European Parliament: decriminalize prostitution, hold clients and pimps accountable

The European Parliament approved the proposal of deputies to criminalize the purchase of sexual services. The European Commission is called upon to develop a common EU approach to the problem of prostitution.

At the plenary session in Strasbourg, 234 deputies voted in favor, 175 voted against, and 122 abstained. Thus, the proposal was approved to decriminalize those who sell their bodies, but to prosecute those who buy them and pimps. The vote was preceded by a report by Socialist MP Maria Neuhl “Regulating prostitution in the EU”, quotes euronews:

“Prostitution is not labor activity, not sex work. Prostitution is a form of violence against women. We must reduce demand, which means making it clear that it is impossible to buy a woman’s body. For everything that is prohibited, you need to be fined the first time, and put in prison the second time.”

The proposal’s authors say it will help tackle the cross-border consequences of prostitution, including sex trafficking. Former sex workers, Spaniard Amelia Tiganus and German Marie Marklinger, told what changes they expect from the new legislation:

“What is at stake is the dignity of Europe itself, which must follow the model of progress. The most important thing is to achieve equality, respect and good treatment of women and men. In fact, this is our desire. No woman wants to sell her body and her services to men just because “That she likes it. So we have to destroy the demand, help these women and decriminalize them. Because prostitution is illegal in Germany, the only ones who fear punishment from the state or fines are women.”

However, the European Coalition for Sex Workers Rights argues that the resolution does not solve the problem and prostitutes will simply go “underground”, subject to even greater violence, as the document “ignores the negative consequences of criminalizing the clientele of sex work.”

In addition, the representative of the Greens, MEP Terry Reintke, says that not all those who offer paid sex can be considered victims of violence:

“We want to take legislative measures such as revising the victims’ rights directive. This will better protect those affected by sexual exploitation without making generalizations that all forms of sex work constitute gender-based violence.”

The World Health Organization and major human rights organizations – Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – also oppose the criminalization of the purchase of sexual services. Last month, the European Court of Human Rights agreed to hear a case brought by sex workers challenging a French law passed in 2016 against their clients.

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