Whatcha gonna do now Monsieur?

[Rum]

Whoda thunk it? France of all places? From the Beeb: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35982929


France prostitution: MPs outlaw paying for sex


French MPs have passed a law that makes it illegal to pay for sex and imposes fines of up to €3,750 (£3,027, $4,274) for those buying sexual acts.

Those convicted would also have to attend classes to learn about the conditions faced by prostitutes.

It has taken more than two years to pass the controversial legislation because of differences between the two houses of parliament over the issue.

Some sex workers protested against the law during the final debate.

The demonstrators outside parliament in Paris, numbering about 60, carried banners and placards one of which read: "Don't liberate me, I'll take care of myself".


Members of the Strass sex workers' union say the law will affect the livelihoods of France's sex workers, estimated to number between 30,000 and 40,000.

Sweden was the first country to criminalise those who pay for sex rather than the prostitutes, introducing the law in 1999. Other countries have since adopted the so-called "Nordic model": Norway in 2008, Iceland in 2009, and Northern Ireland in 2014. Earlier this year, the European parliament approved a resolution calling for the law to be adopted throughout the continent.

But many advocacy groups warn the model makes sex work more dangerous.

Catherine Stephens, an activist with the UK-based International Union of Sex Workers, and a sex worker herself, says criminalisation makes those in the industry "much more likely to have to accept clients who are obscuring their identity, which benefits people who want to perpetrate violence".

Ms Stephens told the BBC that criminalising those who wish to purchase sex makes them less likely to report concerns about a sex worker's wellbeing.

"We have had cases where clients have helped people escape from situations of coercion ... Criminalising the client actively works against that, discouraging them from coming forward. We need to create a situation in which it is easy to report harm, violence and coercion. Blanket criminalisation of premises, brothels, or clients absolutely works against that."

Amnesty International says that laws against buying sex "mean that sex workers have to take more risks to protect buyers from detection by the police". The charity says sex workers have reported being asked to visit customers' homes to help them avoid police, instead of meeting them in safer environments.

Supporters of the law argue that it increases safety. Anne-Cecile Mailfert, the president of the Women's Foundation in France, which provides support to women's rights organisations, says sex workers are better able to seek police protection if they need it.

She told the BBC: "We are giving to the prostituted person a new tool to defend themselves and protect themselves. If they don't want to do that then actually they just don't have to call the police. But if anything happens, if the client is violent, if anything wrong happens, then now they have the law on their side."

The legislation will also make it easier for foreign prostitutes to get a temporary residence permit in France if they agree to find jobs outside prostitution, says Socialist MP Maud Olivier, who sponsored the legislation.

He told the Associated Press: "The most important aspect of this law is to accompany prostitutes and give them identity papers, because we know that 85% of prostitutes here are victims of trafficking."

The law was passed in the final vote on the bill in the lower house of parliament by 64 to 12 with 11 abstentions. It supersedes legislation from 2003 that penalised sex workers for soliciting.

Prostitution itself is not a crime in France, but pimping, human trafficking, brothels and and buying sex from a minor are all already against the law.

[pErvinalia]

I saw this on Facebook yesterday. Weird. Even weirder to see the same law is in a number of countries. What's next, make abortions illegal?

[mistermack]

It sounds like a blackmailer's charter.
At the moment, prostitution is a good way of setting people up. Now that they can threaten someone with a criminal conviction, as well as outing them to friends and family, it will be a very profitable business to be in.

Of course, the police will want a bit more of the action, but what the heck? There's plenty to go round.

[Svartalf]

Yeah... I did not go to expensive ladies before, as I can't afford it, but I'm even less going to do so now that they'll have the means to blackmail me if I use their service.

[Tyrannical]

What a horrible sexist law. By going after men the law acknowledges the weakness and inferiority of women. Stand up for sexual equality and punish the dealers and not the victimized addicts, just like every other situation does.

[Feck]

It's a good thing that the crime of soliciting has been replaced but Sweden did that and it hasn't made sex workers any more safe .
Either we make the industry legal and properly regulated or we pass silly laws and bury our heads .

[rachelbean]

I'm pretty sure "pass silly laws and bury our heads" is the modus operandi for most politicians.

[Svartalf]

pfff, even the ladies of the night did not want anything to do with that piece of legal dreck.

[Rum]

I don't agree with it either. It is full of holes as a law, but there is no denying that exploitation and near slavery is the fate of many a sex worker in some parts of the world. One assumes that is the target of this law primarily.

'Independent' sex workers are increasingly using the internet in any case. Sites like: www.adultwork.com

(Worth a look - fascinating stuff!)

[mistermack]

I don't agree with it either. It is full of holes as a law, but there is no denying that exploitation and near slavery is the fate of many a sex worker in some parts of the world. One assumes that is the target of this law primarily.

'Independent' sex workers are increasingly using the internet in any case. Sites like: http://www.adultwork.com

(Worth a look - fascinating stuff!)

I'm at the same place really. It doesn't sound great, but what if there's no law that can actually nail the people who traffic vulnerable people into sex slavery?
Maybe making the customers criminals will reduce the misery a bit?
It's a shit situation when trying to protect one group of people disadvantages another relatively innocent group. But there doesn't seem to be any better ways available.

But paying for sex is as old as the hills. They can't make all of it criminal. It's called marriage.

[Tero]

Couldn't they just tax sex? It would make it too boring. Have the prostitutes collect ID of all customers and file it with taxes.

[JimC]

We have legal brothels in Oz.

Just sayin...

[Tyrannical]

We have legal brothels in Oz.

Just sayin...

Funny how my girlfriend never mentioned that to me

[pErvinalia]

Stop pretending you have a girlfriend. We all know you go out with a gigantic black man..

[Tyrannical]

Stop pretending you have a girlfriend. We all know you go out with a gigantic black man..

I have an Aussie girlfriend With really nice big boobs