Russian Proposal: Marry a Prostitute, Avoid Criminal Penalties

In St. Petersburg, Russia, it’s currently
against the law to sell sexual services but not to pay for them.
One city lawmaker, Olga Galkina, aims to change that with a bit of
provocative political theater.

Galkina recently introduced a bill that would impose heavy fines
on prostitution clients in Russia’s second-largest city. Under her
proposal, those caught purchasing sexual services could face a
charge of 4,000 to 10,000 rubles (about $95-$240) or up to five
days in jail. The fines and jail time would increase if a client
knew an individual was being forced into selling sex. 

However—and here’s where things get interesting—a client could
evade these penalties if
they agreed to marry the person providing the sexual
service. From RT: 

In the explanatory note attached to the bill Galkina quotes
international experience, saying that introducing responsibility
for clients had helped to decrease the prostitution rate in
Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. If the St. Petersburg city
legislature approves the bill in two readings it would be sent to
the Federal parliament with the possibility to become a national
Russian law.

Law experts say that while the purpose of the bill is good it
might face difficulties in real life as it would be very difficult
to collect proof of the crime.

Let’s be clear: the purpose of the bill is good. But
not for the reasons these alleged law experts purport. Galkina’s
true motive in introducing the legislation was to get Russians
thinking about how and why they criminalize sex.

The lawmaker told Kommersant-St Petersburg that she’s
actually an advocate for decriminalizing prostitution for sex
workers and their clients. Her marry-a-prostitute proposal
has almost no chance of passing, but she introduced it to spark a
conversation.