WUNRN
29
Dec 2008
NORWAY LAW CRIMINALIZES SEX
PURCHASE, ENTERS FORCE JANUARY 1
Oslo
- A new law that criminalizes the purchase of sexual favours in Norway is
expected to result in a decline in the number of prostitutes on the streets of
Oslo and other cities when it comes into force on January 1. The law will apply
inside the Scandinavian country and to Norwegian residents when they are
outside Norway. It is partly based on similar legislation adopted in
neighbouring Sweden in 1999.
Prostitutes
who offer their services, will not be prosecuted under the new law.
"People
are not goods for sale. With this law we wish to make it more difficult for
human traffickers to ply their trade in Norway," Justice Minister Knut
Storberget said recently.
Offenders
risk a fine or a six-month jail term, or both. In cases, involving minors or
aggravating circumstances for instance, the punishment could be even tougher.
Police
will be allowed to conduct wiretaps to gather evidence.
The
number of street prostitutes appears to have declined recently in central Oslo.
Police have for several months been informing prostitutes of the pending
legislation.
The
Oslo-based Pro Centre, a public-funded social service centre that works with
male and female prostitutes, estimates that there are some 700 prostitutes in
the Norwegian capital.
Some
critics claim the new law will force prostitutes to go underground, seeking
customers in bars and other nightspots or working from flats and hotels, at
increased risk.
The
hospitality and leisure sector has, however, welcomed the move, Hilde Solheim
of the Federation of Norwegian Commercial and Service Enterprises told the
online edition of the Aftenposten newspaper.
Solheim
added that there were challenges for nightspots that had to strike a balance
between preventing prostitution and also not discriminating against innocent
people.
During
2008 around 3,000 people were estimated to be engaged in prostitution in
Norway, a third of them working the streets, the independent research institute
FAFO said.
The
institute underlined the difficulty in establishing exact numbers. The study
suggested a sizeable portion of prostitutes came to Norway to work for a period
of time, many from eastern Europe and Nigeria.
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