regard to sexual harassment, access to training
and further education, career prospects, retirement age?
During the Social Forum in Porto Alegre I had the opportunity of talking to an Argentinian woman who was trying to organise a union for
prostitutes. – “To begin with it was not all that
easy to reach any kind of consensus”, she told me
and went on: – “It isn’t actually a job we really
want.” And that is probably the way it is. No one
wants to perceive themselves as prostitutes from
the cradle to the grave. No one wants to see relatives of their own in ‘the profession’.
Yet the battle never ceases. Since  I have
not seen a single EU document related to this issue
that does not distinguish between ‘voluntary’ and
‘enforced’ prostitution. The word ‘sex worker’
occurs more frequently than ever in international
documents. Money is invested in campaign material to warn young girls the world over of the risk
of finding themselves ensnared in the sex industry,
whilst one international conference after the other
is organised. Yet very little money and planning
are devoted to investigating the people behind the
demand for prostitution – the customers, the men.
Comparatively modest sums are devoted to the
8
support of women who make an attempt to break away from prostitution.
Even less money is spent this way in countries that accept the legalisation of
brothels and consider women in prostitution as ‘self-employed’.
Once during a debate at home in Sweden a lady looked at me sceptically, then burst out: “This law criminalising the buyer is of no help at all to
the women!” She was perfectly right. The law focuses on the buyer. At
best it prevents the recruitment of new customers and is thus a good method for preventing the recruitment of new sellers of sex. In order to help
women already in prostitution further measures are necessary, a fact that
will hopefully be better reflected in future budgets at local and government
level than is the case today.
Prostitution should not be challenged for moral reasons, but rather because sexuality is not for sale and is not to be exploited at the expense of the
individual. It is to be enjoyed as a source of pleasure, exercised with imagination and offered completely free of charge.
9
The slave trade of our time
At a conference in Vienna in  the issue of trafficking was included for
the first time on the EU agenda. By means of consultations with NGOs,
customs and police authorities etc, it had been estimated that around
, people, primarily women and children, were annually trafficked
into the then  member states to be exploited in various ways. Today, in
the year , the figure is ,.
It was soon evident that about % of the persons ‘traded’, were intended for the sex market, above all in pornography and prostitution. Primarily women were concerned, but also children and young men were involved. Unfortunately most politicians and organisations in the EU have continued to talk about trafficking in human beings in
general terms, without linking this to the chief objective of the trade, sexual exploitation.
Two framework directives concerned with these
issues have seen the light of
day in the European Union. In the first of the two,
what is termed ‘all links in
the chain’ is criminalised,
with the exception of the
customer. That is to say, it
is a criminal offence to recruit, to transport and to
sub-let premises to house
and to put victims of trafficking up for sale, yet it is
10
permitted to buy sex from them. In the second directive addresses the issue
of how to take care of the victims. The answer has been to provide them
with temporary residence permits, on the understanding, however, that
they cooperate with the authorities and are prepared to give evidence
against the people responsible for their plight – the traffickers, the permit
being valid only for the period of time required for the judicial process.
The European Union has also adopted a number of programmes of cooperation through which various NGOs and/or public authorities can apply for funding intended for efforts to prevent trafficking or for the distribution of information, at best, designed to support the women attempting to
leave prostitution.
One of the great challenges facing the struggle against trafficking, regardless of the purposes for which the trafficking is intended, is to combat
poverty, internationally as well as nationally, inside the countries concerned. Another great challenge is to curb demand. As far as the middlemen
are concerned, demand is all about profit, turn-over – money.
Since a majority of all the victims of trafficking are intended for sexual
exploitation, I have come to devote much of my time in recent years as a
member of the European Parliament, to the last link in the chain, rarely
touched upon, strangely enough, namely the issue of demand; and this has
many dimensions.
11
Prostitution and trafficking
During the s a campaign was launched for the protection of children
by means of an international convention. This resulted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (). At the same time, the
world witnessed new geo-political upheavals that changed the balance of
power between states, giving rise to new economic and political movements. The AIDS epidemic brought old hygienist pretexts with roots in the
th century to the fore, leading some governments and NGOs to call for
the legalisation of the sex industry.
