Prostitution policy in Sweden

Targeting demand

This new law clearly changed people’s perceptions and shifted focus away from the person in prostitution and towards the buyer of sexual services; the person responsible for prostitution. The decision to address demand was based on a rising consensus with regards to gender equality and a human rights perspective.

Since Sweden introduced the Sex Purchase Act, several other countries have seen the positive effects of this law and have adopted similar legal frameworks, including neighbouring Norway and Iceland, as well as France, Ireland, Israel, Northern Ireland, and Canada.

The original idea with the introduction of the Sex Purchase Act in Sweden was to increase the agency of the seller, equalise the power balance, reduce the exploitation of individuals – mostly women – and reduce demand. The Swedish government rationalised that it is not reasonable to prosecute the party that in most cases is in the weaker position and is being exploited by others.

The law is also meant to encourage individuals who are involved to seek help in order to leave prostitution, as they can be safe in the knowledge that there will be no criminal consequences of having been involved in the industry. Ending men’s violence against women is a prioritised goal in Swedish gender-equality policy, and preventing and combating the trafficking of human beings as well as prostitution are important steps in achieving this goal.

Statistics show that street prostitution and demand for it have decreased because of this law. This stands in contrast to legalisation and decriminalisation frameworks that have proven not only to increase prostitution but also to normalise the activity.

This legislative approach was totally new and has over the years been complemented by social services, including exit strategies for both the buyer and the person involved in prostitution.

Effects of the law – current situation

Since the legalisation in Sweden went into force, the prostitution market has become global, diversified and virtual alongside other developments in society. It is particularly problematic to accurately assess prostitution in numbers, as statistics are difficult to compare, and figures vary over time as different studies have categorised groups differently. In some studies, the ‘young people’ group can be aged 15–30, whilst the age span can be completely different in other studies.

One certainty is that street prostitution has declined in Sweden since 1995 by more than 50 per cent, though there have been a few fluctuations and a minor recent increase. However, just like in other countries, accessibility has increased due to the Internet.

In 2010, the Swedish government conducted an official evaluation of the law and its effects, and noted the following:

Up until the 1990s, women involved in prostitution were mainly Swedish or came from other Nordic countries, whereas they currently also originate from countries outside the EU.

Findings from 2021

In 2021, the Swedish Gender Equality Agency concluded a governmental assignment to chart the extent of prostitution and Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) in Sweden. The results show a decrease in street prostitution and an increase in websites offering “escort services” and “sugar dating.” The number of children and young adults involved has increased in recent years, one reason being the digital arenas. The statistics according to the latest survey of the Public Health Authority from 2017 show that 10 per cent of men and 0.5 per cent of women have bought sexual services in their lifetime. 1.5 per cent of women have been reimbursed for sex, and the corresponding figure for men is 1 per cent.

National coordination, support programmes and exist services

Why Sweden?

Sweden’s prostitution policy and the development of the Sex Purchase Act did not appear in a vacuum but evolved over decades. Direct activism from the women’s movement and the shelter movement in the 1970s and 1980s led to a broader understanding of men's violence against women and society’s reaction to this issue.

In 1977, the Swedish government established the Sexual Crimes Committee. It published two reports: Rape and Other Sexual Assault (SOU 1982:61) and Prostitution in Sweden: Background and Actions (SOU 1981:71). These were followed by the Prostitution Investigation in 1995 (SOU 1995:15).

In 1993, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health set up the Commission on Violence against Women, which published the Security and Integrity of Women report (SOU 1996:60), focusing on sexualised violence and the normalisation processes of such violence. It noted that physical violence is closely related to other phenomena in society such as prostitution, pornography, incest, and sexual harassment in the workplace.

The proposals in the report were to form the basis of the 1998 government proposition, Security and Integrity of Women (Prop. 1997/98:55). The law on gross violation of women’s integrity is part of the bill, alongside measures against rape and sexual harassment at work. Sweden’s current Sex Purchase Act came about as part of this bill.

