Sweden
In January 1999 the Swedish Government introduced a law that made purchasing – or attempting to purchase - sexual services a criminal offence, punishable by a six month fine or imprisonment.
Since the legislation was introduced, the Swedish government states that there has been a “dramatic drop” in the number of individuals in street prostitution and the number of men buying services.
A total of 914 men were reported under the law from January 1999 to March 2005, and 234 men were convicted of purchasing sexual services or pleaded guilty during the first five years.
Criminalisation has also meant a decrease in the recruitment of women and girls into prostitution. Non governmental organisations (NGOs) believe the legislation has been a success with more people seeking help to leave prostitution.
Not only has prostitution dramatically reduced since the law was introduced, but Sweden is also no longer an attractive destination for traffickers. Jonas Trolle, an Inspector with the Stockholm Police Unit dedicated to combating prostitution, has described how Sweden now has “significantly less prostitution than our neighbouring countries.”
The Swedish national rapporteur on trafficking in human beings, the national criminal police, estimates that between 400 and 600 women are trafficked into Sweden every year. This should be compared to figures from neighbouring countries where they do not have this legislation, where the numbers are anything from 5,000 up to 15,000 victims a year.
Since Sweden introduced this legislation, there has been a marked change in public perception with 80% of the public now viewing prostitution as unacceptable, compared to 49% in 1999. Additionally, at the time of the change in legislation in 1999, it is estimated that 1 in 8 men bought sex. This has since been reduced to 1 in 14 men in 2009.
