By Isabelle Durant, Thierry Marchandise, Magdeleine Willame-Boonen, Jacques Brotchi, Nadine Meunier, Elisabeth Drory, and Sophie Jekeler
The question currently stirring the Liège City Council, and which occasionally arises in other major Belgian cities, provides an opportunity to revisit an old debate: should people who are prostituted be considered professionals or victims?
It is certainly the second interpretation that some French parliamentarians have favored, followed by a recent proposal from a Belgian political party.
By proposing to criminalize the clients of prostituted persons, the proponents place the issue of prostitution within the Swedish perspective, which views it as violence against women, a crime punishable by six months in prison and/or heavy fines. Is this desirable?
The Samilia Foundation, whose primary objective is to contribute to the fight against human trafficking, usually distances itself from any moralizing approach to prostitution.
However, we believe it is time to nuance the debate and openly ask questions that many prefer to ignore.
Perceived differently over the centuries, prostitution reflects a given economic and cultural context. In a hyper-sexualized society where everything has a market value, the fact that consenting adults monetize their charms should, in principle, not pose a problem.
Those who engage in prostitution deserve our respect. Who are we to judge their ability to be self-sufficient or the validity of a choice they openly claim?
However, upon closer examination, the notion of consent is difficult to define and must be understood in light of each person’s life history. Without generalizing, emotional trauma suffered in childhood or a lack of sexual respect can sometimes alter an apparently free choice.
Prostitution is not trivial. It is never far removed from violence, it is often accompanied by contempt, and it is always stigmatized.
It is unacceptable to exploit prostituted persons or to coerce them, in any way, into performing or continuing a painful activity.
Human trafficking is a major concern of the European Union, facing the dual challenge of mass migration and free movement of people.
No Member State is spared from criminal networks that threaten the very foundations of democracy, violate fundamental human rights, and insidiously infiltrate all sectors of the economy.
Belgium has been considered a pioneer in the fight against human trafficking, but regarding prostitution, other countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands have adopted innovative policies that can now be evaluated.
Thus, in response to the question of whether it is appropriate to open Eros centers in Belgium, we answer:
1/ Tout ce qui contribue à banaliser la prostitution contribue également à développer la traite des êtres humains.
Legalizing prostitution in the Netherlands has not reduced human trafficking. On the contrary, authorities are unable to fully control these prostitution spaces, the nature of the phenomenon has changed (less violence from traffickers, disappearance of large networks controlling dozens of women), and new forms of trafficking have emerged, such as the “loverboys”, men aged 20 to 30 who seduce and manipulate young Dutch women into prostitution networks, or “circular prostitution”, which moves women between countries depending on local legislation and to avoid regular police checks.
2/ Opening Eros Centers would only address one specific type of prostitution: window or salon-based prostitution. It would have no effect on street prostitution, private clubs, or online prostitution, which are the fastest-growing forms.window or salon-based prostitution. It would have no effect on street prostitution, private clubs, or online prostitution, which are the fastest-growing forms.
As for criminalizing the client, we do not consider it a priority.
1/ We demand more resources to enable field actors to enforce existing laws, particularly regarding prosecutions of all forms of sexual exploitation.
2/ In any case, penalizing the client should only occur after a full process, as recommended by the political party proposing this measure, to avoid pushing prostitution underground and creating conditions more favorable to human trafficking. In Sweden, the decision to prosecute clients came 30 years after the issue was first raised and was accompanied by social support programs for vulnerable women and awareness campaigns targeting men (including, for example, a helpline for clients with sexual urges).
In Belgium, we are still far from this approach. Nevertheless, the above-mentioned note outlines several strategies that we have long advocated.
3 / Indeed, our approach aligns with Directive 2011/36/EU adopted on 20 March 2011 by the European Parliament and Council, which provides in Article 18: « Member States shall take appropriate measures, such as education and training, to discourage and reduce the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation related to trafficking in human beings” In other words, we call for focusing on awareness and education of clients, rather than a policy of criminalization.
Preventive initiatives should also target young people whose sexual behaviors are influenced by pornography, especially online, which often conveys a violent view of sexuality that feeds into the prostitution market.
Finally, public authorities should dedicate as much energy to providing credible alternatives for those wishing to leave prostitution as they do to regulating it. If in Antwerp, Liège, or elsewhere, individuals have the right to work in prostitution under safe and hygienic conditions, shouldn’t they be equally supported when they wish or need to leave this activity?
*1 / www.samiliafoundation.org *2 / Human trafficking involves recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving a person, or controlling them, for the purposes of: - sexual exploitation forced begging forced labor under conditions contraires à la dignité humaine (conomic exploitation) - organ trafficking, -or compelling a person to commit a crime or offense against their will.
