Justice Ministry to propose criminalisation of buying sex

Bill to go before Parliament in December

Leena Luhtanen

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The Ministry of Justice plans to put forward a proposal to criminalise the purchase of sex services. A similar law is already in force in Sweden. The ministry wants a ban on all sex purchases, and not only in cases in which the provider of the services is a victim of pimping or trafficking in humans.
      Finland’s new Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen (SDP) has given her support for the bill. The government is to put the measure before Parliament in December.
     
The proposal drawn up by the Ministry of Justice also follows the Swedish model in terms of the scale of punishment. Under the proposed law, the buyer of sex services would be subject to a fine, or up to six months in prison.
      Experts believe that in the vast majority of cases, a person convicted of buying sex services would get a fine.
      The proposal would also criminalise attempting to buy sex, which would bring a smaller fine.
     
An alternate model was under consideration at the Ministry of Justice, in which the purchase of sex services would be punishable only if the prostitute is a victim of trafficking in humans or pimping. However, ministry official Janne Kanerva says that this option would have involved many types of problems.
      "The first problem would have been how a buyer could determine in advance if the seller is a victim of pimping or trafficking in humans", says Kanerva.
      The ministry believes that a new law would reduce sales of sex services, and demand for purchased sex. Another aim is to make trafficking in humans and procurement more difficult.
     
"Human traffickers and pimps might not necessarily want to come here, where the target of their activities is criminalised", Kanerva ponders.
      In his view, it is very difficult to say in advance how many fines would be handed out for buying sex. The law on public order has banned the sex trade in public places for two years now. But very few fines have been imposed on the basis of the law.
      "I could imagine that under the basis of the new law, more fines would be imposed than has been the case under the law on public order."
      There are no plans to place any further criminal sanctions on selling sex services.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish citizen arrested in Latvia on suspicion of human trafficking (1.11.2005)
  Report says most Finnish prostitutes work part-time (27.5.2005)

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