Iceland’s prostitution buying ban has failed, submissions say

Most of the 29 submissions published in Iceland’s government consultation portal say the country’s policy of criminalising the purchase of sex has failed to reduce demand or protect sex workers, mbl.is reports.

The submissions concern Justice Minister Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir’s proposal to increase penalties for buying sex. The proposal would expand the current penalty range from fines to up to one year in prison.

More respondents opposed the proposal than supported it. Most opponents cited a lack of dialogue and cooperation with sex workers in policymaking and referred to international research presenting a negative picture of the so-called Swedish model, which makes buying sex a criminal offence.

Academics oppose tougher penalties

Three academics at the University of Iceland, sociologist and associate professor Auður Magndís Auðardóttir, anthropologist and assistant professor Eyrún Ólöf Sigurðardóttir, and historian and professor Íris Ellenberger, said they welcomed a review of the legislation but specifically criticised tougher penalties.

They referred, among other things, to a 2016 Amnesty International report stating that law enforcement measures against buyers could expose sellers to increased surveillance and the risk of property confiscation. They also cited 2023 research by Perotta Berlin and Smitt Meyer, which found that prostitution had moved further underground rather than declined.

Trans Ísland urged the ministry to abandon the proposed change. The organisation said sex workers’ interest groups, including Rauða regnhlífin, had warned that tougher penalties for buyers would make sex workers’ working conditions less safe.

The organisation referred to 2022 research by Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir and Sveina Hjördís Þorvaldsdóttir, which found that people involved in prostitution were reluctant to contact the police. It said a stricter criminal policy would increase that reluctance.

Trans Ísland placed particular emphasis on the position of trans people, who it said were involved in sex work to a much greater extent than other groups because of discrimination in the labour market and an increased risk of poverty and homelessness.

Slagtog, an organisation focused on feminist self-defence, criticised the proposal for grouping prostitution, human trafficking and organised crime together without clear definitions. The organisation cited international research indicating that criminalising buyers increased risks for sex workers rather than reducing them, with marginalised groups suffering the greatest impact.

Criminalisation has negative effects on the health of both buyers and sellers, HIV Ísland said in its submission, citing a 2024 UNAIDS report. The organisation said people selling sex were more likely to seek help from it than from conventional healthcare services or the police because of fears of punishment and misunderstanding.

Among the submissions supporting tougher penalties, Stígamót described the current penalty framework, introduced in 2009, as “virtually toothless”.