UK P4P News

Repressive  Swedish law currently criminalizes purchasing or procuring in-person sexual services but does not criminalize sex workers who provide such services. This approach is commonly referred to as the Nordic model. Under the new proposal, anyone who pays someone to perform a sexual act online, without actual physical contact, would be subject to the same criminal liability as those who hire in-person sex workers.

The proposal also includes liability for procuring such services, which could lead to enforcement against fan and webcam platforms, or conceivably even against creators who collaborate together.

Swedish creators have expressed concern that, under the proposed law, OnlyFans' terms of service could preclude Swedish creators from using the site -- and could even criminalize their personal lives, since living with a partner or receiving support could now be considered pimping.

The ESWA, a sex worker-led network representing more than 100 organizations in 30 countries across Europe and Central Asia, told XBIZ that it has launched a public petition urging the Swedish government to reject this proposal. The group writes:

This proposal represents a regressive and dangerous step that threatens the human rights, privacy, safety and livelihoods of sex workers and digital creators in Sweden and beyond. Websites and platforms hosting or facilitating consensual digital sex work could be prosecuted for 'digital pimping' creating a chilling effect that may lead to mass deplatforming of sex workers.

The ESWA is urging anyone who supports Swedish sex workers to add their name to the open letter. See petition from eswalliance.org

The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW) has revealed that Thailand is home to 250,000 sex workers, one of the highest numbers worldwide. Despite this, the profession remains illegal in the country and workers are lacking basic employment rights.

In a recent report titled Sex Worker Statistics by Country, Gender , the IUSW provided a breakdown of the worldwide sex industry. The findings suggest there are over 50 million sex workers globally, with 41.6 million female and 10.4 million male. They predict this number will rise over time due to the increasing options for offering sexual services.

The report also ranked the countries with the highest number of sex workers. Standing at the top is China, with 5 million workers, followed by India (3 million), the US (1 million), the Philippines (800,000), Mexico (500,000), Germany (400,000), Brazil (250,000), Thailand (250,000), Bangladesh (200,000), and South Korea (147,000).