In the plan of action adopted by the UN World Conference on Women
in Beijing , explicit directives for action were introduced for the first
time in an international text. By defining ‘forced prostitution’ as violence
done against women, the opposite was created, so called voluntary, self
chosen prostitution. Thus the burden of proof was transferred from the
exploiters of women in prostitution to the victims themselves, who had to
prove that they had been ‘subjected to force’. Since then, instead of the
standard ‘exploitation through prostitution’, the concept of ‘induced prostitution’ has become increasingly common in certain regional and international texts, for instance in reports
submitted to CEDAW (Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women), the UN special supervisory committee on the discrimination against women, and in reports
written by the UN special rapporteur
on issues relating to violence against
women.
In addition, the prostitution lobby
launched a campaign to separate trafficking issues from prostitution. In 
the Netherlands, the member state
12
chairing the EU at the time, issued invitations to a conference with the
object of adopting European guidelines for combating the trafficking of
women. Anti-prostitution- and feminist organisations that were not prepared to restrict their interventions to issues related to trafficking without its
links to prostitution, were refused entrance to the NGO forum.
This principle of censoring all debate on prostitution from conferences
and seminars on trafficking has since been consistently observed. The chief
argument has been that since prostitution is a controversial issue and
countries have different legal systems, it has been impossible to agree on
the illegality of prostitution, whereas everyone has been able to agree on
trafficking.
Shamefully enough, many governments and NGOs accepted this argument without question or debate. This separation of trafficking from prostitution turns up, for instance, in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of
the European Union, which constitutes the preamble to a political declaration appended to the Treaty of Nice (Dec ). In this Charter prostitution is not mentioned at all. All that is there is a statement to the effect that
trafficking in human beings is prohibited (Article ).
In  Anti-Slavery International published a report that advocated a
redefinition of prostitution as ‘sex work’ on the international agenda. This
report states, quite erroneously, that the  UN Convention penalised
women in prostitution. Later other organisations such as the legislative
group of the International Committee for Human Rights advised that
women had a legal right to prostitute themselves and to sign contracts with
a third party, that is to say with procurers and pimps, “in order to promote
a career in prostitution”.
In  the International Labour Organisation (ILO) published a report
on the ‘sex sector in South-East Asia’ in which it recommended a pragmatic approach to prostitution, stating that it was advisable to acknowledge,
13
to regulate and to impose taxes on it in order to ‘cover many of the lucrative activities connected with it’. Three years later, in , The World
Health Organisation, (WHO), called for the legalisation of the sex industry
through its South-East Asia Bureau, arguing that this would assist in containing the AIDS epidemic. It is worth noting that about % of the GNP
of Thailand comes from the sex industry, a tourist attraction in South East
Asia popular with north Europeans.
Similar phenomena can be observed within the European Union. Several organisations have been formed during the latter half of the s at the
so called European level for the purpose of combating HIV/AIDS. They
receive fairly large sums from EU programmes, financed from taxes, which
are used to organise large seminars inside and outside of the EU, where the
legalisation and regulation of prostitution is advocated as a means of preventing the further spreading of the disease.
14
The great crusade
Let us return to the UN Convention of . What were its origins, and
what circumstances led to its inception? *The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution
of Others was adopted by the UN on Dec nd , one year after the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in a climate of optimistic hope
following the Second World War. The Convention of  was the result
of an abolitionist and feminist struggle in England, begun and led by Josephine Butler in . Whereas slavery had just been abolished in most of the
European countries, Josephine Butler considered the system of prostitution
to be a contemporary form of slavery that oppressed women and was injurious to humanity in general.
The system of the regulation of prostitution, set up under Napoleon II,
and soon called “the French system”, was established in most European
countries in the name of public health and under the pretext of combating
venereal diseases in the name of hygiene.
In reality, however, the regulationist system was based on a vision of
society and human sexuality in which women were reduced to instruments of male pleasure. A vice squad was created to oversee the smooth
working of the system. Not only could procurers and traffickers develop
their operations with impunity, but the authorities could also make money
by levying taxes on the brothels. Women in prostitution were liable to
violence, constraints and health controls that have been described as sexual
tortures. Decrees against venereal diseases, particularly in England, permitted
certain authorities to force women who were simply suspected of being
prostitutes to undergo medical examinations, or even to be imprisoned.
Revolted by this situation of deep social injustice that increased the victimisation of women in prostitution and which she considered an extreme
form of sexual discrimination, Josephine Butler started what she called the
“big crusade” to end the regulationist system of prostitution. In  she
15
wrote a manifesto supported by  signatures after which a group of doctors
asked her to launch a campaign against the regulation of prostitution. This
movement soon spread to the rest of Europe, the United States and the
colonies. It attracted both those who were religious and secular. Many
intellectuals who defended the principles of secular humanism joined the
movement, in particular Jean Jaurès and Victor Hugo. Women active in
the campaign for female emancipation also joined the struggle to abolish
prostitution.
