Prostitution Enforcement

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Purchase of sex services could soon lead to imprisonment


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The buying of sex could soon lead to imprisonment in Finland, as the purchase of sexual services is to be totally banned and criminalised in the country. Under the proposed law, the buyer of sex services would be subject to a fine, or up to six months in prison. An attempt to buy sex would be a crime as well.

On the other hand, there are no plans to place any further criminal sanctions on the sales of sex services. Moreover, selling sex will not be generally criminalised in connection with the criminalisation of sex purchases.
The contents of the bill were approved by the government on Thursday.
The amendment to the criminal law will be put before Parliament next week, and the change will take effect next year, as soon as Parliament has passed the new legislation.
At present there is only a ban on selling and buying sexual services in public places. Persons violating the ban can get fines.
In the enforcement of the proposed new law, the sale of sex in public places will remain illegal, while the purchase of sex services will be a crime everywhere, regardless of location.
According to the law, the definition of sex services includes "sexual intercourse or a similar sexual act".
For the purposes of the law, the purchase of sex services includes also a promise of any form of compensation - not only money.

Also the purchase of sex services over the phone or via the internet would be criminalised.
The buyer would be punished, even though he or she used sexual services that somebody else had given as a present.
In Finland the purchase of sexual services from a person under 18 is a crime carrying a prison term of up to one year.

By criminalising the purchase of sex, the government aims at reducing prostitution, and at making pimping and trafficking in humans more difficult.
According to various estimates, there are around 8,000 to 15,000 prostitutes working in Finland in the course of a given year. The majority of them are women.
A similar law has been in force in Sweden since 1999. On the other hand, Norway has decided not to follow the example set by the Swedes.

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Pu...ould+soon+lead+to++imprisonment/1101981978237