Prostitution in Iceland is thriving despite paying for sex being illegal. The police have stated that they do not have the resources to enforce the law. Consequently, a vigilante group called "Stóra systir" ("Big Sister") has been formed. A report published in 2017 by the ''National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police'' states that prostitution had "exploded" in the previous 18 months. The vast majority of prostitutes in the country are foreign. Police believe prostitution in Iceland is partially tied to

organised crime Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...

and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. The police have also stated that it is currently difficult for them to combat suspected human trafficking because the alleged victims often refuse to cooperate with the police and testify or file charges. The country has become a

sex tourism Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships, in exchange providing money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...

destination. According to the police report, prostitution often takes place in downtown

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

apartments.

History

Before 2007, selling sex was illegal: according to the 206th article of the Icelandic Penal Code (almenn hegningarlög): "Anyone engaging in prostitution for own upkeep shall be subject to imprisonment for up to 2 years." That paragraph was deleted in 2007, as the "government argues most people who solicit sex do so because they have no other choice or because they are forced into prostitution by others. By making soliciting sex legal, the government believes individuals who have been forced into prostitution would rather come forward and lead police to those responsible." This move was supported by international women's groups. In 2009, paying for sex was outlawed, criminalizing the clients, while selling sex remained decriminalized. The new law placed Iceland in line with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

also introduced a similar law in 2014.

Nordic Model

In April 2009, the Icelandic Parliament passed new legislation that makes paying for sex illegal (the client commits a crime, but not the

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

). Prostitutes, however, like in Sweden, still commit a crime if they work together as this constitutes "running a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

". A 2007 poll demonstrated that "70% of Icelanders were in favour of criminalizing the buying of sex. There is a marked difference between the views of men and women; approximately 83% of women are in favour of a ban whilst 57% of men support a ban." The original plan, by the then Minister of Social Affairs, Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir, included both

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

and stripping. A strip club ban in Iceland has been in place since 2010. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Iceland's former prime minister, who is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

, said: "The

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

are leading the way on women's equality, recognizing women as equal citizens rather than commodities for sale." The politician behind the bill,

Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir (born 31 July 1955) is the chairman of BHM (Iceland), BHM, the confederation of university graduates in Iceland. She is a former politician with the Left-Green Movement. She was a member of the Althing (Iceland's parlia ...

, said: "It is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold." The law is supported by Icelandic feminists. Internationally, radical feminists, such as Julie Bindel, have celebrated the ban as a landmark decision for feminism. Other

bloggers A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

disagree, arguing that it may drive the industry underground. Feminist views on prostitution vary.

Legacy

There is little soliciting for

street prostitution Street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a prostitute solicitation, solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as ...

since the law came into effect. Many prostitutes have taken to advertising through dating websites, although the sites have a policy of removing suspicious profiles. Sex workers also find clients by word of mouth. Iceland's courts heard 20 cases relating to prostitution charges between the advent of the new law and April 2013. Most resulted in convictions, but the penalties are light and the names of some of those found guilty have been kept anonymous. Icelandic police say that a lack of cash and staff prevent them from rigorously enforcing the law.

Sex trafficking

A US report concludes that Iceland is a destination and transit country for women subjected to

sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...

. Women from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

are subjected to sex trafficking, often in nightclubs and bars. Traffickers reportedly exploit the visa-free regime in the Schengen Zone and the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...

to bring victims to Iceland for up to three months and move them out of the country before they must register with local authorities. Article 227a of the criminal code criminalises both sex trafficking and forced labor and prescribes penalties of up to 12 years imprisonment. The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons downgraded Iceland's ranking in 2017 from a ' Tier 1' to a 'Tier 2' country.

References

Additional links

NIKK Nordic Gender Institute

Prostitution in the Nordic Countries NIKK 17 Nov 2008

Prostitution legislation: Will they go the same way? NIKK 19 March 2009
{{Europe in topic, Prostitution in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Sex industry in Iceland Society of Iceland Law of Iceland