The controversial French law, approved in 2016, has been the subject of many debates and divides both the political class and associations that help prostitutes.
French legislation that criminalizes clients of sex workers does not infringe the European Convention on Human Rightsas ruled this Thursday by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The decision comes in response to a lawsuit from some 261 sex workersboth men and women, who alleged that the law, passed in 2016, had increased their risk of being assaulted or infected with sexually transmitted diseases.
The rule threatens sex buyers with fines of between 1,500 and 3,500 euros. The workers and associations that supported their lawsuit claim that the law endangers the physical and mental health of workers and harms their right, and that of their clients, to private life and sexual freedom.
“This ruling does not recognize that criminalizing sex work increases discrimination and stigmatization and endangers the safety of sex workers, who are among the most marginalized groups in our societies,” Anna Błuś, women’s rights researcher at Amnesty International, said in a statement.
The law “forces workers to take more risks”
When the rarely enforced law was passed, it was hailed as a big step forward for activists what did you expect eliminate prostitution.
However, Amnesty International assures that these types of laws against prostitution represents an “obstacle” so that workers can access, for example, to healthcare or to the home.
“Criminalize the purchase of sex forces sex workers to take more riskswhile criminalizing the maintenance of brothels prevents sex workers from working together to ensure your own safety” says Błuś of Amnesty International.
The high court considered in its ruling that the dangers and risks to which sex workers are exposed “were already present“before the adoption of the law and that it is not known whether the negative effects of prostitution are directly caused by its criminalization.