Josephine Butler’s writings particularly emphasised the responsibility of
men and men’s role in both purchasing and procuring women. She assailed
legislators and their double standards of morality – one for men and one for
women- on which the regulation of women was based. The issue of men’s
responsibility for promoting prostitution, and the critique of what Butler
called ‘irrepressible’ male sexuality that was used to rationalise the necessity
for prostitution, would again be tackled by feminists during the first half of
the th century.
In France, Madame Avril de Sainte Croix was a leading voice who carried
the abolitionist arguments to the League of Nations in . Marcelle Legrand Falco, founder of the French branch of the abolitionist movement in
, launched a campaign in France for abolition of prostitution, for the
civic rights of women and women’s economic equality. At that time, major
human rights associations, such as the League of Human Rights, also sided
with the abolitionists. From its beginnings, the abolitionist movement lobbied governments to end the system of regulation. Early on, it was clear
that regulating prostitution encouraged trafficking in women.
After the First World War, the League of Nations in  created a
monitoring committee to investigate women’s rights and sex trafficking.
Governments and non-governmental associations submitted reports that
simultaneously addressed women’s wages, their economic situation and
the situation of prostitution in various countries. Links were also established between prostitution, trafficking and pornography. At this point, it
was clear from the reports of the committee and the resolutions of the
Council and Assembly of the League of Nations, that countries that had
abolished the system of regulation witnessed a decrease in the trafficking of
women and a decline in venereal diseases. In France, it is significant that
women’s right to vote coincided with the closure of the brothels after the
Second World War.
16
80 years of struggle not in vain
In  and  the League of Nations set up two major enquiries establishing that the existence of brothels and the regulation of prostitution
increased both national and international trafficking. From these enquiries
emerged the idea of a new international convention for the suppression of
trafficking and prostitution. The drafting of the Convention began in 
but was suspended during the Second World War. Ultimately, the Convention was finished on December , , under the new United Nation’s
sponsorship.
The Convention takes the burden
of proof off the victim and puts it on
the perpetrators of the exploitation of
prostitution and trafficking for prostitution. This is a crucial point because
in many cases, procurers, recruiters
and traffickers use a consent defence
to argue that they should not be prosecuted.
The Convention also states that
victims of prostitution may be parties
to any legal proceedings against perpetrators. This provision is also valid
for foreign women in situations of
prostitution. Countries cannot regulate prostitution or subject women in prostitution to registration or other
administrative controls. Countries cannot therefore make prostitution legal, or regulate it in any way. This provision protects women because it
does not consider them as delinquent persons who should be monitored
administratively, including for health reasons. This would also prohibit states from recognising prostitution as a labour and economic sector, or as
17
legally regulated work, since labour laws entail administrative recognition,
control and regulation of prostitution.
The Convention encourages states to centralise information and investigations re trafficking and prostitution. It affirms that protection of victims
of trafficking is a key provision. Measures must be taken to prevent trafficking and prostitution and to rehabilitate the victims.
The signatories to the Convention are required to communicate to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations those laws and regulations relating
to the Convention that are already in place in their respective states, as well
as all measures taken by them concerning the application of the Convention.
The Secretary General in turn undertakes to publish periodically such information received. However, many states that have signed the  Convention have not adhered to its provisions and some have even changed
their laws in opposition to its principles.
(Kommentar: ”De har också generalsekreterarens uppdrag att med jämna mellanrum publicera denna information”. Inte riktigt rätt i den svenska
versionen. Se artikel  i Konventionen.)
In his  report on the Trafficking in Women and Girls, the UN
Secretary-General noted the absence of a monitoring body and his concern
that lack of any enforcement mechanism would weaken the implementation and effectiveness of the Convention of .
In the European Union, in connection with the Vienna Conference the
same year, the importance was stressed of having national rapporteurs to
cover the issues involved, but so far only Sweden and the Netherlands
among member states have appointed such persons. France, a country that
ratified the  Convention in , is the only state to have set up a
central office for information and investigation concerning trafficking and
prostitution.
The  Convention was taken as a normative reference for article  of
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) in  and for the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in .
