Two years ago, the headlines in Swedish newspapers were: France is copying the Swedish model! France gets Swedish six-pack! What everyone missed was that France had not adopted any'sex trade'at all, without an abolitionist model, and thus gone much further than us. The Swedish law is only a short paragraph stating that anyone who'acquires a temporary sexual relationship against compensation, is sentenced for the purchase of sexual service to a fine or prison for a maximum of one year'. The French model is quite different!
It aims to abolish prostitution as a system, not just to hit the buyers with fines. The French model from 2016 meant rewriting the entire nine chapters of the criminal code. It was preceded by 200th hearings in Parliament, which led to the conclusion that prostitution is a form of systematic violence and incompatible with the French Constitution.
An important part of the new model is to punish buyers, who have to pay 500 euros in fines and go to a school for sex buyers at their own expense. Anyone who buys six minors is sentenced to at least three years in prison. But this is not the only thing! Support for victims was also included in the law. Everyone who is subject to sex purchases is entitled to compensation, residence permits, housing and treatment. Victims also get their tax debts written off. Coupling is punishable by imprisonment for at least seven years and 150 000 euros in fines.
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The Education Act was also rewritten so that respect for the non-saleability of the human body is now part of sexual knowledge.
What we are talking about here is nothing less than a revolution aimed at abolishing prostitution as a system. That is also why it is called abolitionist, which is also the term used in Spain, England, the United States and Germany where it is now being discussed.
When I am out in the world lecturing, many people think that is what we have in Sweden, and are shocked to hear that all we have is one paragraph, and that we have never talked about abolitionism. I am ashamed to say that coupling is often punished by one or two years in prison, and that the most common punishment for sex buyers than two 500 kroner in fines, no price or anything.
Unfortunately, our poor law means that support for the vulnerable is entirely dependent on the goodwill of the municipalities. Quite rightly, the micro-reception can be slaughtered because the social services do not realise its importance, and a reorganisation of the police can make the prostitution group disappear. The victims of crime are not compensated either, but are left to their fate; moreover, specialised assistance exists only in three cities, and charities such as Talita have to move in with residents, a disgrace to a welfare state! And while the Rich meet beautiful site was punished for coupling in France and banned, even the drivers who drove the trucks with advertising were arrested, it may reign in Sweden with impunity. It i s even the case that in some municipalities prostitution is counted as an income, which means that vulnerable people do not receive social security benefits.
Our team was a model when it came. Its importance cannot be overestimated. But now it's time to step up. We need a comprehensive, abolitionist model of the French type. Support for the vulnerable must be incorporated into the law. The fact that the rule of law or not continues to be debated as if it were 1998 is embarrassing. It is time to look up and see what is happening internationally. We are no longer leading the fight against trafficking in human beings and prostitution.