The Survivor Model and What it all Means
1. Decriminalize Individuals in prostitution
Decriminalizing the people who are being bought and sold for commercial sex.
2. Criminalize the buying and selling of other people
The Survivor Model directly targets the demand for buying sex by criminalizing sex buyers and traffickers
3. Provide protection and support to individuals so they can avoid and exit prostitution
This may include welfare, housing healthcare, counseling, and other support services.
The Survivor Model and What it Includes
The Survivor Model is also known as the Equality Model, Nordic Model and partial decriminalization. It’s a policy approach to prostitution that criminalizes the buying of sex and the people who profit from it, while decriminalizing those who sell sex. This model aims to combat commercial sexual exploitation and promote gender equality by recognizing prostitution as a form of violence against women.
Criminalizing the Purchase of Sex.
By decriminalizing those in prostitution and instead criminalizes buyers, traffickers, and pimps, it seeks to dismantle the structures that perpetuate exploitation. It also emphasizes providing trauma-informed support services to help survivors rebuild their lives.
Decriminalizing those in Prostitution.
By focusing the form of punishment to protection. Decriminalizing those in prostitution and acknowledging the systemic issues such as poverty, homelessness or lack of education.
Comprehensive Support Services.
The comprehensive support services that are embedded in the Survivor Model are crucial to helping survivors regain stability and rebuild their lives. These services can include immediate needs, safe housing, healthcare and long-term needs such as education and job training.
Key Highlights of the Survivor Model
- The Survivor Model acknowledges prostitution as a practice deeply rooted in gender inequality and violence against women. By targeting and criminalizing the purchase of sex, this model confronts the demand that fuels exploitation and human trafficking.
- The Survivor Model emphasizes the importance of protecting the rights, safety, and welfare of individuals involved in prostitution. By decriminalizing their actions and offering comprehensive support services, it enables survivors to seek the help they deserve and facilitates their journey toward a new direction in life.
- The Survivor Model focuses on addressing the demand driving the sex trade to break the cycle of exploitation. By criminalizing the purchase of sex, it firmly rejects the commodification of human bodies for sexual purposes, working to diminish the market for sexual exploitation.
- The Survivor Model has demonstrated success in countries like Sweden, Norway, and France, where it has been adopted. Research highlights that criminalizing the purchase of sex has effectively decreased demand, curtailed sex trafficking, and reduced instances of street-based prostitution. Simultaneously, robust support services have empowered survivors to rebuild their lives and transition out of the sex trade.