Recently, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, presented an important report highlighting that prostitution is both a form and a consequence of men’s violence against women: “Prostitution and violence against women and girls.” RealStars welcomes the report’s clarity, especially in a climate where actors with ties to exploitation push for decriminalization and obscure the inherent violence in prostitution.
Alsalem explained during a press conference on June 24 that she chose this focus because of the harm caused by prostitution, its negative impact on gender equality, and its effects on relationships between men and women. She noted the lack of a comprehensive study examining prostitution’s consequences from a human rights perspective. Approaching the task with an open mind, the extensive data collection and consultations across 60 countries, involving 300 contributions, yielded unequivocal results: prostitution is a system of violence rooted in various forms of discrimination and hinders progress toward gender equality.
The Swedish model, now known as “The Equality Model,” which criminalizes the purchase of sex and pimping, is recommended to combat violence and the exploitation of women and girls in prostitution. Alsalem explicitly stated that policies favoring decriminalization led to increased violence and exploitation. She emphasized that the victim, the exploited individual, must be central to these discussions, and that the profit model of prostitution must be dismantled.
The report is a milestone in demonstrating how prostitution violates human rights and the Beijing Declaration, which obligates states to prevent and punish all acts of violence against women and girls. States are called upon to take measures to change cultural patterns and customs that perpetuate the subordination of women, eliminate discrimination, and address the commercial exploitation of women as sexual objects—practices that contribute to violence against women.
Terminology
Alsalem stresses the importance of accurate terminology. The report uses terms like “prostituted women and girls” rather than “sex workers,” aligning with human rights laws and rejecting language that obscures the violence and harm inherent in prostitution. The term “exploitation of women and girls in prostitution” is preferred over “sex work,” as the latter sanitizes and conceals the violence. These terms resonate more with those in prostitution, reflecting their lived realities.
Human Rights Violations
Prostitution is linked to various forms of violence against women and girls, while violence is also intrinsic to prostitution. The report details numerous human rights violations associated with the prostitution system, including the dehumanization of those in prostitution, infringement on the right to a dignified life, restrictions on freedom of movement, the right to form a family, and, in some cases, acts of torture or degrading treatment. Alsalem also identifies pornography as a form of filmed prostitution and violence. Pornography undermines gender equality, drives sexual exploitation, and fuels sexual violence by inspiring men to imitate acts seen in pornographic content.
Abolitionist Model – Reducing Demand and Offering Exit Strategies
The report endorses the abolitionist model—also known as The Equality Model or the Swedish model—as the only approach proven to reduce violence against women in prostitution. Unlike models that decriminalize all parties or regulate prostitution, the abolitionist model includes state support and exit programs to help women leave prostitution.
From a Swedish perspective, more work is needed to ensure access to protection, support, and exit programs, as well as informational campaigns targeting sex buyers. France, which introduced its sex purchase law in 2016, has studied Sweden’s challenges and implemented similar measures. The report highlights these efforts, which RealStars and other Swedish organizations also advocate for.
The report concludes that in states where buyers and third parties have been decriminalized, or where prostitution is regulated, demand has not decreased but has instead increased, along with violence against those in prostitution.
Prostitution Stands in the Way of an Equal Society
Prostitution fundamentally rests on inequality between men and women, making a truly equal society impossible as long as prostitution is normalized, and buyers and third parties are allowed to exploit and profit from women’s bodies.
Reem Alsalem underscores the critical importance of abolishing prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation to improve women’s living conditions. The report outlines many vital measures in line with the abolitionist model.
The full report can be read here:
Report Prostitution & VAW 2024 – Reem Alsalem
Also see the press conference with Reem Alsalem and video comments from NGOs.
