Elizabeth Nolan Brown: Punishing Prostitution Clients Isn’t a Feminist Solution

A growing consensus around the world claims the sex trade
perpetuates male violence against women, and so customers—but not
sex workers themselves—should be held as criminals. This modern
debate has roots in Victorian England, which
branded prostitutes as wicked, depraved, and a public
nuisance. Yet a shift in social thought throughout the era
introduced the prostitute as victim, often
lured or forced into sexual slavery by immoral men.

Today, we’re seeing a global shift in attitudes toward
prostitution that looks startlingly like the one in Victorian
England, argues Elizabeth Nolan Brown. Many areas have adopted
or are considering what’s known as the “Nordic Model,” which
criminalizes the buying, rather than the selling, of sexual
services. The Nordic model may seem like a step
in the right direction—a progressive step,
a feminist step. But it’s not, writes Brown.
Conceptually, the system strips women of agency and autonomy. And
while keeping prostitution illegal is done in the name of women, it
only perpetuates violence against them while expanding the
reach of the carceral state.  

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