How to Change the World: spotlight on Scandinavia

[sam]

I believe the title refers to a conference/seminar where several people spoke about prostitution, but not knowing Norwegian
I can't say for sure. The translation is a little rough.

Iceland 8. June 2007

A Place for Prostitution? Gender Equality and Respect in Modern Societies

Marit Kvamme
Womens Front, Norway
Network Against Prostitution and Trafficking in Women

You ask in your heading if there is a place for prostitution in modern society.

Unfortunately prostitution has a place in all societies, but I wish we managed to
end this harmful cultural praxis. As I see it, there is no gender equality in
prostitution, and there is no respect in prostitution, not for women, neither for
men. Prostitution is a violation of women’s Human Rights.

I believe that prostitution is violence against women. I believe that trafficking in
women for sexual exploitation to a country, is depending on prostitution in a
country. I also believe that sex trafficking and prostitution are closely related to
pornography. Pornography is in itself prostitution, and also creates a demand for
prostituted sex and for trafficking for sexual exploitation.

I will now talk about the situation regarding prostitution and trafficking in
Norway.

In 1995 my organization stated the fact that there was no trafficking to Norway,
no traffickers, and the pimp did not play any important role. He was often the
boy friend of the Norwegian prostitute, and they were often drug addicted. There
were foreign women in prostitution as well, mostly in flats and massage
institutes. Even then, my organization called attention to the buyer of prostituted
sex, and we claimed that he must be criminalized.

Over the last ten years, trafficking for prostitution has become a major problem
also in Norway. We know that 80 % of the women in prostitution in Norway are
from abroad, and they come from nearly 60 different nations. From Nigeria
there are about 600. The second largest group comes form Eastern Europe and
the Baltic states. It is estimated that there are between 2000 and 3000 women in
prostitution in Oslo only. Most of the women from Africa and many from
Eastern Europe is in a trafficking situation.

About 13 % of the Norwegian men have bought sex once or several times. That
is about 100 000 men.

One trafficker said when his case was brought to court: “We examined a lot of
countries, and we choose Norway - we found Norway to be a good country to
do business in”. In Norway it was possible to earn a lot of money, and the risk of
being caught was little.

This situation led to a higher temperature in the debate on prostitution and
trafficking – and the women’s organizations organized Network against
Prostitution and Trafficking in women. Our demand was to criminalize the
buyer, and at the same time we argued that the government should increase the
help to the women to get them out of prostitution. We also criticized the existing
help institution for being more interested in helping the women to put up with
prostitution, then to help them out. We also demanded safe places and
permission to stay in the country for victims of trafficking.

We said that the women are harmed by prostitution. A lot of studies tell us that
victims of trafficking, as well as other prostitutes suffer from severe health
problems. We also said that prostitution is inconsistent with gender equality.
Therefore we could never accept prostitution as work.

In all our arguing, we hold up the UN Palermo-protocol (The Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in persons, especially women and
children) and its definition on trafficking. In this definition, victims consent to
the exploitation shall be irrelevant, and not only use of force, but also abuse of
power or of a situation of vulnerability, shall be defined as trafficking (article 3
in the protocol). We also hold forward article 6 about assistance to, and
protection of victims, article 7 about permission to stay in the receiving country,
article 8 about safe return, and the obligation to discourage the demand, in
article 9.

We draw the attention to the obligations Norway had by signing this, and other
UN protocols, as well as other international agreements.

We also had a dialog with women who had managed to get out of prostitution.
Some of them attended our network, and we noticed that they told different
stories about prostitution then the spokesmen and women for those who still
earned their living by prostitution, or those controlled by traffickers.

In a post-graduate theses the student interview trafficking victims who had been
helped out, and now stayed in shelters. The student said that you have to talk to
the women who have left prostitution to get the real stories about their situation
in prostitution.

A new help –project called the ROSA – project gave us more information and
facts about trafficking to Norway – and this organization also managed to help a
lot of women out and gave them safety in shelters.

This spring we have had a break through in the discussion about prostitution in
Norway. For the first – to of the three parties in the Government held their
national meetings, and, after intense debate, voted for a law that will criminalize
the buyer in prostitution. The leaders of the parties were against such a law, but
still there were a very great majority for criminalizing in the national meetings,
both in the Socialist Left Wing Party, and The Workers Party (the social-
democrats). The third party in the Government, the Centerparty, had already
decided to go for criminalizing the buyers.