In  an Ad Hoc Committee was created for the elaboration of a
convention against trans-national organised crime, and to propose further
measures to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in human beings, especially women and children. The work of this committee was completed
in Palermo in December . The protocol on Trafficking in Persons
18
makes trafficking for prostitution, not simply for ‘induced’ prostitution, a
primary form of sexual exploitation. It also recognises that trafficking can
take place for other forms of exploitation, such as forced labour or services,
slavery, or customs and practices equivalent to slavery, servitude and the
removal of organs.
Article  of CEDAW stipulates that Convention states “shall take all
appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic
in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.” It is important to
note that CEDAW goes beyond the  Convention by introducing “all
forms” of trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution of women,
thereby acknowledging the existence of new forms of trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The Convention of  was the result of  years of feminist and humanist struggle to abolish prostitution. Abolitionists of this era thought this
Convention constituted the beginning of a new attitude towards prostitution, and they believed there would not be any risk of regression. Feminists
went on to claim women’s rights in the personal, political and economic
spheres, asserting self-determination for women, an autonomous sexuality,
a refusal to be locked into marriage and access to contraception and abortion.
19
The triumph of the new women’s movement
The romantic idea of the prostitute, earlier described by certain authors of
the th century and recurring in films of the th century, reappeared.
The woman in prostitution became the symbol of the rebellious woman,
the outlaw, she who controlled her sexuality and who was opposed to the
moralistic and reactionary order. The structure of prostitution disappeared
from critical view, and the role of the sex industry with its procurers, buyers and brothels all but vanished. Attention was focused on this fantasy of
the prostitute as a ‘free woman’, having power over men because she could
command payment for access to her body,( in contrast to the married woman
who was regarded as a “slave” to men and whose body, it was argued, was
not her own.) In the name of sexual freedom, the ‘right to prostitute’ took
the place of the ‘right to be free of sexual exploitation’ and the ‘right to be
free from prostitution.’ These are the beginnings of the sex industry and
certain countries such as the Netherlands, began using feminist arguments
of ‘self determination’ to legitimate women’s exploitation in the sex sector.
The  Convention on discrimination against women constituted an
essential step in the recognition of women’s right to be free from sexual
exploitation. That same year, Kathleen Barry gave new strength to the
abolitionist and feminist fight by publishing Female Sexual Slavery, and in
, she and Dorchen Leidholdt co-founded the Coalition against Trafficking in Women.
During the s and the s, survivors of prostitution began to speak
out and denounce the system of prostitution. All these efforts made visible
not just the harm of prostitution to women but the role of the ‘buyer’ in
creating the demand for prostitution and in forming an integral part of the
prostitution system. The new feminist abolitionist campaign addressed newer forms of sexual exploitation, including sex tourism and mail-order
bride industries, as well as the different manifestations that prostitution takes in different parts of the world.
20
Influenced by the efforts of Swedish feminists and their campaign
against violence against women begun in the s, Sweden passed new
law criminalising the purchase of ‘sexual services’. Coming into force in
January  as part of Sweden’s new Violence against Women Act, this is
the first time in history that a country has recognised the purchasing of sex
as a crime. The customer, usually a man, was high-lighted and criminalised. The issue of demand was seriously addressed. In an international perspective, the law came into existence at the right time. Until that time, the
sex industry had stood to gain from the process of change, at least in Europe.
As newly elected member of the European Parliament I had the opportunity in  of writing a report on behalf of the Women’s Committee,
the end result of which was the “Zero tolerance of violence against women” campaign. It took several committee meetings just to win acceptance for the inclusion in the report of the fact that generally speaking it is men
who exercise violence
against women, the fact
of sex-related violence.
Many of the women on
the Committee would at
first not accept the
mention of rape, pornography and prostitution.
They preferred handbag
grabbing and violence at
discotheques. I met tough
opposition. I was even
laughed at outright in the
plenary session when I
sought their support for
urging the governments
of member states to
penalise the buyers of
prostitutes, and, as expected, a majority voted to
include the distinction
between ‘voluntary’ and
‘forced’ prostitution.
21
My experience was that the members from the Netherlands were those
who most insistently made the most peculiar proposals. I learnt during the
debate that in the Dutch prison system it was still arranged for long-term
prisoners about to be set free to have intercourse with so-called ‘amazons’
in order to train them to mix naturally again with women before their exit
into society. Since then I have seen many a glossy program on TV in my
Stockholm home about the so called Red Light district in Amsterdam.
Discovery Channel has had guided tours for visitors interested in Dutch
brothels, and the “Brothel King’s girls” from Denmark had a very long
run.
