In a Q&A session in the parliament, the German Chancellor stressed that “it is unacceptable when men buy women. That has always outraged me morally”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. / [link] Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung [/link], Wikimedia commons.
In the last decades, Europe has become the centre of prostitution, an so-called sex industry that moves millions of Euros.
Legislation on prostitution varies significantly among European countries, from the active fight against it in Sweden and France, which criminalise paid sex, to the permissiveness of Germany and Belgium, or the legalisation in the Netherlands.
In Germany, a country where consumption of prostitution has been tolerated widely for many years, its Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, recently surprised with his clear position. Asked during a question and answer session in the Bundestag (the federal parliament), Scholz said the situation of prostitution in the country was “bad”.
“Prostitution is often associated with abuse, violence and criminal structures. That's why we have to do everything we can to curb it”, said Scholz.
The Chancellor also stressed that “prostitution should not be accepted as something normal. It is unacceptable when men buy women. That has always outraged me morally”.
In Europe, the legislative differences between countries “hurt victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation” and give a “fertile operating ground for organised crime”, has said the Committee for Women’s Rights & Gender Equality of the European Parliament.
This committe of the EU chamber denounced this in a motion passed by the European Parliament on 14 September, which pointed to the need of “reducing demand”, which is “key to prevent and reduce human trafficking and must be done in a way that does not harm those in prostitution”.
“Prostitution is not a type of work or sex work. Prostitution is a type of violence against women... We have to make it clear that it is not allowed to buy the body of a woman”, said the German Europarliamentarian Maria Noichl.
Although this recent EU resolution is not binding, it does require the European executive (the European Commission) to decide whether it will legislate on prostitution for the 27 countries.
[analysis]
[title]From the ‘Nordic Model’ to legalisation [/title]
[text]Sweden was the first European country to introduce the so called ‘Nordic Model’ in 1999, a law that punishes the buyer of sex, and offers prostituted women financial help, education and psychological support when needed.
Other countries such as Norway in 2008, Iceland (2009), Northern Ireland (2015) and France (2016) have also adopted it. Spain recently proposed changes in the Penal Code to criminalise sex clients.
On the other side, countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are known for their open legislation about prostitution, despite the opposition of civil and religious organisations, and statistics that show a dark reality in which many are victims of human trafficking.[/text]
[/analysis]
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