Prostitution ban?

I am dumbfounded. Paid sex is outdated, says the CDA. The party thinks it should be banned.

My head got an error for a moment. I really thought we were done with this discussion. That paid sex is very much of our time. It is becoming more and more normal. Because it is getting better organized.

The CDA and the CU have been arguing for the so-called Swedish model for years, based on the idea that criminalization would combat exploitation and human trafficking.

Nicole Filarski has completed a minor in international law, human rights and international social work at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden. She told us the following about this model:

“Sweden has partly made prostitution illegal with the main idea that women can leave prostitution more easily. In addition, Sweden indicates that prostitution creates inequality between men and women. It is also mainly related to problems that can arise from prostitution. Often times. sex workers did not report assault or rape because no case was made of it anyway, based on the idea of ”professional risk”. Because the client is now punishable and the sex worker is not, they hope that such violent cases will be reported more often. However, what looks great on paper does not mean that it is executed so beautifully in practice. In Stockholm I was pointed to a prostitution street comparable to the Red Light District in Amsterdam. The work will go underground and therefore there is no control at all and/or it simply moves to other countries. After all, it makes little sense for the sex worker to rent a window if the customer is punishable when visiting the sex worker. In any case, it has never been shown anywhere that sex workers stop their work due to all kinds of rules and laws. They simply look for other solutions. “

Crime often only revolves around a few things: Money and power. These two things are often also closely linked. I am convinced that as soon as you criminalize something, you drive up prices and strengthen the illegal circuit instead of closing it. This also applies to sex work.

Sex work is not always all about violence, exploitation and human trafficking. The proposition that paid sex is by definition involuntary sex, because the sex worker in question would not have chosen the client for sex if he had not paid, can also be viewed from several angles. How many people do you know who will still go to work tomorrow if their boss decides not to pay anymore? If human trafficking takes place in a mushroom farm, this crime is tackled. There will be no ban on the cultivation of mushrooms

Work is work, and provided sex work is a free choice, there are large numbers of sex workers who take great pleasure in doing this. If you are not familiar with this side of society, or if you may not find sex such a pleasant or normal activity anyway, or if it is strange that someone can do it with a stranger … then this is hard to imagine. However, every person has their own beliefs and perspectives.

Some people find it very horny and exciting to have sex with a stranger. Other sex workers make the conscious choice, instead of taking 2 low-paying jobs, 1 well-paying job, so that there is more time to invest in their family, for example. There are a lot of really nice reasons to do sex work. The excitement of not knowing how your day will go. What kind of people you will meet and their preferences or reasons for visiting you are reasons for many sex workers to keep doing their job. Make yourself beautiful and dress like the kinkiest or sexiest version or fantasy of yourself. The role played by a sex worker certainly does not have to be experienced as negative. Just as well positive. Moreover, the choice to do the work is free and up to them.

Visiting sex workers often also has many different reasons. One person finds it arousing and exciting, the other is extremely shy and just wants to gain some experience. Some people just don’t have a (physical) relationship. Due to a disability, for example, but the list is endless.

The idea that sex work facilitates cheating or is merely exploitative and involuntary is really outdated. “Prostitution by definition means inequality,” said CDA MP Anne Kuik. The discussion about whether paid sex is good or bad has a lot to do with your personal beliefs, perspectives, or experiences. It is understandable that everyone views this differently. However, restricting this freedom of opinion or experience by laws does not seem to me personally the intention.

Even without sex work, people would cheat. Whether and why that is a problem is a question that mainly depends on your beliefs. The psychological causes that can lie under infidelity and cheating are also more complicated than solving it by banning sex work.

At the Sexpower foundation >, we think there are more solutions to offer erotic entrepreneurs, our sexual care providers, safety. You cannot label people as criminal in one fell swoop because they have different standards and values than you.

Take the money out. Make it possible for sex workers to hire safely and cheaply without getting into trouble. A non-profit operator aims to provide fair and balanced remuneration with facilities that protect and support the sex worker. An “intermediary” is then no longer necessary.

In addition, it is important that attitudes change in society and politics. It takes real understanding and an honest and open minded (self) inquiry to understand why a sex worker chooses to enter this profession and what the clients need to use these services. If sex workers and their clients do not necessarily have to be ashamed and hide themselves, their actions can also be openly monitored for abuses. Then there is little left for the human trafficker to do.

The Sexpower foundation > focuses on these solutions. On the one hand by creating non-profit brothels and on the other by providing education and information.