This means that the political majority in Norway now will vote for prosecution
of the buyer in prostitution. The Minister of Justice has promised to have a law
ready within a year.

It is also of great importance that two newspapers, in editorial articles, supported
the demand for criminalizing. And so did the head of the police force - with
special task to investigate and prosecute trafficking in Oslo. He said: “It is a
paradox that we introduce that many measures, but we do not drive to the wall
those who are responsible for keeping trafficking going – that is to say the
customers”. And he also denied that his work (to prosecute the traffickers)
would become more difficult by a law that criminalizes the buyer.

I also want to mention the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions, who came
out with a clear point of view for criminalization.

It is my opinion that the majority of the Norwegians now think that prostitution
do harm women, and that there is no reasonable argument for keeping this
system alive.

Networking at the grassroots level has been important in this process. And so
has cooperation and dialog between women’s movement and youth
organizations within the parties.

It is not so that we think a law will solve all the problems and finally put an end
to prostitution. But with a law, we set a standard for what society is willing to
accept.

To adopt a law against purchasing sex will make it a lot easier to prevent
trafficking to Norway. This is also one of the results from the Swedish law. As I
see it, such a law will be a solidarity act towards the millions of women and children
suffering in sex-trafficking. This legal framework will make it easier to
take women in prostitution serious, and to provide for them the necessary help
they need to get out of prostitution.

It is very important for us to emphasize that we want to follow Sweden’s
example – where it is forbidden to purchase sex, no matter if the women is in
prostitution because of sex-trafficking or for other reasons. We will not accept a
law like the Finnish, because we don’t recognise the division of prostitution into
so called forced and free prostitution.

To end prostitution, we have to be aware of many aspects. Lack of gender
equality, both in origin countries and in receiving countries is one thing. Actions
against poverty are another. To put an end to violence against women in origin
countries (and in general) is extremely important. Studies show that women and
girls from violent families are at much more risk to become victims of
trafficking than other women from poor families.

Last, but not least – we have to rethink and reconstruct masculinity! We need to
develop a new men’s role based on equality between men and women – and not
based on men’s suppression and abuse of women and children. I believe that
men can change. And if men cannot control themselves and their sexual needs –
why do we let them run a whole country?

It’s a long way to go to put an end to prostitution, but we have to do it, to secure
women’s Human Rights!

[KatetheGreat]

Great article!
I've often said what she said:
"And if men cannot control themselves and their sexual needs –
why do we let them run a whole country?"

Great to see Norway may be hopping on board!

[RGM]

Very good read, and hopefully they achieve some objectives and lay out a good, comprehensive agenda. However, this left a bad taste in my mouth:

And if men cannot control themselves and their sexual needs – why do we let them run a whole country?

It's not that they can't, it's that they don't.

The best place for prostitution is the dustbin of history.

[KatetheGreat]

Very good read, and hopefully they achieve some objectives and lay out a good, comprehensive agenda. However, this left a bad taste in my mouth:

And if men cannot control themselves and their sexual needs – why do we let them run a whole country?

It's not that they can't, it's that they don't.

The best place for prostitution is the dustbin of history.

Well that's just it - they can, but don't. I like that she's challenging the assumption that it's dangerous for men to deprive themselves of any sexual whim. I'm amazed at how, for instance, on the man show, men will portray themselves as bumbling idiots who are extremely simple minded and shallow, and yet when it suits them, can come up with many reasons as to why they're intellectually superior to and more capable of running a country than a woman.
They can play either card when it suits them, and she's calling them on that.
Kudos, I say! Into the dust bin!

[RGM]

Well that's just it - they can, but don't. I like that she's challenging the assumption that it's dangerous for men to deprive themselves of any sexual whim. I'm amazed at how, for instance, on the man show, men will portray themselves as bumbling idiots who are extremely simple minded and shallow, and yet when it suits them, can come up with many reasons as to why they're intellectually superior to and more capable of running a country than a woman.
They can play either card when it suits them, and she's calling them on that.
Kudos, I say! Into the dust bin!

Funny, how they pull that stunt, eh? They may be as dumb as a sack of hammers but they still think themselves smarter than any woman. Didn't Borat do an interview once where he talked about men just having bigger brains? It's a strange phenomenon to see men watching other men behaving like their skulls are empty and aping that behaviour. The race to the bottom is definitely on.