A nation dedicated to gender equality 

Prostitution and sexual exploitation are highly gendered issues. Men are the predominant purchasers of sexual services whether that service be provided by women (including transgender women), girls, men or boys. Meanwhile, most of the people involved in prostitution as sellers and providers of sexual services are women. That the pioneering Sex Purchase Act hails from Sweden is perhaps no surprise. The social and political climate in Sweden has a long history of standing up against injustices and promoting equality, especially gender equality.

Gender equality has been a political priority in Sweden for over 40 years. A commission for research on gender equality was appointed in 1972, and since 1976 there has been a government minister responsible for gender equality affairs. Since 1971, when a new taxation law meant that married couples were taxed individually instead of as a joint unit, the Swedish government has sought to identify and limit barriers to gender equality so that individuals can be self-empowered and freed from structural obstacles. The taxation law was followed by gender-neutral parental insurance in 1974, under which both parents were entitled to take paid leave for childcare.

The 1970s and 1980s also saw a gradual increase in the participation of women in governmental structures. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union data presented by the World Bank in 1990, 38.4 per cent of members of parliament were women, and by 1998, the proportion of seats held by women stood at 42.7 per cent. The figure has stayed continually over 40 per cent for the last 20 years.

In 2018, Sweden set a new standard by inaugurating the Swedish Gender Equality Agency. One of the rationales behind this was to respond to the national strategy for combating men’s violence against women and develop knowledge about preventive work. The overarching goal of Sweden’s national gender-equality work is for women and men to have the same power to shape society as well as their own lives.

Trafficking

The Swedish law against human trafficking is based on UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, known as the Palermo Protocol, which defines human trafficking as: ‘The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion. It also includes abduction, fraud, or deception for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, or the removal of organs.

Children's rights

Sweden also has a strong history of pioneering efforts to protect children (another group victimised by trafficking and prostitution). As one example, in 1979, Sweden was the first country to introduce a law against corporal punishment of children.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which became effective in 1990, and the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which entered into force in 2002, are cornerstones of the international framework on children’s rights. In June 2018, Sweden adopted a bill that incorporated the Convention into Swedish law on 1 January 2020.

The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is another instrument that entered into force in Sweden on 1 October 2013. It requires the criminalisation of all kinds of sexual offences against children. It also ensures that certain types of conduct are classified as criminal offences, such as engaging in sexual activities with a child below the legal age, child prostitution and child pornography.

The purchase of sexual services from a minor is, as of 2022, an offence for which there is a presumption of imprisonment. The Convention also criminalises the solicitation of children for sexual purposes (‘grooming’) and ‘sex tourism.’ A new law, violation of a child’s integrity, which came into force on 1 July 2021, criminalises children having to witness violence in close relationships.

The link between prostitution and human trafficking

Prostitution and human trafficking are clearly intertwined and cannot be viewed as two entirely separated phenomena. The driving forces are primarily the same. Socio-economic factors and globalisation trends have given freedom of movement and choice to many, but pockets of poverty, social exclusion and gender inequality have remained or deepened in certain communities.

Self-determination over one’s body is essential in self-care and healthcare alongside sexual and reproductive rights. Total control over one’s own body in a patriarchal system in which men still hold the balance of power is a right that is yet to be fully realised. Prostitution is at the centre of this power imbalance. Political factors in other countries have a knock-on effect globally; instability, conflict, corruption, weakened rule of law and poor governance exacerbate difficult economic situations, especially for women.

Trafficking is a broader phenomenon than prostitution, but an individual can be trafficked for sexual exploitation and the two phenomena are often linked to the same crimes and involve the same actors. This interconnection is further increased with the growth of online prostitution. Parallels can be drawn between advertisements to facilitate prostitution and the online recruitment of victims of trafficking.

International agreements

Sweden’s commitment in the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN additionally inform government policy in this field.