The Netherlands are averse to street prostitution, but other forms of
prostitution have been legalised, regulated and taxed. This has allegedly
been done to avoid stigmatising women in prostitution. Illegal as well as
legal prostitution has, nevertheless, steadily increased. On the one hand
prostitution becomes a normal ingredient in every day life – what neighbour, or police constable for that matter, is going to check whether the
brothel in the house next door is registered or not? On the other hand it is
less lucrative to engage in prostitution activities in a legal fashion. The rent
has to be paid, the doctor who needs be consulted twice a week knows
how to charge, insurance premiums are high in a ‘high risk profession’. As
often as not there is the necessity of paying an outside person for protection
against nasty customers.
In spite of all the talk of erasing the stigma, there are no voices heard
telling of careers in prostitution lined up for one’s own children or next of
kin. The only person I ever heard of in this context, during all these years
of debate, was a pimp whose advice, when asked what he would say to his
daughter should she join the profession, was simply not to stay in the business more than one year. If she stayed longer, she would be worn out,
expended.
22
The expansion of the sex industry
This is where trafficking comes in. The
customer wants new, fresh commodities,
and in this market the customer is always
right. Should he be uncertain as to what
exactly he wants, the pornographic industry will provide new visual kicks. The
production of pornography is today a multibillion industry that exists in a plethora of
shapes and forms all over the world. It is a
well known that this sector of the sex industry has been one of the most potent driving forces behind the development of the
Internet, commercial transactions through
the web satisfying the needs of the customer for discretion and security in
connection with payment for goods.  % of the  million pounds sterling that internet users in Europe spent on the internet in the year ,
was spent on different pornographic sites.
Pornography is often sexist, featuring strictly stereotyped views of the
sexes and a deeply conservative, not to say completely erroneous, view of
women and men’s sexuality. One often comes across contents that are
demeaning to certain ethnic groups and at times simply racist. To link
power and oppression with sexuality is an effective way of reminding us all
of who holds sway in society.
The porno-companies produce anything from ordinary films and magazines to DVD and CD-ROM where the individual can actively intervene to
influence what happens next. The Internet is an excellent vehicle for the
portrayal of phenomena that it is forbidden in most countries to distribute.
The access to ‘abnormal’ sex has increased dramatically, and according to
an investigation conducted by the Norwegian Police College in –,
23
there has been a significant increase in violence-related pornography showing
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
fist fucking
torture scenes combined with bondage
enacted rape
child pornography, i.e. sexual assaults against children
necrophilia and bestial acts performed on dead bodies in a sexual context
murder and the cutting up of dead bodies in a sexual context
war-related disasters (presented on sex sites)
animal pornography, sodomy or sexual acts between human beings
and animals
• depiction of excrements, faeces and urine, in a sexual context
• depiction of damaged and dead foetuses in a sexual context
Thus violence undergoes a process of normalisation that will have us accept
violence as a natural component of sex.
In order to mainstream pornography new sites are available where pornography is presented as something smart; good clean fun for well educated
and trend-sensitive men.
Private Media Group Inc (Swedish) and Beate Uhse AG (German) are
two large pornographic enterprises that have established themselves on the
Nasdaq and the Frankfurt stock market respectively. The first of the two is
owned by Bert Milton. The largest owner of the second enterprise is today
Consipio Holding, owned by Gerard Cok, according to Dutch media one
of the Netherlands’ wealthiest business men with a background in property.
Consipio Holding is also a substantial provider of loans to Private Media.
Another example of companies in the sex industry listed in the stock
market is The Daily Planet, a brothel situated in Melbourne, Australia. As
early as , this brothel was awarded the ‘Victoria Tourism Award’ by
the federal state government.
Companies operating in pornography production are now seeking to
gain market shares by selling their products via the mobile phone networks. G-technology makes it possible to send and to receive pictures via
mobiles, but for many mobile phone operators the G-networks and licenses
have become a costly affair. Hence a majority of operators in Europe are
seeking to finance their operations by offering pornographic material through
deals with porno-producers. One such example is British Vodafone, the
second largest mobile phone operator in the world, which introduced porno
24
towards the end of .Others are Hutchinson G- better known as ‘’Virgin and Telecom.
Among porno-producers there are Private Media Group, Playboy, Myfair, Escort, Men Only, Club International and Men’s World. The market
research company Visiongain calculates their turn-over at  billion US dollars
a year. Distributors of pornography reckon that mobility will increase impulse purchases.
