A new law criminalising clients has come into effect in Israel. The law, which was approved a year and a half ago by the Knesset, punishes those caught seeking the services of sex workers, as well as those apprehended in a location chiefly used for sex work.
Swedish sex worker organisation Fuckförbundet has held the first sex worker-organised international conference in the country following the introduction of client criminalisation in 1999. Between 28th and 30th September, more than 80 sex workers joined the conference – Sex Work, Human Rights and Health: Assessing 20 Years of Swedish Model – in Stockholm.
Fuckförbundet launched a new report - "20 Years Of Failing Sex Workers" - as part of their 2019 conference "Sex Work, Human Rights And Health: Assessing 20 Years Of Swedish Model". It brings together available evidence from sex workers on the impact of the law. Contents include:
New research has been released analysing the impact of criminalisation of sex work in Northern Ireland.
An Irish campaign group is calling for changes to police policy following the results of a new study, which shows that more than 150 sex workers have been prosecuted under brothel keeping laws over the last ten years. The same study showed that almost all of those convicted under brothel keeping laws are migrant women, and that in 90% of the cases, those involved were ‘named and shamed’ in the media.
NSWP has launched a new map of sex work laws around the world, featuring information on laws used to regulate and criminalise sex work in 208 countries and dependencies, with sub-national legislation provided for some countries.
Spanish media has reported that the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) is drafting new legislation to criminalise the purchase of sex, known as the 'Nordic Model'.
The Israeli Prostitution Task Force Committee’s promise to carry out ‘a large-scale offensive to root out lap dances from strip clubs’ is just one several concurrent attacks on sex workers’ rights currently being launched by the Israeli Knesset (Parliament).
Sex worker groups have organised an international day of action on 21st September to honour the memory of Vanessa Campos, a sex worker who was killed in Paris in August.
Le 13 avril 2016, la France adoptait la loi « visant à renforcer la lutte contre le système prostitutionnel et à accompagner les personnes prostituées », devenant ainsi le deuxième pays de l’Union européenne à sanctionner les clients des travailleur.se.s du sexe. Depuis, deux chercheurs, Hélène Le Bail et Calogero Giametta, en collaboration avec 11 associations ont mené une enquête afin de documenter les impacts de cette nouvelle législation sur la santé, les droits et les conditions de vie des travailleur.se.s du sexe en France.
