A Particular Kind of Violence: Swedish Social Policy Puzzles of a Multipurpose Criminal Law

This article explores the policy underpinning Sweden’s 1999 ban on purchases of sexual services with a focus on the social
and health service sectors and their role vis-à-vis people who sell sex. It argues that the rationale behind the ban is difficult
to reconcile with legislation and practices beyond the merit of criminal justice. While an understanding of prostitution as
“men’s violence against women” may serve symbolic functions at central policy level, it can hardly guide local implementation
without conflicting with core social policy principles. The article concludes that a there is a need to address the agency
of people who sell sex, since denying or minimizing such agency may be counterproductive to the policy’s own objectives.