Dr Niina Vuolajärvi's research on the criminalisation of sex buying on sex workers was quoted in Scottish Parliamentary debate

Research produced by our Assistant Professor in International Migration Dr Niina Vuolajärvi for the LSE Centre for Women Peace and Security in June 2022 on the criminalisation of sex buying on sex workers in the Nordic region was mentioned in a Scottish Parliamentary debate on the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill on Tuesday 3rd of February.

Scottish Green MSP Maggie Green referenced the research:

"That is why experts who have experienced the Nordic model support decriminalisation. London School of Economics researchers conducted 210 formal interviews with sex workers, police, social workers and policy makers in Sweden, Norway and Finland. Of those, 96 per cent opposed the sex-buyer laws in those countries. The research found that, even if sex workers are not directly criminalised, they are de facto penalised through the enforcement of intersecting immigration, third-party and fiscal policies. It found that policing still targets sex workers and that the ramifications include evictions and deportations."

Commenting on her research being reference in the Scottish Parliament, Dr Niina Vuolojärvi said:

"I am really happy to see that politicians are relying on evidence-based research when making decisions on policies concerning sex work and trafficking. Often these policies are made more based on moral judgements than on what works and what does not rather than relying on research or sex workers’ views and experiences.

The current bill proposes to criminalise the buying of sex in the name of gender equality and protecting women in the sex trade. As a researcher who has done extensive research in the Nordic region where this policy originates, I cannot support the bill because of the harm it produces to people in the sex trade. My research demonstrates that introducing the aim to abolish commercial sex through criminalisation of buying increases the policing of sex workers and using other laws to disrupt their work rather than offering them support . The sex buyer law in itself exposes sex workers to violence and exploitation because of reduced negotiation and safety practices and increases the overall stigma and marginalisation they experience in the society."

Abstract

"This brief examines the effects of criminalisation of sex buying on sex workers and people in the sex trade, especially on their vulnerability to violence and exploitation. Because in the Nordic region, as in many other countries, many of the people in the sex trade are migrants, this brief also examines how the policing of commercial sex under the ‘Nordic model’ intersects with immigration policies and their enforcement."