Sweden's Ban on Sex-Purchase : Morality politics and the governance of prostitution
(2024)- Abstract
- This essay thesis examines Sweden’s 1999 ban on purchasing sexual services, considering the attention it received as an unprecedented approach to governing prostitution, the highly polarised political environment in which it exists, and the multiple legal contradictions it displays. Using material gathered through a multisited method from 2009 through 2019, the study shows that the offence is a variant of other anti-prostitution laws directed at sex workers and their clients. Moreover, the thesis argues that the highly charged emotions surrounding the ban, as well as its conflicts and contradictions, are comprehensible if analysed within the framework of morality politics.
The thesis contributes empirically to studies of prostitution... (More) - This essay thesis examines Sweden’s 1999 ban on purchasing sexual services, considering the attention it received as an unprecedented approach to governing prostitution, the highly polarised political environment in which it exists, and the multiple legal contradictions it displays. Using material gathered through a multisited method from 2009 through 2019, the study shows that the offence is a variant of other anti-prostitution laws directed at sex workers and their clients. Moreover, the thesis argues that the highly charged emotions surrounding the ban, as well as its conflicts and contradictions, are comprehensible if analysed within the framework of morality politics.
The thesis contributes empirically to studies of prostitution policy, theoretically to the conception of morality politics, and methodologically to the anthropological analysis of law and policy. It proposes an empirically grounded typology of prostitution policies: the repressive, aimed at eliminating the sex industry through punitive measures; the restrictive, permitting the trade to operate under strict conditions, regulated by both criminal and civil law; and the integrative, which does not criminalise consensual sex work but regulates the industry and protects sex workers through sector-specific labour and trade legislation. Its major theoretical contribution is a refinement of the concept of morality politics that offers new insights into how issues such as prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and drug use are perceived, discussed, and governed in liberal democracies. These all involve ‘consensual crimes’ rooted in religious notions of sin and regarded as posing a risk to social order. They are typically addressed by the three distinct policy models, while the governance agenda either seeks to reform those who engage in these marginalised practices or to grant them equal civil rights. Empirically, the thesis demonstrates that the ambivalent legal and civic status of sex workers in Sweden is based on an exclusionary logic inherent in all anti-prostitution law, suggesting a link to the historically subordinate position of women’s work, as well as to the discriminatory treatment of ‘sinners’ and other social outliers.
These conclusions are the result of following the sex-purchase ban over a long time and across four related socio-legal domains: established law, political discourse, implementation, and impact, including a close scrutiny of how the ban relates to general legal principles and rules according to the source of law. The thesis consists of six introductory and summary chapters, two published articles, and two essays that have not yet been published.
Key words: morality politics, prostitution policy, sex-purchase ban, Sweden (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna avhandling undersöker 1998 års svenska förbud mot sexköp utifrån den uppmärksamhet lagen fått som ett unikt tillvägagångssätt för att reglera prostitution, den starkt polariserade politiska miljö den existerar inom och de många juridiska motsägelser den uppvisar. Genom material insamlat genom en multisituerad metod mellan åren 2009 och 2019 visar studien att sexköpsförbudet är en variant av traditionella anti-prostitutionslagar riktade mot sexarbetare och deras kunder. Vidare visar avhandlingen att de starka känslor kring förbudet, liksom dess konflikter och motsägelser, blir begripliga när de analyseras inom ramen för moralpolitik.
Avhandlingen bidrar empiriskt till studier av prostitutionspolitik, teoretiskt till... (More) - Denna avhandling undersöker 1998 års svenska förbud mot sexköp utifrån den uppmärksamhet lagen fått som ett unikt tillvägagångssätt för att reglera prostitution, den starkt polariserade politiska miljö den existerar inom och de många juridiska motsägelser den uppvisar. Genom material insamlat genom en multisituerad metod mellan åren 2009 och 2019 visar studien att sexköpsförbudet är en variant av traditionella anti-prostitutionslagar riktade mot sexarbetare och deras kunder. Vidare visar avhandlingen att de starka känslor kring förbudet, liksom dess konflikter och motsägelser, blir begripliga när de analyseras inom ramen för moralpolitik.
Avhandlingen bidrar empiriskt till studier av prostitutionspolitik, teoretiskt till förståelsen av moralpolitik och metodologiskt till antropologiska analyser av lagstiftning och politik. Den föreslår en empiriskt grundad typologi av prostitutionspolitik: den repressiva, som syftar till att eliminera sexhandeln genom straffåtgärder; den restriktiva, som tillåter verksamheten att bedrivas under strikta villkor och regleras både av straff- och civilrätt; och den integrativa, som inte kriminaliserar frivilligt sexarbete utan reglerar industrin och skyddar sexarbetare genom sektorsspecifik arbets- och handelslagstiftning. Det huvudsakliga teoretiska bidraget är en förfining av begreppet moralpolitik, vilket ger nya insikter i hur frågor som prostitution, homosexualitet, abort och drogbruk uppfattas, diskuteras och regleras i liberala demokratier. Dessa frågor innefattar så kallade "samtyckesbrott" som är rotade i religiösa föreställningar om synd och anses utgöra en risk för den sociala ordningen. Frågorna hanteras vanligtvis genom de tre distinkta policymodellerna, medan styrningsagendan antingen syftar till att reformera de som ägnar sig åt dessa marginaliserade praktiker eller att ge dem lika medborgerliga rättigheter.
