Activities of Vera TAX related to 2022/2139(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Regulation of prostitution in the EU: its cross-border implications and impact on gender equality and women’s rights (debate)
Amendments (38)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2
Citation 2
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas prostitution, its exploitation, and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation are increasingcontinue to increase in Europe; whereas figures globally decreased due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns; whereas human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation was the most common form of human trafficking in the EU in 2020 (55%, Eurostat) and the victims are predominantly women and girls; whereas they are gender- specific phenomena with a global dimension and affect the most marginalised members of our societies, with the vast majority of people in prostitution being women and girls and almost all sexnd buyers being men; overwhelmingly men according to the OSCE;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas prostitution, its exploitation, and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation are increasing; whereas they1a are gender- specific phenomena with a global dimension and affect the most marginalised members of our societies, with the vast majority of people in prostitution being women and girls and almost all sex buyers being men; _________________ 1a Although sexual exploitation was still the predominant form of exploitation in 2020, it has reached it’s lowest point since 2008. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php?title=Trafficking_in _human_beings_statistics&oldid=574250 #More_than_half_of_registered_victims_s exually_exploited
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the internationally accepted wording used in most legally binding texts focused on policing and criminality is prostitution of women and prostitution; however international documents and organisation focused on health and human rights use the term sex workers, as this term does not include negative connotations of criminality; highlights that self-identification of those concerned should be always respected
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas different regulatory measures concerning prostitution have different effects on gender equalitythe main purpose of all regulatory measures is to avoid that women and girls are exploited; whereas different regulatory measures concerning prostitution have different effects on gender equality; whereas so far none of the regulatory models has been able to provide sufficient safeguards for sex workers;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas gender equality and women’s rights, their self-determination and safety, need to be in the heart of any regulation aimed at discouraging the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons; whereas policies tackling demand have to be especially focused on educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas numerous factors can cause people to enter prostitution, including poverty, social exclusion and a migration background; , lack of comprehensive integration and migration policies and measures, as well as deficient social and labour policies; whereas these causes need to be urgently and thoroughly addressed in order to tackle the circumstances and restraints leading to a lack of alternatives;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas prostitution has cross- border implications and affects women’s rights and gender equality; whereas due to lack of collaborative governance and human rights impact assessment, the well- intended interventions that aim to prevent violence and exploitation in the sex industry fail; whereas the disparity of legislation on prostitution in the EU benefits traffickers and organised crime networks; whereas all Member States have a legal obligation to discourage and end human trafficking and organised crime;
Amendment 131 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas Russia’s war against Ukraine increases the risk of trafficking with Ukrainian women and girls who are in a particularly vulnerable situation while fleeing and relocating;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
H b. whereas demand reduction measures need a special focus on online advertisement and contact facilitation thus ensuring efficiency in the prevention of the exploitation of the prostitution of others;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H d (new)
Recital H d (new)
H d. whereas leaving prostitution is often a difficult and lengthy process and requires comprehensive socio-economic support and individual counselling taking into account the different pull and push factors in order to provide need-oriented support programs for people wanting to leave prostitution and making these programs a success for all of them;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H e (new)
Recital H e (new)
H e. whereas preventive measures need to follow a holistic approach, reforming society as a whole with a focus on social, labour and migration policies, reducing vulnerabilities and thus the susceptibility to exploitation or choices that have to be taken based on the lack of alternatives;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H f (new)
Recital H f (new)
H f. whereas accurate and comparable data across EU countries are still lacking;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that approaches to regulating prostitution vary across the EU and target three key components of this system: prostituted persons, the purchase of sex (i.e. demand), and pimpinginvolvement of exploitative third parties; stresses that the different laws have different effects on women in prostitution, their rights, women’s rights in general, gender equality, demand, society and neighbouring countries;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that consent can only be given freely when there is no power imbalance between the people involved people involved, people in prostitution as well as the buyers, are aware of their rights and obligations and are able to act upon these rights and obligations; nNotes, at the same time, that it can be extremely difficult for people to realise that they are victims, especially when they do not know their rights, and recalls the dynamics of an abusive relationship; further notes, that conflating sex work with sexual exploitation in all cases undermines the agency of people to make informed decisions about their private and sexual life;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the deterioration of the social and economic situation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased all forms of abuse and violence against women, including in prostitution; warns that this will be further aggravated by the current energy and cost-of-living crisis;
Amendment 198 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. highlights the acute risk of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation Ukrainian women and girls face due to their vulnerable situation fleeing from Russia’s war against Ukraine and relocating in other countries;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Condemns the fact that women in prostitution lack legal security because of their criminalisation, meaning they face the constant threat of police and judicial persecution, are subject to additional vulnerability and stigmatisation that negatively affect their health, consequently experience difficulties in contacting support services and lack access to fundamental rights; deplores the fact that, at the same time, offenders posing as clients, brothel owners and human traffickers often remain unpunished;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out the negative consequences of the decriminalisation of pimping and the purchase of sexexploitative third parties, which, through the apparent societal normalisation of these activities, leads to an increase in the trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation and conceals the reality of coercion, manipulation, violence and exploitation in prostitution, where a lack of language skills, vulnerabilities and precarious conditions are exploited to make women enter and stay in prostitution;, regrets the fact that even the legalisation of prostitution, pimpingthird parties and the purchase of sex does not mean an end to the stigma for women in prostitution;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the fact that an increasing number of countries are taking up and implementing the Nordic/Equality model; supports the feminist background of this model and its goal of achieving gender equality, and highlights the model’s positive effects on the rights of people in prostitution and the fight against humMember States strive to achieve an inclusion of discriminated and marginalised people selling sex and provide subsidies to support their community based organisation to better address the needs and rights of the most marginalised, including identification and referral of those exploited and trafficking;ed.
