Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
Find the full transcript below:
The French Parliament is examining a bill aimed at decriminalising sex work in the country. And for the first time, the text was co-drafted with sex workers.
It has reignited a debate that regularly resurfaces in France and many European countries.
Why so? How are European countries regulating sex work, and with what effect?
“This is the first time politicians have listened to us.”
These are the words used by Vera, a porn content creator, during a discussion with French media outlet StreetPress, our partner in the Sphera network.
Vera is referring to the draft bill, which was tabled on 13 April by Senator Anne Souyris. This bill, co-written with sex workers and organisations defending their rights, aims, among other things, to decriminalise sex work in the country.
So where do things stand in France?
Until 2016, selling sexual services was legal in France. However, ten years ago, the French National Assembly passed a law making it illegal to pay for sex. It imposes a €1,500 fine on clients in an effort to combat pimping and human trafficking.
But this didn’t bring the expected results.
According to some sex workers’ organisations, this repressive legislation has failed to reduce violence against sex workers or combat exploitation. It has even had a “disastrous impact” on their precarious situation and safety, according to the French sex workers’ union Strass.
Those claims are supported by statistics:
French government figures show that 97 percent of people involved in prostitution were being exploited within a pimping network.
And according to various studies conducted last year, between 95 percent and 100 percent of sex workers report having experienced violence, most of the time sexual violence, in the course of their work.
In that context, activists alongside some politicians have opened the debate on a different legislative model legalising sex work. Senator Anne Souyris told StreetPress that her draft bill certainly does not promote prostitution but enables sex workers to have rights and to be protected.
Do other European countries share this view?
Not necessarily. In Germany, for example, the opposite question arises: should prostitution be recriminalised?
Sex work has been legal in Germany since 2002, and sex workers have been required to register with the authorities since 2017. And brothels must obtain a licence to operate.
But in recent months, a renewed debate over prostitution has emerged after Bundestag president Julia Klöckner described the country as the “brothel of Europe”.
For her and other critics of the current legislation, the legalisation of sex work has created a boom in the market. Around 32,300 sex workers were registered at the end of 2024, but researchers estimate that the number of unregistered sex workers in Germany “ranges from 200,000 to 400,000.”
So did legalisation improve sex workers’ conditions, as some French actors are hoping for?
It appears that the legislation has not succeeded in eliminating the risk of falling under the control of a criminal network. According to the German Institute for Human Rights, Germany continues to record significant levels of human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
When it comes to prostitution, laws vary widely from one country to another. Several European nations, such as Croatia, Slovenia and Romania, aim to eliminate prostitution, maintaining a complete ban on all forms of sex work.
In Sweden, Norway or Ireland, buying sexual services is illegal, but selling them is not, just like in France right now. By contrast, in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria or Greece, prostitution is legal and regulated.
All in all, no one seems to agree on the right path to follow. And because reliable data on the scale of human trafficking is difficult to collect, it is hard to determine which system is best suited.
But from the sex workers’ perspective, legalisation at least offers a degree of protection, even if it is not perfect. And it grants access to social rights like those enjoyed by other workers.
In 2023, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the punishment of sex buyers and support for those seeking to leave prostitution.
That text is non-binding as the EU has no competence over this matter. But it nevertheless drew sharp criticism from sex workers’ rights and human rights organisations.
