EU parliament backs criminalising paying for sex

STRASBOURG, France: The European Parliament voted on Thursday to back a motion calling for those paying for prostitution to face criminal prosecution.

The motion is non-binding, but comes at a time when several EU member states are reconsidering their laws on prostitution, which vary wildly around the bloc.

It urges EU countries to make it a crime to “solicit, accept or obtain a sexual act from a person in exchange for remuneration, the promise of remuneration, the provision of a benefit in kind or the promise of such a benefit.”

The motion generated fierce debate and was only passed by 234 votes to 175, with all the main party groupings of right and left split on the issue and MEPs voting as they wished.

Some EU countries such as Croatia and Lithuania ban prostitution and have criminal penalties for sex workers. Some -- notably Germany, Austria and the Netherlands -- have legalised and regulated it.

Some others -- including Sweden, France and Ireland -- have sought to switch the criminal responsibility for sex work onto the clients in the transaction. It is this course that the MEPs voted to back.

German socialist MEP Maria Noichl, who steered the motion through parliament, said it gave voice to people “who have traditionally been overlooked, marginalised and stigmatised in our societies.

“And it highlights the way forward: create exit programmes and alternatives, eradicate poverty and social exclusion, dismantle stereotypes and inequalities, and reduce demand by tackling the buyers.”