OUGD505: Nordic model

Whilst researching my topic of trafficking, I kept reading about the Nordic Model. The Nordic model is an effective approach to preventing trafficking and exploitation a human rights and gender equality-based approach also known as the ‘Swedish model’. This set of laws and policies penalises the demand for commercial sex while decriminalising individuals in prostitution and providing them with support services, including help for those who wish to exit prostitution. 

The Nordic model has two main goals: to curb the demand for commercial sex that fuels sex trafficking, and promote equality between men and women. It is based on an approach first adopted in Sweden in 1999, and followed by Norway and Iceland.

Curbing the demand for sex trafficking

Sex trafficking does not just exist because its victims are vulnerable - it exists because there is a demand for commercial sex that traffickers can exploit and profit from. Thus, addressing the demand for commercial sex is a key component of any plan to prevent sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. Men who buy sex and thereby create the demand that fuels trafficking have stated that greater criminal penalties, having their name publicised and having a letter sent home stating that they were arrested for buying sex would deter them from buying sex.

3 of the 4 countries with the highest level of gender equality have adopted the Nordic model as a way to combat sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Promoting Gender Equality

Women and girls who are trafficked and exploited to satisfy the demand for commercial sex are treated as commodities to be bought, sold, exploited and abused. An estimated 98% of sex trafficking victims are women and girls  and the vast majority of commercial sex “buyers” are men. Buyers often have specific preferences regarding the women and girls they buy - including “young” or “fresh” girls, specific races/ethnicities, and body shapes and sizes – but most importantly, they want on-demand sexual access to a diverse supply of women and girls.

Exploitation of women and girls in the commercial sex industry is both a cause and consequence of gender and other inequalities. It entails numerous human rights violations, including of the right to equality and non-discrimination, dignity, health and to be free from violence, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. It perpetuates the idea that it’s acceptable to buy women’s and girls’ bodies as long as a buyer can pay for it. The Nordic model challenges this construct and tries to redress these inequalities by promoting women’s and girls’ right to safety, health and nondiscrimination, and by challenging men’s perceived – but nonexistent – “right” to buy women’s bodies for sex. Unsurprisingly, 3 of the top 4 countries with the highest level of gender equality have adopted the Nordic model.

Sweden has become an undesirable destination for sex traffickers.

Sweden- pioneering a new approach

In 1999, as part of a Violence Against Women bill, Sweden passed a law that criminalised buyers of sex while keeping the person who sold or was sold for sex decriminalised. Sweden understood that gender inequality and sexual exploitation, including sex trafficking, could not be combated effectively as long as it was considered acceptable to purchase access to another – often more vulnerable and disadvantaged – person’s body. Alongside this law, the Swedish government made a significant investment in exit programs for those who wish to leave prostitution and to provide comprehensive social services for victims of exploitation, which is essential for a victim-centered, human rights-based approach to combating trafficking. Since the introduction of the law, street prostitution has decreased (while increasing dramatically in Sweden’s neighbours) and Sweden has become an undesirable destination for pimps and traffickers. iv In addition, the new law has influenced attitudes regarding the purchase of sex: from 1996 (before the law) until 2008, the number of male sex buyers decreased from 13.6% to 7.9%.

However it is a growing movement. Several countries have followed Sweden’s example, and many more are considering this approach. Norway and Iceland passed similar laws in 2008 and 2009, respectively, Canada adopted a law in this spirit in 2014 , and a growing trend towards the approach is sweeping across Europe. In the last few years, Nordic-model style legislation has been discussed in the parliaments of France, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales. In early 2014, the parliaments of the European Union and the Council of Europe both adopted non-binding resolutions recommending member states to consider the Nordic Model. vii An increasing number of activists and organisations across the globe, many of which are survivor-led , including in countries such as South Africa, India, Germany, New Zealand and the U.S., are calling for lawmakers to recognise the realities of prostitution and to enact the Nordic model.