The State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting, on June 12, organized a panel discussion on ways to battle prostitution and human trafficking in Ukraine, concentrating on the Swedish success on decreasing both.
The Swedish legislature criminalizes the act of paying for sex, while simultaneously financing programs meant to help sex workers return to other livelihoods. The Swedish model is considered a gold standard in battling both human trafficking and lowering the number of people drawn into prostitution.
Per-Anders Sunesson, Swedish ambassador-at-large for combating human trafficking, said that the Swedish model was implemented in Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, France and most recently in Israel.
According to Sunesson, after criminalizing the act of paying for sex in 1999, the number of sex workers in Sweden decreased by 50 percent the next year and was in steady decline ever since. The law also helped to shape public opinion inside Sweden and helping the country take on a role of a strong human rights defender.
Sunesson compared Sweden to Germany, where prostitution is legal. Germany has over 400,000 officially registered sex workers, most of them arriving from poorer countries.
“It’s extremely rare that a sex worker is willingly taking on this job,” said Sunesson, pointing out it is usually those who can’t protect themselves, such as children or the poor, who are forced into prostitution.
Iryna Suslova, lawmaker from the 135-member Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction in parliament, praised the Swedish example, saying that it is crucial to understand that legalizing prostitution in Ukraine will do more harm than good, while criminalizing the act of paying for sex is a reasonable solution.
“We can’t officially legalize a form of violence in our country,” said Suslova, adding that around 10 percent of those forced into prostitution are underage men and women.
Suslova added that since prostitution and human trafficking are strongly correlated, decreasing the demand for sex workers will decrease the profitability of human trafficking.
“Unfortunately today people from other countries come to Ukraine for cheap sex,” said Suslova.
Sunneson reaffirmed that human trafficking indeed decreased after criminalizing sex buying in Sweden.
There is a strong lobby in Ukraine to support the legalization of prostitution, according to Suslova, due to the vast profits it can generate, yet there is an understanding among government institutions that legalizing prostitution will only worsen the situation and Ukraine’s image abroad.
