Old Pros, Red Umbrella Iceland, Strip Lab, Red Umbrella Sweden, and PION are tomorrow hosting together a conference at the Nordic House in Reykjavík titled Sex Worker Stories and Public Policy, bringing together activists, researchers, and community voices, in a dialogue on decriminalization, queer solidarity, and rights of sex workers. GayIceland inquired Kaytlin Bailey, founder of Old Pros, and Ari Logn, spokesperson for Red Umbrella Iceland, about the conference.
GayIceland: The conference is focused on why the so-called “Swedish Model” (which Iceland adopted in 2009) is harmful. Can you tell us why that is since many are of the opinion that it has worked well throughout the years?
Logn: “The Swedish model in Iceland is a legal framework that criminalizes those who buy, profit from, or advertise sexual services. This means that sex workers and survivors of prostitution are criminalized for advertising their services and for working together for safety and landlords are criminalized for renting housing to them. The consequences of these laws are that sex workers and survivors of prostitution in Iceland have been charged and convicted of sex crimes for doing what they can to survive. This makes them far less likely to seek legal justice than other survivors of sexual violence.”
Kaytlin: The Nordic Model, also known as End Demand (or the Feminist, Equality, or Partial Decriminalization Model), started in Sweden in 1999 on the premise that all prostitution is violence against women, that we can and should try to eradicate sex work by criminalizing clients and facilitators, or “pimps” and “johns,” to save people from this “horrible work”. Of course, everywhere this policy has been implemented, prostitution still exists, but violence against sex workers increases dramatically.”
According to Logn and Kaytlin there’s a lot of confusion between the terms “legalization” and “decriminalization”.
Logn: “Full decriminalization is the only legal framework proven to increase the safety of those selling sexual services, whether they identify as workers or survivors. It acknowledges sex work as labor and provides workers’ rights and protections to everyone engaged in it. It also restores bodily autonomy, which the Swedish model strips away by classifying all selling and buying of sexual services as abuse, regardless of consent. According to reviews of the framework, decriminalization has been reported to improve access to justice after violence and has changed how sex workers and survivors are treated by police. That shift happens when people are no longer criminalized or forced to work in a criminalized environment. Legalization, as Kaytlin explains, has many flaws.”
Kaytlin: “Legalization is synonymous with regulation. That’s the model you see in Nevada, Germany, and Amsterdam. It forces sex workers to register and work in tightly controlled brothels or red-light districts. Those who work outside these constraints have no protection, while those who comply are dependent on brothel owners and vulnerable to being outed because registration is required.
Legalization only benefits brothel owners.
Decriminalization removes criminal penalties and allows sex workers to work independently. It gives people more options as seen in New Zealand, parts of Australia, and most recently Belgium.”
Education and destigmatization are key to a more inclusive and open society for all of us.
“Decriminalization” is therefore an approach that both Red Umbrella Iceland and Old Pros support and both Logn and Kaytlin are of the opinion that Iceland could and should move towards it.
Kaytlin: “Decriminalizing adult, consensual sex work is the only policy that reduces violence and STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) while giving sex workers human rights and dignity. When more people understand this, the laws will change.”
Logn: “To get there, we need education and training across all sectors, including politicians to demystify, inform, and dispel myths.”
Asked about these “myths” the two point out several examples.
For one, “that sex work and sex trafficking are the same thing,” Logn, points out. “Sex work is the consensual exchange of money or goods for sexual services between adults, whereas trafficking, including sex trafficking, is an abusive situation where people deceive, trap, and exploit vulnerable groups for profit.”
According to Logn another misconception is that sex work increase dramatically with full decriminalization.
“Data from New Zealand shows that this isn’t the case. The numbers fluctuate slightly year to year, but the overall amount of sex work has remained stable since decriminalization was implemented in 2003.”
Kaytlin: “The most common misconception that I hope this conference can change is that there are no Icelandic sex workers in Iceland. I’ve met dozens who all wish the law were different so they could screen clients and work together.”
It’s okay if not everyone agrees with our aim of full decriminalization, but diverse voices must be heard and valued when laws directly affect them.
Logn and Kaytlin believe that misinformation and stigma have amongst other things to do with the fact that there isn’t yet any widespread training for service providers about the existence, realities, and needs of sex workers. Something which they are working on to change.
“In the U.S., many laws used to target sex workers are also used to criminalize and censor the LGBTQ+ community, as anything related to queer people is still seen by some as “obscene”,” says Kaytlin.
“The people who come to us are overwhelmingly scared of the police. They don’t feel safe to out themselves, and many feel completely let down by our social care and justice systems,” Logn says.
“We do believe that people mean well and want to learn,” Logn adds, “but we’ve found that professionals, service providers especially, often don’t consider the realities or complexities of sex workers’ lives.”
Kaytlin: “I believe that policymakers in Iceland genuinely want to do the right thing, which is why it’s so important for people to hear directly from sex workers about how these policies affect us.”
Therefore the two hope people will show up for the conference, listen and ask questions, whether or not they agree with the views presented.
Logn: “Here in Iceland, I hope people become more curious, curious to learn, ask questions, and stay open to changing their minds. I also hope it encourages people to start listening and including the voices of sex workers and survivors in conversations that shape policy.”
“Education and destigmatization are key to a more inclusive and open society for all of us.”
Kaytlin: “I hope people come with open minds and hear directly from sex workers.”
Logn: “It’s okay if not everyone agrees with our aim of full decriminalization, but diverse voices must be heard and valued when laws directly affect them.”