Empiriskt visar avhandlingen att sexarbetares ambivalenta juridiska och medborgerliga status i Sverige bygger på en exkluderande logik som är inneboende i all anti-prostitutionslagstiftning. Detta antyder en koppling till kvinnors historiskt underordnade position i arbetslivet samt till den diskriminerande behandlingen av "syndare" och andra sociala avvikare.
Dessa slutsatser är resultatet av att följa sexköpsförbudet under en längre tid och inom fyra relaterade socio-juridiska domäner: gällande rätt, politisk diskurs, implementering och inverkan, inklusive en noggrann granskning av hur förbudet förhåller sig till allmänna juridiska principer och regler enligt rättskällan. Avhandlingen består av sex inledande och sammanfattande kapitel, två publicerade artiklar samt två uppsatser som ännu inte publicerats.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/ea411cda-bd7a-47cd-829f-94ff6d503eba
- author
- Östergren, Petra LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Johnsdotter, Sara, Malmö University
- organization
- alternative title
- Sveriges sexköpsförbud : Moralpolitik och prostitutionsstyrning
- publishing date
- 2024-11
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- morality politics, prostitution policy, sex-purchase ban, Sweden, anti-prostitution law, prostitutionslag, sexköpsförbud, Sverige, moralpolitik
- pages
- 312 pages
- publisher
- MediaTryck Lund
- defense location
- Sh 128, G:a Köket, Allhelgona Kyrkogata 8, Lund
- defense date
- 2024-12-13 09:00:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-8104-160-6
- 978-91-8104-159-0
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- ea411cda-bd7a-47cd-829f-94ff6d503eba
- date added to LUP
- 2024-10-31 11:55:36
- date last changed
- 2024-11-19 10:08:39
@phdthesis{ea411cda-bd7a-47cd-829f-94ff6d503eba,
abstract = {{This essay thesis examines Sweden’s 1999 ban on purchasing sexual services, considering the attention it received as an unprecedented approach to governing prostitution, the highly polarised political environment in which it exists, and the multiple legal contradictions it displays. Using material gathered through a multisited method from 2009 through 2019, the study shows that the offence is a variant of other anti-prostitution laws directed at sex workers and their clients. Moreover, the thesis argues that the highly charged emotions surrounding the ban, as well as its conflicts and contradictions, are comprehensible if analysed within the framework of morality politics.<br/>The thesis contributes empirically to studies of prostitution policy, theoretically to the conception of morality politics, and methodologically to the anthropological analysis of law and policy. It proposes an empirically grounded typology of prostitution policies: the repressive, aimed at eliminating the sex industry through punitive measures; the restrictive, permitting the trade to operate under strict conditions, regulated by both criminal and civil law; and the integrative, which does not criminalise consensual sex work but regulates the industry and protects sex workers through sector-specific labour and trade legislation. Its major theoretical contribution is a refinement of the concept of morality politics that offers new insights into how issues such as prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and drug use are perceived, discussed, and governed in liberal democracies. These all involve ‘consensual crimes’ rooted in religious notions of sin and regarded as posing a risk to social order. They are typically addressed by the three distinct policy models, while the governance agenda either seeks to reform those who engage in these marginalised practices or to grant them equal civil rights. Empirically, the thesis demonstrates that the ambivalent legal and civic status of sex workers in Sweden is based on an exclusionary logic inherent in all anti-prostitution law, suggesting a link to the historically subordinate position of women’s work, as well as to the discriminatory treatment of ‘sinners’ and other social outliers.<br/>These conclusions are the result of following the sex-purchase ban over a long time and across four related socio-legal domains: established law, political discourse, implementation, and impact, including a close scrutiny of how the ban relates to general legal principles and rules according to the source of law. The thesis consists of six introductory and summary chapters, two published articles, and two essays that have not yet been published.<br/>Key words: morality politics, prostitution policy, sex-purchase ban, Sweden}},
author = {{Östergren, Petra}},
isbn = {{978-91-8104-160-6}},
keywords = {{morality politics; prostitution policy; sex-purchase ban; Sweden; anti-prostitution law; prostitutionslag; sexköpsförbud; Sverige; moralpolitik}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{MediaTryck Lund}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Sweden's Ban on Sex-Purchase : Morality politics and the governance of prostitution}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/200142992/Avhandling_Petra_stergren_LUCRIS.pdf}},
year = {{2024}},
}