On June 2nd, it was the International Day of Sex Workers. Worldwide, sex workers come together and take to the streets on this day. However, just one day of action and expressions of solidarity is not enough. The fight for recognition and rights is more important than ever: in many countries, sex work is criminalized and prosecuted. The social stigma attached to sex work leads to exclusion and discrimination worldwide, and the countries of the Global North are no exception. In an anti-democratic backlash in Europe and the USA, there is agitation against gender equality and the sex wars of the 1980s are being revived. Moral panic and Christian fundamentalist narratives are used to combat sexual autonomy, feminism, and sex work. The conservative efforts are bearing fruit – as can be seen, for example, in the illegalization of abortions, which was recently passed in several US states, or the ban on pornography enforced in spring 2024, for example in Texas.
Sex work has always been a particularly polarizing point of contention with opposing positions. The fronts here are not only between conservative and progressive voices, but also within the left and feminist scene.
Opponents often argue that sex work is a form of exploitation and oppression of women. They argue that sex work reinforces patriarchal structures and degrades women to objects. This rhetoric alone shows that the debate in Germany is very binary. This does not reflect the reality that trans women, trans men, non-binary people and men also perform sex work1. Equally misrepresentative is the idea that the buyers of sexual services are only men, in the worst case even violent and exploitative men. Even though the majority of clients are still male, there are also genderqueer people and women among the clients, as sex worker Kristina Marlen knows from her own experience2. So when we talk about women and men in the following, it is to describe the often abbreviated debate in Germany.
While sex workers and intersectional feminists advocate for more rights, less stigmatization and better protection for sex workers, there is a movement (gaining strength in Germany) that wants to further criminalize sex work. Anti-feminist, sexist and emotionalizing arguments are used. On one hand, women are denied the right to self-determination and instead paternalistic rhetoric is used against women: Women who explicitly state that they are sex workers of their own free will are sometimes not listened to. They are portrayed as traumatized victims and thus discredited. Sexualized violence and sex work are often equated. This is a slap in the face for victims of sexualized violence and makes it impossible for sex workers to report actual sexual assaults. Such undifferentiated argumentation does not protect anyone. This is how Birgit Sauer, political scientist and professor at the University of Vienna, describes the discussion:
“Overall, the regulation of sex work promotes the established heteronormative monogamous emotional rules of love and sexuality through such ambivalent affects. The abolitionist discourse obscures the patriarchal structures in which sexuality and gender relations are embedded and instead emphasizes male violence and domination. At the same time, the prohibitionist discourse negates female agency.”3
In other words, the criticism here is that the condemnation of sex work as exploitative per se and the demonization of male clients actually only perpetuates the omnipresent sexism of our society. To prevent this sexism from being openly displayed, sex work itself is not criminalized. Instead of punishing “the poor women”, they should be protected by punishing only their clients.
Criminalization of sex purchase is known as the “Nordic model” because it was first introduced in Sweden. This legal model only punishes sex buyers and is intended to enable sex workers to leave sex work through various offers. The model has now been introduced in several countries, including Northern Ireland and France. While the overall conclusion across countries is that the visibility of street prostitution in particular has decreased, there is strong criticism of the Nordic model. One of the main accusations is that it has only pushed sex work further into illegality and made it more precarious, instead of preventing human trafficking, exploitation or sexualized violence against sex service providers. Historian Sonja Dolinsek says: “A ban does not abolish sex work. A ban does not eliminate violence. A ban does not eliminate violent clients. A ban does not eliminate poverty. A ban will only worsen working conditions”. This thesis is supported both in research 4 5 as well as by Amnesty International 6 advocates.
The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) puts it in a nutshell: “Criminalization of sex work leads to stigmatization and prejudice. We need full decriminalization as a first step to acknowledge that sex work exists in our society and that sex workers deserve rights and respect, just like everyone else!”
