With an amenedment to the unloved Police Bill in parliament, it could happen that the Nordic model is introduced to England. The Nordic model bans the purchase of sex, while 'decriminilising the escort' The Nordic model will also ban advertising sites. There is a fierce battle building up to fight this amendment, and hopfully amend the police bill to fully decriminilise the sexwork. Many celebrities are supporting the decriminilisation.
A newly-published open letter that calls for MPs to oppose the further criminalisation of sex work in the UK has received 150 signatures, including those of celebrities, activists, and human rights organisations (such as FKA twigs, Amnesty International, and Sisters Uncut), and figures across politics, the media, and academia.
Spearheaded by the UK campaign group Decrim Now, the letter takes aim at legislation that criminalises the purchase of sex — often known as “the Nordic Model” — warning that measures touted as solutions to sex trafficking and exploitation “will only exacerbate violence against women, including those who are being exploited”.
It also encourages politicians to take an evidence-based approach to the sex industry, and to engage with and listen to sex workers. This comes amid repeated attempts to criminalise paying for sex in the UK (including the recent Sexual Exploitation Bill put forward by Labour’s Diana Johnson, which Decrim Now links to the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill) despite evidence suggesting that the move is likely to prove ineffective, and may have harmful consequences.
“Evidence shows that the Nordic Model does nothing for the very groups it claims to protect,” the letter continues, citing a sharp increase in violence against sex workers after similar legislation was introduced in the Republic of Ireland in 2017. In 2018, the non-profit initiative Ugly Mugs Ireland reported that violent crime against sex workers went up 77 per cent after the ruling came into effect.