“Prostitution and the evil that goes with it, meaning human trade in view of prostitution…are inseparable”

Women’s and children‘s trafficking in the purpose of sexual exploitation is done according to the traditional methods of slavery: kidnapping, false promises, transport into an unknown place, loss of freedom, sexual ill treatment, violence and deprivations. Then, compelled to an average daily number of 25 to 30 priced rapes, trade victims are reduced to simple goods, sold on world sex markets. This extremely profitable trade is the organized crime activity which knew these last years the biggest development.

Yet, sex industry and prostitution are closely linked to human trade.

Indeed, although prostitutes do not all come from trade networks, a great majority of them have been victimized. In France, OCRTEH (Central Office for Repression of Human Trade) thinks that 83% of prostitutes have been, originally, victims of human trade.

This bond was naturally underlined in «  Convention for the repression of human trade and exploitation of prostitution” text adopted by the United Nations, December 2, 1949: “…prostitution and the evil that goeswith it, namely human trade in view of prostitution, are incompatible with the human person’s dignity and
value.

In other words, if the growth of this plague is related with the offer in the countries of origin – extreme poverty, lack of education, important migration movements, inequities men/women, etc…- its origin also comes from the supply in the countries of destination.
And the permissive ideas with regard to the prostitution, tolerance and vulgarization of this phenomenon
maintain a supply on behalf of the customers.

However, prostitution is neither a «necessary evil”, neither fate nor a trade.

Abolish an exploitation system

We do not accept to assimilate prostitution with a job and we consider prostitutes victims who need help for reintegration.

During the world conference about the Human Rights, in Vienna, in 1993, it was underlined how important it is to” work hard to abolish violence whose women are victims in public and private life, all kinds of exploitation, harassing and trade”.

In the same way, eradication of human trafficking and help to the women victims of violence, related with prostitution have been one of the priority aims given by the international community during the women’s conference in Beijing in 1995.

Despite these almost universal attitudes, public policies, especially in France, are not enough to fight efficiently against this exploitation of the weakest by the strongest. In France, particularly, the 2006 law (known as of «passive soliciting”)represses  the victims - prostitutes -  rather than the aggressors (procurers and customers).

Planète Enfants fights not only for the abolition of any form of regulation of this exploitation but also for abolition of the prostitution itself. This position, known as “new abolitionary “doesn’t aim to condemn prostitutes; it aims to pursue exploiters, that is to say procurers and dissuade customers. It matches protection and help to reintegrate prostitutes.

New abolitionary legislation is not an utopia ; it was set up in several countries such as Sweden and, more recently, Norway.
We thus take part in campaigns to sensitize the general public with interaction between trade and prostitution.
We also intervene in colleges for education and mass awareness in view of diminishing the demand for prostitution.
Lastly we work in parallel with abolition associations to make evolve legislation as regards victims’ protection and customers’ dissuasion.

To know more about the various legal systems of prostitution, please click here.