„As an organization based on human rights and respect for human dignity, the Council of Europe should take a stance on prostitution which reflects its core mission. Basing one’s judgment on respect for human dignity does not mean taking a moralistic approach, however. It means respecting people’s decisions and choices as long as they harm no-one else” – says the document.

It states that regarding voluntary prostitution, defined as prostitution exercised by persons over the age of 18 having chosen prostitution as a means to make a living of their own accord, the approaches adopted in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe vary widely. Historically, three different approaches can be defined: prohibitionist, regulationist and abolitionist. Sweden has recently invented a new approach which is generally defined as neo-abolitionist.

About a third of Council of Europe member states (17) subscribe to the prohibitionist approach, which prohibits prostitution and penalizes prostitutes and pimps alike (although not necessarily clients). A substantial minority of member states (9) subscribe to the regulationist approach, which seeks to regulate rather than prohibit or abolish prostitution. The relative majority of member states can be considered abolitionist (20), which means they seek to abolish prostitution by penalizing procurers and pimps rather than prostitutes. Sweden’s neo-abolitionist approach takes the abolitionist logic one step further and penalizes the clients.

The draft resolution proposes:

Council of Europe member states should formulate an explicit policy on prostitution; they must avoid double standards and policies which force prostitutes underground or into the arms of pimps, which only make prostitutes more vulnerable, instead they should seek to empower them, in particular by:
11.3.1. refraining from criminalising and penalising prostitutes and developing programmes to assist prostitutes to leave the profession should they wish to do so;
11.3.2. addressing personal vulnerabilities of prostitutes, such as mental health problems, low self-esteem and childhood neglect or abuse, as well as drug abuse;
11.3.3. addressing structural problems (poverty, political instability/war, gender inequality, differential opportunity, lack of education and training), including in countries from which prostitutes originate, to prevent people being “forced” into prostitution by circumstances;
11.3.4. ensuring prostitutes have access to and enough independence to impose safe sexual practices on their clients;
11.3.5. respecting the right of prostitutes who freely choose to work as a prostitute to have a say in any policies on the national, regional and local level concerning them;
11.3.6. ending the abuse of power by the police and other public authorities towards prostitutes by developing special training programmes for them.
Full document is available here.