Approach to prostitution law first instituted in Sweden in 1999
Not to be confused with the Nordic Model, which is a socioeconomic model.
Nordic model approach to prostitution
Also known as
End demand Equality model Neo-abolitionism Partial decriminalization Sex buyer law Swedish model
Adopted by
Sweden (1999) Norway (2009) Iceland (2009) Canada (2014) Northern Ireland (2015) France (2016) Ireland (2017) Israel (2018) Maine (2023)
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The Nordic Criminal Model approach to sex work,[1] also marketed as the end demand,[2]equality model,[3]neo-abolitionism,[4]Nordic and Swedish model,[5] is an approach to sex work that criminalises clients, third parties and many ways sex workers operate.[6] This approach to criminalising sex work was developed in Sweden in 1999 on the debated radical feminist position that all sex work is sexual servitude and no person can consent to engage in commercial sexual services.[7] The main objective of the model is to abolish the sex industry by punishing the purchase of sexual services.[8][9] The model was also originally developed to make working in the sex industry more difficult, as Ann Martin (Head of Sweden's Trafficking Unit) said when asked about their role in developing the model - "I think of course the law has negative consequences for women in prostitution but that's also some of the effect that we want to achieve with the law... It shouldn't be as easy as it was before to go out and sell sex." [10]
The model was first instituted in Sweden in 1999 and then into effect in Norway in 2009 as part of the Sex Buyer Law.[11] As of 2023, eight countries and one state have adopted the model in full or in part.
Conversely, organizations for the rights of sex workers, such as the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, as well as global human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and committee of the United Nations do not support the Nordic Criminal Model and call for the decriminalization of sex work. They state the Nordic Criminal Model relies upon stigmatizing pretenses that all sex work is abusive, and that prohibition such as those prescribed under the Nordic Criminal Model threaten the livelihoods and safety of sex workers.[12]
^Kingston, Sarah; Thomas, Terry (1 May 2019). "No Model in Practice: A 'Nordic Model' to Respond to Prostitution?". Crime, Law and Social Change. 71 (4). Berlin, Germany: Springer: 423–439. doi:10.1007/s10611-018-9795-6. ISSN 1573-0751.
^Kohn, Sebastian (2 June 2017). "The False Promise of 'End Demand' Laws". Open Society Foundations. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
^"Equality Model or Nordic Model of Prostitution Explained". Decriminalize Sex Work. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
^The Nordic Model in Europe: Prostitution, Trafficking and Neo-Abolitionism(PDF). European Law and Gender (PhD). University of Pisa. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
^"Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Swedish Model (aka the Nordic Model)". SWARM Collective. SWARM. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
^Vuolajärvi, N 2022, Criminalising the Sex Buyer: Experiences from the Nordic Region, Centre for Women, Peace & Security, London School of Economic and Political Science, London.
^Jordan, A 2012, The Swedish Law to Criminalise Clients: A Failed Experiment in Social Engineering, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, University of Washington, Washington.
^"What is the Nordic Model?". Nordic Model Now!. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
^Mullin, Emily (20 January 2020). "How Different Legislative Approaches Impact Sex-Workers". The Organization for World Peace. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
^Vanwesenbeeck, I (2017). "Sex Work Criminalisation is Barking Up the Wrong Tree". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 46 (6): 1631–1640. doi:10.1007/s10508-017-1008-3. PMC 5529480. PMID 28585156.
^Amnesty International (22 May 2016), The human cost of 'crushing' the market: Criminalization of sex work in Norway, London: Author, EUR 36/4034/2016, retrieved 21 January 2024
^Global Network of Sex Work Projects (26 January 2018) [2017], Challenging the introduction of the Nordic Model: The Smart Sex Worker's Guide, Edinburgh: Author, retrieved 20 January 2024
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