The following is my edited version of Survivors of Prostitution-Abuse Calling for Enlightenment, SPACE International's explanation of the Nordic Model:
The Nordic Model ... is a gender-neutral law which criminalises the purchasers of sex
while decriminalising those who sell it. [Those who have been prostitutes] know it
[prostitution] to be sexually abusive exploitation and ... press for the criminalisation of those who perpetuate it, supporting this sort of law because nobody, man or woman, should ever be criminalised for their own exploitation.
Objectives below:
Political recognition of all forms of prostitution as sexually-exploitative human rights violations.
Criminalisation of the demand for paid sexual access to human bodies.
The implementation of Exit Programs. A continuum of services in order to fully address the needs of those vulnerable to and currently involved in the sex trade, including prevention, education and comprehensive exit programs. These programs need to offer a wide range of resources, options, services and supports that can respond to the differing needs and complex circumstances behind each individual’s involvement in prostitution, such as help with child-care, housing, education, training and other supports that promote independent living.
Public education programmes to inform society about the global exploitation of the most vulnerable populations which results from the structural inequality between women and men on a world scale. In particular, attention must be drawn to the way women who are racially marginalised are grossly overrepresented in prostitution, and the majority of men buying them are white.
The implementation of ‘Vitter schools’ and the legal requirement that all persons found engaging in the purchase of sex attend them.
There is a lot of resistance to adopting this model in criminal justice. Countries with gender equality, with a close to majority participation of women in governance, are the countries most open to protecting the vulnerable, the exploited, in these sorts of crimes:
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.
Free Market Values and unregulated capitalism:
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 girlsii 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.
I like a discussion of the Nordic Model at
Feminist Current:
10 myths about prostitution, trafficking and the Nordic model