Commercial TV companies exploit different national legal systems, playing one against the other. They produce and transmit programmes bordering on pornography, presenting a glossy image of prostitution. Sometimes
the programmes are produced directly by creators of pornography, thereby
naturally enhancing its legitimacy. Pornography becomes ‘entertainment’.
It is more often the rule than the exception that hotels in EU member
states offer pay-TV channels that include pornographic films. Pay-channels
targeting households operate on similar lines. It is possible to order ‘family
packages’ in which porno is included. In order to protect (so they say) the
children, there is usually the option to code the programmes offered, but
today it is impossible to protect anyone from the messages proliferated by
the sex industry. Pornography is designed to influence both young and old
to partake of the commodities on offer. It is becoming progressively more
evident that the media views the public as primarily sexual beings.
I have focused on this subject matter in my last initiative report as member
of the European Parliament, The Impact of the Sex Industry in the Union.
It took four years for the Women’s Committee to approve the compiling
such a report. Once it was completed, the date set for it to be formally
considered was repeatedly postponed, as the different parliamentary groups
could not agree whether to throw it straight into the dustbin or whether it
was in fact a useful report that addressed certain problems that could potentially be solved with political tools.
It is my conviction that all branches of the sex industry are exceedingly
harmful to women, children and men. We know that this industry creates
a constant demand for new- and predominantly young- bodies to be treated
with total disregard for the individual. We know that the industry itself
contributes towards the rise in demand, and along with it, trafficking in
human beings for sexual exploitation. As a fellow human being and as a
politician with special means at my disposal of putting forward proposals as
to how we can address these issues, I see it as my duty to do so.
25
The sex industry and its customers have been allowed too much space in
which to manoeuvre, in the general debate, but much more so in real life.
Like so many others, this industry also operates through pressure groups in
the EU context as well as in other national and global arenas.
Where we need to be observant in the near future, if we wish to see a
change in present trends, is the task of following closely the Green Papers
and Directives from the EU Commissioner responsible for the free movement
of services in the internal market. There is a substantial risk that services
that are legal in one country cannot be prohibited in other internal market
countries. Should dispute arise, the European Court has the final word.
There is a European Court decision from November  concerning
two women from Poland and the Czech Republic respectively. Their intention was to set up business as prostitutes in the Netherlands, but were
denied permission by the Dutch authorities. According to the European
Court, however, these authorities had no right to turn down their application,
since both countries had association agreements with the EU, and besides,
Dutch legislation regards legal prostitutes as entrepreneurs. To Swedish
ears this sounds absurd, but it is nevertheless what we can expect if we are
not on our guard. EU legislation has precedence over national legislation.
We also must call for full access to information and transparency in the
process of selecting members of expert groups of different kinds. A year
ago a group of  so called experts were appointed, their task being to
review the field of pornography, prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation. As their work has progressed, the first two subject areas, those of
pornography and prostitution, have disappeared from the agenda. Their
task has been narrowed down to the proposal of measures relating to the
phenomenon trafficking for sexual exploitation. The first report from the
group is scheduled for July , a time when there will be no functioning
Parliament in session(!). After considerable effort I managed to get hold of
the names of these experts. Six of them are officials appointed by their
respective governments. The others are from a wide range of NGOs. In
response to my enquiries as to the policies pursued by these organisations
and how they financed their activities, I was told that it was beyond the
capacity of the officials of the Commission to check this out. Purely hypothetically, it could be that practically the entire group of experts are proprostitution lobbyists. Purely hypothetically, they could be representing
organised crime.
26
Prostitution is violence against women
In the year  BC Solon introduced laws in Athens ‘for the protection of
the state and the family’. The free male citizen was guaranteed full sexual
freedom both before and after marriage, whereas strict virginity was expected of unmarried female citizens and absolute fidelity towards their husband in marriage. A special police was set up to control the observance of
the laws. Female slaves, prisoners of war or purchased women without
families, as well as aliens were used for prostitution. They were divided
into different categories, supervised by special overseers and their income
was taxed. Many of them saw prostitution as a profession. My own view is
that the oldest profession is that of midwife and that prostitution is to be
regarded as violence against women.
