New Danish government could end legal prostitution

With many pre-voting polls showing that Denmark will be getting a new coalition government in the next national election, this may well mark the end of legal prostitution in the country. The Social Democrats have announced they are planning add a ban on the purchase of sex to their party platform.

Mette Frederiksen, Social Democrat political affairs spokeswoman, made the announcement that her party will add the issue to its platform at its national congress in September, according to the Copenhagen Post. This move will put the Social Democrats in tune with the Socialist People’s Party, the Social Liberals, and the Red-Green Alliance.

Early polls are suggesting that Denmark’s opposition parties will gain a majority in the upcoming national election. This would allow them to implement a ban on the legal purchase of sex. The nation’s present government, run by the Liberals, feels a ban on prostitution would not have the desired effect on Danish society.

Denmark is the only Scandinavian country where you can legally purchase sex. Although the act of pimping is illegal, Danish prostitutes operate completely above the board. They report their earnings to the government and pay taxes. Danish police claim the most sex workers in Denmark actually come from Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa.

There are an estimated 5,700 prostitutes working in Denmark, according to the Social Affairs Ministry. Many of them work in the 130 or so massage parlours and bordellos in the country, the majority of which are located in Copenhagen.