WUNRN
Norway
Proposes Jail, Fines for Buying Sex
18
Apr 2008
OSLO,
April 18 (Reuters) - The Norwegian government proposed on Friday to fine or
jail clients of prostitutes for up to six months in a bid to stamp out human
trafficking, and said the law would also apply to its citizens abroad.
Norway
signalled in mid-2007 that it would make it a criminal offence to buy services
from prostitutes, following the example of Scandinavian neighbour Sweden which
introduced a similar ban in 1999.
The
amendment will now be put to parliament for approval and if passed will take
effect in January, officials said.
"People
are not merchandise, and criminalising the purchase of sexual services will
make it less attractive for human traffickers to look to Norway," Justice
Minister Knut Storberget said in a statement.
Prostitution
is allowed in Norway although procuring, or "pimping," is illegal. A
rise in street prostitution in the capital, Oslo, in recent years has triggered
calls for a ban.
Proponents
of the measure say it makes sense to try to stop prostitution by punishing
those who use the service rather than the women themselves, who are often poor,
young immigrants.
"The
goal is that the ban should contribute to ... reducing demand and thereby give
a lesser market for human trafficking," Storberget said.
Opponents
of the ban say it will jeopardise women in the trade by driving prostitution
underground where they will be even more vulnerable.
"Criminalisation
shall not lead to a worse situation for the prostitutes," Storberget said,
adding that the government had taken other steps to get prostitutes out of the
business.
The
justice ministry said the punishment could be fines on rising scale according
to the offender's financial means or a jail term of up to six months, or both.
Jail
sentences of a year could be imposed in aggravated cases involving adult
prostitution and of up to three years where child prostitutes are involved, the
ministry said. (Reporting by John Acher; Editing by Catherine Evans)
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