Introduction
The Special Rapporteur, Ms. Reem Alsalem, examines violence against women and girls within the context of prostitution [or: sex work] in her report (A/HRC/56/48, En/Fr/Es), identifying it as a form, cause, and consequence of violence.
The following summary fills in critical references from the submissions of human rights organizations, presenting a different approach, supported also by the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, focusing on sex workers’ self-determination.
Definition and Scope
The Special Rapporteur notes that “prostitution” is not defined in international law. She understands it as a system of violence that commodifies women and girls, and involves three main groups: buyers (usually men), those prostituted (usually women and girls), and third parties (pimps and traffickers). The term "prostitution system" underscores its intrinsic link to violence against women and girls.
Prostitution is influenced by patriarchal norms, economic inequalities, conflicts, and legacies of colonialism. Women facing multiple forms of discrimination are more susceptible to entering prostitution. Disability, age, social class, race, ethnicity, migratory and legal status, sexual orientation and gender identity are factors that exacerbate the risk of entry into prostitution.
Prostitution results in severe physical, psychological, and economic violence, including rape, physical abuse, and economic exploitation. It often leads to serious health issues and psychological trauma akin to torture. Victims also lose their right to privacy, freedom of movement and their right to family.
A Call to Abolish Pornography
The Special Rapporteur defines pornography as a connected variation of prostitution and refers to its severe negative implications. Therefore, she is calling to recognize pornography - just as prostitution - as a system of exploitation and violence [para 55(d)].
The Special Rapporteur in fact advocates for the abolition of pornography. She calls to criminalize the possession, production or hosting of material as they violate the right to life and dignity, and constitute torture or inhumane or degrading treatment [para 57]. So much for not criminalizing sex workers themselves or limiting their right to work and freedom of expression.
Legal and Policy Models
The Special Rapporteur identifies four main legal frameworks governing prostitution:
Prohibition: Criminalizes all actors involved, often leading to discrimination and further victimization of prostituted women.
Regulation: Legalizes and regulates prostitution, which often fails to protect prostituted women and increases demand and exploitation.
Decriminalization: Removes legal penalties for all involved but lacks protections for victims and can increase trafficking.
Abolition/Nordic Model: Decriminalizes prostituted individuals, criminalizes buyers, offers support services and, according to the Special Rapporteur, is showing positive outcomes.
International Human Rights Standards
The Special Rapporteur calls for adherence to international human rights standards, emphasizing the need to address prostitution as a form of exploitation and violence. She highlights the importance of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.
It is worth bearing in mind the submission by Amnesty International:
"The conflation of human trafficking and sex work creates numerous problems in both law and in practice. Where anti-trafficking initiatives are used to justify criminalizing sex work, this leads to serious adverse human rights outcomes for sex workers."
Special Rapporteur’s Recommendations
Legislation: Adopt laws that decriminalize prostituted persons, criminalize buyers and pimps, and provide comprehensive support services.
Demand Reduction: Implement measures to reduce demand for prostitution, including public awareness campaigns and legal deterrents.
Victim Support: Mandate tailored services for victims, including housing, healthcare, education, and vocational training.
Terminology: Use human rights-based language to describe prostitution and avoid terms such as “sex work” that minimize its harms [though some sex workers perceive the term “prostitution” as offensive - see para 6].
International Cooperation: Enhance cross-border cooperation to combat cyber-trafficking and technology-facilitated exploitation.
Conclusion and Critique
The Special Rapporteur advocates for the abolitionist legal framework and its five pillars, including the decriminalization of women in prostitution; providing comprehensive support and exit pathways; criminalizing the purchase of sexual acts; criminalizing all forms of pimping; and implementing sensitization campaigns for sexual act buyers.
Contrarily, it is worth noting the following from the submission by Human Rights Watch:
"Criminalization, including partial criminalization, increases violence, discrimination, and sexual assault while having no demonstrable effect on eradicating trafficking. The use of criminal law to regulate women’s bodies is not an effective tool for their protection."
Furthermore, the submission by Sex og Politikk (IPPF Norway) noted that the provisions of the Criminal Code regulating sexual offenses in Norway is currently being reviewed. The Criminal Code Council recommended a repeal and that the purchase of sexual services be decriminalized. The proposal is mainly based on the right to sexual self-determination and the harm principle.
UN organizations and key international human rights organizations have advocated for the full decriminalization of all aspects of sex work. In December 2023, the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls advocated for the same in its guidance document on eliminating discrimination against sex workers and securing their human rights.
The Working Group considers that there is now sufficient evidence of the harms of any form of criminalization of sex work, including the criminalization of clients and activities by third parties. The Working Group notes that decriminalization would not prevent States from fulfilling their obligations to prevent sexual exploitation, human trafficking and coercion. It would not jeopardize the protective functions of the State in relation to combating exploitation, as other criminal law provisions, including anti-trafficking laws, would be used in cases of violence, compulsion or exploitation.
Other Activities
The Special Rapporteur conducted country visits to Poland (also reported to this Human Rights Council session) and the UK (to be reported). She also presented a thematic report to the General Assembly on nationality laws and statelessness (A/78/256).
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