This proposal was supported by all political groups in the French Parliament. Although the proposal received cross-party support, I would like to underline the tremendous work of my colleague Danielle Bousquet from the French Socialist Party (PS), who co-presented this resolution in the Parliament and who was also chair of a parliamentary study group set up to gather information on the reality of prostitution in France. She will now present a proposal in the French Parliament which proposes to penalize those who use prostitutes.
The fight against prostitution, inspired by the Swedish abolitionist model, is a priority for the Party, as stated in the PS document “nos Propositions pour l’Egalité Réelle" adopted on 9 November by the National Council of the Party. PS leaders have been key actors in France in raising awareness on the reality of the situation for women in prostitution. PS members have made a commitment to build a society free from prostitution, which they consider a form of male violence against women. They underline the fact that the system of prostitution is at the crossroads of different types of domination: patriarchal domination of women, economic domination of poor people and domination of developed countries by developing countries. The European Women’s Lobby and the PS believe that prostitution is about patriarchy and based on unequal economic relations.
Therefore, the French Socialists suggest a comprehensive approach to reach a society free of prostitution, including actions of prevention, especially awareness raising in schools; the dismantlement of criminal networks of trafficking; helping former prostitutes to be reintegrated into society; ending the penalization of prostitutes, and instead penalizing the users.
