30th July 2024
Women@TheWell welcomes the judgement made by the European Court of Human Rights published on 25 July 2024, whereby the Court was called upon to rule on the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual acts in France (a key part of what is known as the prostitution abolition model).
Those appealing to the ECHR argued that French law endangered people in prostitution and violated the privacy of people in prostitution and their ‘clients’.
In its decision on 25 July, the ECHR unanimously rejected both of these complaints.
Women at The Well is very pleased that this key human rights institution has recognised that state law and policy which tries to deter the purchase of sex and bring about an end to prostitution is not in conflict with human rights. This is an important judgement for the global abolitionist movement and the efforts of all involved in advocating for abolition of prostitution.
Read CAP International’s statement on the judgement here. Women@TheWell is an active UK member of CAP.
Women at The Well supports the adoption of the French model here in the UK. This would include:
Criminalising the purchase of sex, including its brokering online;
Offering real alternatives to prostitution, and support for exiting services like ours in communities across the country;
National and local campaigns which connect sexual exploitation in prostitution to other forms of abuse and putting a specific focus on those who choose to try to pay for sex and what that act entails.
Women@TheWell notes that Tonia Antoniazzi last week used a debate in Parliament to highlight how men paying for sex fuel the demand for trafficking and called for a crackdown on ‘pimping websites’ and those who pay for sex. We hope the new Parliament and new Government will make time to look at the harms inherent in prostitution and develop a radically new legal and policy framework to address it.