Prostitution in Sweden

Normally I have a strong aversion to writing about prostitution. While it's mildly related to my topic of interest, I just can't bring myself to engage with the complex issues surrounding it. Other people spend copious amounts of time writingthinkingtalking about it, and good for them. Because I don't like to.

But! My love of Scandinavia trumps my boredom with prostitution for today's entry about the Swedish approach for dealing with prostitution.

One of the most troublesome aspects about American prostitution is how the laws play out in the real world. As you know, prostitution is illegal in this country, and the idea behind the laws is to punish those who engage in this activity. The problem is that the people who get punished most frequently and severely are the women providing the service--not the men demanding it. Furthermore, it is the street prostitutes, who thend to be of a lower socioeconomic class and often minorities, who get arrested most often--the "high class callgirls" are in a much safer position.

While there is no inherent evil in prostitution, the real-world socioeconomic breakdown into who ends up as a prostitute, who ends up as a streetwalker, and who bears the brunt of the law is deeply troubling on gender/race/class dimensions.

So the Swedish system's attempt to address the gender issue is refreshing. According to this inexplicably poorly-written article on the BBC website (you'd think they'd screen their submissions better), in Sweden  the buying of sex is a criminal act, while the selling of it is decriminalized. What this means is that the laws come down harder on those actually driving prostitution--the men who demand it. Even though I'd support altogether decriminalization, I'm thrilled to see a law progressive enough to penetrate the surface of a peceived social ill and get to its root.

The article goes on to note that the partial-decriminalization has not done much in the way of establishing public services to help prostitutes, which could have to do with the fact that prostitution hasn't been entirely decriminalized. Or maybe it's because the Swedish are spoiled by the welfare state...the article mentions a health center that provides health checks, counseling, gynecological services, and even a help line that men can call to discuss their sexual problems (?!). But no needle exchange--such deprivation!

One thing's for sure. The Swedish laws, while not perfect,  more accurately target the issue than do American laws. Go Scandinavia!