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls on the Member States to train and educate the police in order to ensure that people in prostitution and the police communicate on a basis of trust and therefore are able to detect exploitation as fast and effective as possible; recalls that migrants, racialized and trans people are overrepresented in prostitution and condemns that they are especially targeted and criminalised by the police; calls for the same comprehensive training for the judiciary;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Recognises that legalising all facets of prostitution also has added value, such as the visibility of the women who are therefore safer and are not forced to continue their activities undergrounds;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Condemns the reality of coercion, manipulation, violence and exploitation in prostitution, where a lack of language skills, vulnerabilities and precarious conditions are exploited to make women enter and stay in prostitution;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 c (new)
Paragraph 10 c (new)
10 c. Acknowledges that different policies to combat sexual exploitation can have different effects in different Member States; Regrets the fact that regulations, including the legalisation or criminalisation of prostitution, the involvement of exploitative third parties and the purchase of sex does not mean an end to the stigma for women in prostitution;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 d (new)
Paragraph 10 d (new)
10 d. Refrains from comments on the effectivity of individual regulatory models and their mutual comparison; underlines that the implementation of different models regarding the regulation of prostitution across Member States allows for the conclusion, that none of the regulatory models has achieved the complete elimination of stigmatisation and discriminatory treatment of people selling sex neither effective safeguards to ensure access to health, social and justice services for people selling sex;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Highlights that the approach of discouraging the demand that fosters trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is therefore of utmost importance in order to combat the exploitation of women and girls, to protect victims and to achieve gender equality and should therefore be developed further in the revision of the EU Anti-Trafficking directive;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Underlines the importance of discouraging demand in a way that does not harm or create negative repercussions for those in prostitution and provide sufficient safeguards;
Amendment 259 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Calls for demand reduction measures with a special focus on online advertisement and contact facilitation, ensuring efficient measures to prevent the exploitation of the prostitution of others;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 272 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses that human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is increasing due to high demand; points out that this is particularly visible in countries with a liberal regulatory model, whereas countries that follow approaches like the Nordic/Equality model are no longer big markets for human trafficking for that purpose;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Member States to take action in the areas of prevention, decriminalisation of people in prostitution, exit programmes, demand reduction, punishment of clients, destigmatisation and the elimination of stereotypes; calls on the Member States to reduce demand while protecting women and their rights, to end the criminalisation and stigmatisation of people in prostitution and to ensure exit strategies and unconditional access to social security systems and reintegration;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Member States to take measures to combat the economic, social and cultural causes of prostitution so that women in situations of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and migration do not fall victim to this form of exploadopt a strategy of collaborative governance with sex worker advocacy organizations to attain an effective and humane prostitaution policy;
Amendment 359 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls for specific measures to assiston Member States to implement specific measures and to provide sufficient financial support to assist people and especially women in prostitution with their social and professional reintegration; calls for such exit programmes to work gradually, for women to be supported on their personal paths and for people’s potential to be recognised, with and professional training and further education programmes being adapted to take account of this, with a special focus on people with migration background;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24 a. Calls on the Commission to put forward awareness-raising campaigns with the aim of discouraging the demand, highlighting the link between the demand for sexual services and the phenomenon of trafficking for sexual exploitation and the high numbers of women being trafficked inside and to the European Union; furthermore calls for awareness- raising for the particular risks people and especially women in prostitution face, including the high prevalence of gender- based violence; calls for these campaigns to further target young people and men while also dismantling stereotypes;
Amendment 383 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24 b. Calls for full access to non- discriminatory and universal health and social services as well as to the justice system for everyone, especially for people and women in prostitution;