If we are to continue this ancient tradition of men assuming the right to
buy access to women’s bodies, well then we must also accept that four
million women and children, half of them children between the ages of
five and fifteen, are annually transported across borders for sexual exploitation. In that case we must also accept that our own daughters, sons and
others close of kin can turn out to be one or several of them. To condemn
prostitution and sexual exploitation does not mean condemning the women involved. The words ‘moral’ and ‘immoral’ suggest a reactionary and
repressive outlook. But is it reactionary and repressive to call for legal action against exploiters, procurers and all those who take advantage of the
prostitution of others? Double standards of morality encouraged by systems
of regulation and legalisation of the sex industry are the real morals of
today, disguised as freedom. Any parliament that passes laws of this nature
assigns to the state the role of procurer and hence, in addition, the role of
principal guardian of double standards of morality.
Let us finally ponder the following words of Josephine Butler in :
“Robbery and murder are evils that have always existed, but no society
ever thought of saying: Since we cannot eliminate robbery or murder, let
us agree to a way of living that will submit them to certain regulations and
monitoring so that, for example, the law will determine in what places, at
what times and under what conditions stealing and killing are permitted. “
Brussels April  
Marianne Eriksson
27
Legislation on prostitution
in EU member states 2003
Belgium
Procuring is prohibited. Since  it is permitted to let premises for prostitution activities, as long as the prostituted women do not make ‘abnormal profits’. Prostitution is permitted on condition that the public order is
not disturbed when sexual services are openly proffered. A number of proposals to change the current legislation have been put forward, several of
them similar to both the Swedish and the Dutch model.
Denmark
Neither purchasing nor selling sex is a punishable offence since July 
with the exception of children under the age of . Previously, prostitution
was permitted only as an additional income, but in  a law came into
effect permitting the total income to be derived from selling sex. Women
in prostitution can register as ‘free lance professionals’ and are then subject
to taxation. Procuring is prohibited. Sexual services are openly advertised.
Finland
Prostitution is not a punishable offence, but local authorities can ban street
prostitution in their regulations. Since  prostitution is banned from
public places. However, buying sex is permitted, provided that it is
purchased from a person at least  years of age. There is proposed legislation to help reduce trafficking, procuring and prostitution.
France
‘Active prostitution’ is a criminal offence. The law was tightened in ,
but it focuses exclusively on sellers. Prostitution is tolerated as long as it
does not disturb the public order and is therefore to be restricted to certain
neighbourhoods. A law in line with the Swedish model has been under
debate but has been dropped in view of public opinion. Buying sex from
persons under the age of  and those considered especially ‘vulnerable’ is
now, however, illegal.
Greece
Prostitution is legal and strictly regulated. Brothels can be run only by state
permission. A bill to facilitate their operation nearer public institutions
such as schools, churches and children’s day care centres was discussed in
28
connection with preparations for the Olympic Games in Athens in , but
the Greek government decided in December  not to follow through.
Today a distance of  metres from the institutions mentioned is required.
The Netherlands
In October  the ban on brothels that had existed since  was lifted.
In January  prostitution was equated with the exercising of any occupation. Women in prostitution have the right to hygienic working conditions, to separate resting space and to security arrangements. They need a
work permit and have to pay tax. The exploitation of women who are in
prostitution of their own free will is no longer a criminal offence. Only
‘forced’ prostitution and procuring is illegal. Following a case when an
employment agency offered a woman looking for work a job in prostitution, the Ministry for Social Affairs has announced that advertising jobs in
prostitution at employment centres is allowed, but its employees are not
permitted actively to offer such work.
Ireland
All links in the prostitution chain are illegal – procuring, brothels, the selling of sexual services, as is buying sex from minors.
Italy
According to the current law dating back to  brothel and procuring
are illegal, but prostitution is not. Prostitution is, nevertheless, considered
to be detrimental to the public order, and therefore a proposal has been put
forward to permit brothels but not street prostitution.
Luxemburg
Procuring is prohibited, as are brothels. It is illegal to buy sex from persons
under the age of , but prostitution as such is not a criminal offence.
Portugal
To prostitute oneself is not a punishable offence, only exploitation of others and efforts to facilitate prostitution. Although it is considered a crime
against propriety and morality, prostitution is tolerated. The law covers
only female prostitution. Male prostitution is not included and the exploitation of men is not a criminal offence.
29
Spain
Neither procuring nor prostitution is illegal, but it is against the law to
force anyone to work as a prostitute or to take advantage of a person’s
”vulnerable” situation to make him or her to work as a prostitute. In some
parts of Spain, such as the Basque region and Catalonia, brothels are banned.
