Prostitution Legal in European Countries

Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since 1942 and protected by the Constitution But the first legal brothel was not opened until 1998. Prostitution is legal and regulated in Latvia. Prostitutes must register, undergo monthly health examinations and carry a health card; If they don`t, they can be punished. [68] Although prostitution is regulated in Latvia, brothels and other forms of supply are illegal. According to the law, “any activity of a third party that promotes prostitution is prohibited” and “persons are prohibited from joining groups to offer and provide sexual services.” [68] Prostitution in Bosnia and Herzegovina is legal, but related activities such as advertising and running a brothel are illegal. [40] The law treats procurement as a serious crime. According to the law, human trafficking is a state-level crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. [94] In 2016, UNAIDS estimated that there were 4,000 prostitutes in the country. [10] A number of countries recognize prostitution as a system of exploitation of gender-based violence and discrimination and, as a result, have enacted laws that decriminalize only prostitutes, providing services to them, while holding buyers of sexual services and other perpetrators accountable for the harm they cause.

Jurisdictions that have enacted such laws, known as the Nordic, abolitionist or equality model, include Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Ireland and Israel. Prostitution is regulated by law in Austria and regulated by the Criminal Code[142] under Section Tenth Section Offences against Sexual Integrity and Self-Determination (§§ 201-220b). Most sex workers are migrants. [143] According to a 2010 TAMPEP study, 78% of sex workers in Austria are foreigners. [144] In summary, Scandinavian feminists view sex workers as victims of trafficking or economic inequality and seek to abolish the profession in their country. After a long debate in the 90s, they concluded that punishing victims was not only counterproductive – as it did nothing to reduce the demand for prostitution – but also immoral, and reversed the policy of prohibiting prostitution. Today, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, France and Ireland prohibit the purchase of sex work, but not the sale. In Liechtenstein, prostitution is illegal, but it is tolerated by the police as long as it is not street prostitution.

[165] [166] The objectives of criminalizing laws are also different and not always clear. The goal can range from combating STDs to preventing women from engaging in unproductive and “immoral” work, and the results are also unclear. In Albania – which has become one of the transport routes between the countries of the former Soviet Union and Western Europe, according to the Coalition for the Sexual and Health Rights of Marginalized Communities – the aim is to reduce human trafficking. Although, in the case of Albania, it has been said that the sex trade almost disappeared when this law has been strictly enforced, it is also clear that there is no precise data on the number of girls trafficked, nor on sex workers working in the country. Street prostitution takes place near the centre of the capital Tirana, mainly by Roma men and women. [92] Some students work as prostitutes in hotels or motels in Tirana and other major cities. Brothels were also found in the cities. [92] In one of the most progressive approaches in the world, prostitution is legal, organized, and taxed in Germany. Germany also allows brothels, advertising and the management of prostitution jobs by personnel companies. In 2016, Germany passed the Prostitutes Protection Act, which aims to protect the legal rights of prostitutes. Part of the law is the requirement for a license for all prostitution professions and a registration certificate for all prostitutes. In Italy, prostitution, defined as the exchange of sexual acts for money, is legal, although organized prostitution, whether inside brothels or under the control of third parties, is prohibited.

Brothels were banned in 1958. Sex workers who work from home are “tolerated”. Loitering is allowed, but soliciting (“outrageously inviting customers to the street”) is illegal. Migrants with work or residence permits can work in the sex trade, and police cannot revoke residence permits and initiate deportation proceedings because they tried to fail because of Italian laws. Under Danish jurisdiction, the legal status of prostitution remains legal. However, there is no evidence of organized prostitution in the autonomous region. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, but laws are ambiguous and often unenforced. As a result, red-light districts, massage parlors, go-go bars, and sex-focused karaoke bars are common attractions. Sex work in Thailand is an important economic incentive for many citizens, especially unskilled rural women who have financial burdens. Most prostitution activities in Ireland take place indoors and are advertised on the Internet.

Street prostitution has decreased considerably. [67] There is indeed a main characteristic that European countries share on this subject, namely the lack of accurate and reliable data on almost all aspects of the sex trade, and this may be due to the fact that the penal codes of some countries do not even clearly define what the term “sex worker” means. What is clear is that criminalization is not about improving the well-being of sex workers. The paucity of existing evidence suggests that criminalization limits sex workers` access to health care and trust in law enforcement, jeopardizing their safety. Moreover, this approach leads to sex trafficking activities becoming clandestine and thus providing fertile ground for trafficking in human beings. Prostitution itself is legal in Monaco, but organized prostitution (brothels, prostitution rings and other forms of pimping) is prohibited. Advertising is also illegal. It is illegal to force another person into prostitution, with sentences ranging from six months to three years in prison plus a fine.

A husband who forces his wife into prostitution can be sentenced to one to five years in prison plus a fine. [173] [174] Authorities say legalization has had positive effects in cities like Amsterdam. According to the Dutch Centre for Prostitution and Health (Prostitutie & Gezondheidscentrum, PG292), the legalisation of prostitution has improved worker safety and allowed for some control in the industry by providing a safe environment – with measures such as installing cameras outside windows and police patrolling the area. Other measures that sex workers rate positively include alarm systems installed in brothels, improved hygienic conditions, and access to unlimited free STD checks. Only three countries in the European Union adhere to a strict ban on sex work that criminalizes both buyers and sellers, with France, Sweden and Ireland following the so-called Nordic model of neo-abolitionism, which makes it illegal to recruit sex workers. Overall, EU Member States are rather lenient towards people who voluntarily offer sexual encounters for money, as our graph shows. Where is prostitution legal in the United States? Prostitution is illegal throughout the United States, with the exception of 10 counties in Nevada. Brothels are allowed in counties where prostitution is legal, and brothels and prostitutes are subject to federal income tax. Prostitution is illegal in other Nevada counties: Clark, Douglas, Eureka, Lincoln, Pershing, and Washoe. Las Vegas and Reno are located in Clark and Washoe counties respectively, meaning prostitution is illegal in both cities. Nevertheless, the majority of prostitution in Nevada takes place illegally in Reno and Las Vegas. Prostitution is considered the oldest profession in the world and is considered a social taboo in several countries.

While some countries have banned the practice altogether, others have enacted regulations under which sex workers receive health and social benefits. Prostitution itself is legal in Finland (advertising in a public place is illegal), but organized prostitution, running a brothel or prostitution ring, and other forms of pimping are illegal. In June 2006, Parliament voted 158 to 15, with four abstentions, in favour of a bill prohibiting the purchase of sexual services by prostitutes linked to trafficking in human beings. According to a recent TAMPEP study, 69% of prostitutes are foreigners. In 2009, there was little “visible” prostitution in Finland, as it was mainly confined to private homes and nightclubs in large metropolitan areas. NEW YORK and PARIS, 31 March 2022 – On 18 March 2022, the Belgian Parliament, on the proposal of Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, adopted amendments to its penal code in a number of “sexual matters”, including those related to prostitution. While Belgium had already legalized the prostitution system in 1995, amendments to articles 380 to 382 of its penal code further decriminalize pimping and brothel ownership, except in cases of “exceptionally high” profits.