Following a complaint lodged in 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was called upon to rule on the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual acts, accused of “endangering the physical and psychological integrity and the health of persons in prostitution” and threatening “the right to respect to privacy of prostituted persons and their clients”. In its decision of 25 July, the ECHR unanimously rejected all of these complaints.
We, the grassroots organisations working with thousands of people in prostitution in all countries, survivors of prostitution, and organisations working to combat male violence, welcome this decision by the ECHR. It should be noted that this decision was taken unanimously and without ambiguity. The Court highlights the sustained and democratic nature of the legislative process for the 2016 law and recognises that penalising “clients” is inseparable from the law’s overall provisions. It also acknowledges that no one today has the capacity to establish that the law would have had a detrimental effect on prostituted persons, and points out that the law took extremely thorough account of the social and health situation of prostituted persons.
We state that the Abolitionist model is the approach that guarantees the best protection for all people in prostitution and provides access to their basic rights, first and foremost health.
Only by recognising prostitution as a form of violence can we provide effective support for people in prostitution. What prevents them from accessing their rights is not the law: it’s the lack of enforcement.
Source: The ECHR validates French law on prostitution. A victory for all women!