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 (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

. 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 refers to the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly ope ...

destination. According to the police prostitution often takes place in downtown Airbnb 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,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

also introduced a similar law in 2014.

Nordic Model

In April 2009, the

Icelandic Parliament The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

passed new legislation that makes paying for sex illegal (the client commits a crime, but not the

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, 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, n ...

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

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

". 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 Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir (; born 16 October 1949) is an Icelandic politician and was Speaker of Alþingi, Iceland's parliament. She was Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security from 1 February 2009 – 14 May 2009. Sh ...

, included both

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, 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, n ...

and stripping. A

strip club ban in Iceland The legal status of striptease varies considerably among different countries and the various jurisdictions of the United States. Striptease is considered a form of public nudity and subject to changing legal and cultural attitudes on moral and dec ...

has been in place since 2010. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Iceland's former prime minister, who is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. 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 n ...

, said: "The

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

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, 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 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 sex work in which a sex worker 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 parks, benches, ...

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. Women from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

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 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 State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

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, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Sex industry in Iceland Society of Iceland Law of Iceland