The legalized model, widely touted as a more tolerant and pragmatic approach, still criminalizes sex workers who are unable or unwilling to perform various bureaucratic tasks, and thus retains some of the worst harms of criminalization. It disproportionately excludes sex workers who are already marginalized, such as people who use drugs or have no papers. This makes their situation more precarious and thus strengthens the power of unscrupulous managers. The United States has indeed had some experience with both models. Nevada has a highly regulated legalized prostitution system. Rhode Island also decriminalized prostitution in 2003. On June 22, 2022, the city council in Montpelier, Vermont, lobbied for the decriminalization of sex work and the repeal of a local ordinance prohibiting prostitution. [102] [103] On 24. In August 2022, Montpeller rescinded its prostitution ordinance and became the second Vermont city to do so.
[104] Under the pseudonym Molly Smith, the sex worker pointed out that many countries that legalize prostitution entangle sex workers in a jumble of burdensome regulations. The Netherlands lifted the 1911 brothel ban in 2000, earning its international status as a symbol of a “liberal” approach to sex work. The Dutch model of legalization has contrasted with the neo-abolitionist model introduced by Sweden in 1999. [77] According to Heumann et al., legalize prostitution by allowing strictly licensed and regulated brothels in sparsely populated districts of the state. However, brothels remain illegal in the major cities of Las Vegas, Reno and their suburbs. The legal licensing of a limited number of brothels has created a two-tier system that benefits brothel owners at the expense of sex workers. Canada`s prostitution law was challenged in 2013 by Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott in Bedford v. Canada.
[61] The applicants argued that criminal laws disproportionately increase their risk of violence and victimization by preventing them from applying safety strategies while working. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the communications provision, the Badwdy homes provision and the life provision on the use of sex workers violated sex workers` rights to personal safety. [62] In order to give the Canadian government time to comment, the invalidation was suspended for one year. [62] The criminalization of sex work also puts sex workers at risk of police violence, according to Jessica Raven, a board member of the New York-based advocacy group DecrimNY. In a 2008 study, nearly one in five female sex workers and people profiled as sex workers reported being solicited by a police officer, and one respondent said she was “forced to do sexual favours to avoid being accused of prostitution.” One. Many public health authorities have stated that decriminalizing prostitution is one of the most significant policy changes needed to prevent HIV and STI infection. Germany legalized sex work in 2002. [69] The 2002 law requires sex workers to register and pay taxes. In return, their employers should provide benefits such as health care and paid time off. In addition, clients of sex workers are not allowed to refuse payment because they are “not satisfied”. [69] After the law was passed, the German sex industry exploded.
According to 2005 Federal Government estimates, there are approximately 400,000 sex workers in Germany, of whom more than 1.2 million men pay daily for their services. [76] [69] The sodomy laws were found unconstitutional in the United States in 2003. States have not created new bureaucratic positions and oversight committees to issue licenses, STI testing, or consent forms to people who engage in sodomy. They simply stopped arresting adults for consensual sexual behavior. Similarly, the decriminalization of prostitution would allow consenting adults who choose to exchange valuables for sexual services to escape prosecution. Each state has different laws governing sex work. Most states have a number of laws that prohibit prostitution. To make matters even more confusing, each jurisdiction has a different precise definition of the activities that constitute prostitution.
In some states, BDSM, fetishism, and other types of sex play are explicitly included in the definitions of prostitution, while in others they are not considered “sexual behavior” under prostitution laws. In 2014, the Canadian government passed the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (CEPA). [63] This law is modelled on the Nordic model and criminalizes buyers of sexual services as well as supporters of third parties (brothel ownership and pimping are also illegal). Most Canadian sex workers` rights groups opposed the northern model because it was considered “harmful and incompatible with sex workers` constitutional rights to health and safety,” according to the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform (CASWLR). Instead, they endorsed New Zealand`s model of decriminalization because it would have “reduced violence against sex workers and increased police protection, while improving terms and conditions of employment, including protection from employer harassment of the sex worker.” [64] In February 2020, an Ontario judge declared three parts of CEPA unconstitutional: Prohibitions on advertising, power of attorney and physical use of another person`s sexual services violated “freedom of expression” and “personal safety” as defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If this is maintained, it would allow for the involvement of third parties who sex workers believe would provide them with important protection, but Christian anti-trafficking activists have claimed they would facilitate sex trafficking. [65] R. Sex work covers the full range of sexual services, both legal and illegal, including pornography, exotic dances, fetish work, web work and prostitution. Prostitution is the type of sex work that is most often criminalized, and it is the direct and personal exchange of sex for money or other things of value.
Brazil operates according to the abolitionist model of sex work. This means that selling sex for money is legal and sex workers can even claim pensions and benefits if they are employed in the industry. However, it is illegal to employ sex workers or profit from the work of a sex worker. In practice, this means that brothels and pimps are criminalized as well as sex trafficking. Although the sale and purchase of sexual services is legal (only if it takes place between sex workers and their clients), there are still many laws and regulations that restrict those who work in the sex industry. For example, sex workers in Brazil are often charged with vagrancy, loitering or disturbing public order when law enforcement finds they are recruiting clients. In Rio de Jainero in particular, judicial authorities launched campaigns to deter sex tourism, and many people known to promote prostitution were arrested. [59] When sex work is illegal, participants are more likely to engage in riskier behaviours. Sex workers are less likely to refuse to have condomless sex. Law enforcement often uses condoms in a wallet as proof of prostitution and prevent some people from wanting to wear them in large numbers, even at home. As stigma decreases, condom use is known to increase. However, things are beginning to change.
A bill to decriminalize prostitution in Washington DC was introduced in 2017. It failed, but has since been reintroduced, and proponents expect it to be heard in the fall.