Paying for Sex in Denmark

A recent survey has revealed that Denmark's residents are strongly opposed to a ban on prostitution.

The news comes this week via a new study commissioned by the Jyllands Posten news agency and conducted by Ramboll Analyse/Danmark. Results from the survey revealed an overwhelming majority of Danes think such a ban would only bring additional danger for those working within the sex industry.

Figures showed that 67% of respondents were against a prostitution ban, whilst only around 20% said they would be in favour of such legislation.

Despite the findings, some Danish lawmakers predictably continue to push for changes to legislation. Rasmus Horn Langhoff of the Socialdemokraterne party said in an interview with Jyllands Posten:

I agree that ratifying a ban will take a lot of work, but we must send a clear message that it is not okay to buy sex because of how negative it is for the women.

However, officials from the Gadejuristen (the Street Lawyer) law agency, which works with sex workers on a regular basis, said that a ban would only make the current situation worse. Lawyer Nanna Gottfredsen said on behalf of the firm:

It's completely wrong if you think that you can solve serious social issues by criminalising them. Doing this will only worsen the situation. You push the sex workers further into a grey zone. They will hide themselves and their activities and social workers will no longer be able to contact those in need of help.

Members of Denmark's coalition government still plan to keep criminalisation as the backbone of any new laws regarding the nation's sex trade, despite a report from Norway showing that making it illegal to buy sex in that country in 2009 has not resulted in a decrease the number of sex workers or an improvement in their quality of life. The report, commissioned by the city of Oslo, also showed that since it became illegal to purchase sexual services, sex trade workers have been the victims of more violence.

The facts in the report have not deterred the parliamentary group that is in the process of proposing a similar ban here. The group remains focused on criminalising the sex for hire business.

The current situation is not tolerable, MP Pernille Vigs Bagge (Socialistisk Folkeparti) told public broadcaster DR. Denmark has become a Mecca for sex because other countries like Norway, Sweden and even Lithuania have made it illegal to buy sex.

Miserable MP Trine Bramsen (Socialdemokraterne) maintained that criminalisation was the right thing to do:

Different studies make different claims about what women believe. This study makes a claim of its own, but of course criminalising has been beneficial in Norway because it has sent a strong signal to the people who would buy it.