Great Britain
Prostitution as such is not illegal if the woman in prostitution is acting
independently and without disturbing the public order. It is, however, a
crime to set a person up in prostitution, to advertise and to run a brothel.
Men who are repeatedly found in prostitution areas attempting to purchase
sex can be fined. Members of Parliament have proposed “tolerance zones”
in Scotland.
Germany
Prostitution is legal, but all the federal states, except Berlin, have certain
restricted areas where prostitution is banned, close to schools and day care
centres, for instance. The law that came into force in  gives a person
employed in a brothel, or who is self-employed, the right to join the social
security system and receive sickness and unemployment benefits as well as
a pension. Few, however, are self-employed and no one so far has become
employed.(September ). Earnings are not good enough for those who
wish to work according to the law. Foreign nationals are not covered by
legislation. There are instances of open advertising in employment agencies.
Austria
In Austria a reform from  allows all self-employed persons, including
women in prostitution, access to the social security system. In practice,
however, women in prostitution avoid registering with fiscal authorities.
Registration and medical examinations once a week are nevertheless mandated. Rules vary in the different federal states as to where and when prostitution and brothels are permitted. Procuring is prohibited.
30
Swedish legislation
Since January  it is prohibited to purchase, or attempt to purchase,
sexual services. Prostitution is recognised as being a component of male
violence against women (of sex-related violence) and an expression of the
unequal relationship between women and men. It is a crime against fundamental human rights. The Law Prohibiting the Purchase of Sexual Services
is part of a wider legislation the Government Act onViolence against Women
Law (1998:408) Prohibiting the Purchase of Sexual Services:
A person who obtains casual sexual relations in exchange for payment shall
be sentenced—unless the act is punishable under the Swedish Penal
Code—for purchase of sexual service to a fine or imprisonment for at most
six months. Attempt to purchase sexual service is punishable under Chapter  of the Swedish Penal Code.
Law (1998:393) prohibiting procuring
A person who promotes or improperly financially exploits a person’s engagement in casual sexual relations in return for payment shall be sentenced
for procuring to imprisonment for at most four years.
If a person, who, holding the right to the use of premises, has granted
the right to use them to another, subsequently learns that the premises are
wholly or to a substantial extent used for casual sexual relationships in return for payment and omits to do what can reasonably be requested to
terminate the granted rights, he or she shall, if the activity continues or is
resumed at the premises, be considered to have promoted the activity and
shall be held criminally responsible in accordance with the first paragraph.
If a crime provided for in the first or second paragraph is considered
gross, imprisonment for at least two and at most eight years shall be imposed for gross procuring.
31
Key dates in the recent history of resistance
against sexual exploitation and prostitution
1986
1988
1991
1992–2002
1998
1998
1999
1999
2000
2001
2002
2002
2003
2004
2005
2005
32
The Madrid Report: International Meeting of Experts on the Social and Cultural Causes of Prostitution and the Sexual Exploitation of Women, organised by UNESCO.
Creation of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW).
The Penn State Report: International Meeting of Experts on Sexual
Exploitation, Violence and Prostitution, organised by CATW and
UNESCO.
Leadership, activism and research by CATW in the campaign
against sexual exploitation globally. Establishment of Coalitions
are formed in most major world regions.
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL), composed of some 3 500
women’s organisations in the EU, adopts a motion against prostitution and trafficking.
Pro-prostitution groups fail to influence the Working Group on
Contemporary Forms of Slavery to promote prostitution as a
woman’s right.
Law prohibiting “the purchase of sexual services” enters into
force in Sweden.
Creation of the international Human Rights Network, composed
of 140 human rights organisations, advocate for a UN protocol
against trafficking that will protect all victims of trafficking, not
just those who can prove they have been forced.
The definition of trafficking in the new UN protocol on trafficking
includes the provisions of the 1949 Convention.
Madrid II, International Meeting of Experts on trafficking and
prostitution – “The War on Words” – organised by UNESCO
and the Movement for the Abolition of Prostitution and Pornography (MAPP).
Brussels declaration – EU/IOM conference on trafficking
Report by Marianne Eriksson on the sexindustry in Europe in WRC
UN secretary general-bulletin preventing sexual exploitation and
abuse perpetrated by UN personnel
NATO policy on zero-tolerance against trafficking
Report on sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers +
UN resolution 59/287 on strengthening investigations functions
in UN against among other things sexual abuse by UN personnel
Council of Europe Convention on combating trafficking (CATEH)