A recent survey has revealed that Denmark’s residents are strongly opposed to a ban on prostitution.
The news comes this week via a new study commissioned by the Jyllands Posten news agency and conducted by Rambøll Analyse/Danmark. Results from the survey revealed an overwhelming majority of Danes think such a ban would only bring additional danger for those working within the sex industry.
Figures showed that 67 percent of respondents were against a prostitution ban, whilst only around 20 percent said they would be in favour of such legislation.
Despite the findings, some Danish lawmakers continue to push for changes to legislation in an attempt to reduce the exploitation of sex workers.
Rasmus Horn Langhoff of the Socialdemokraterne party said in an interview with Jyllands Posten, “I agree that ratifying a ban will take a lot of work, but we must send a clear message that it is not okay to buy sex because of how negative it is for the women. If we target the customers then we help the prostitutes who don’t need to go underground. A ban will consist of a number of social and police efforts.”
However, officials from the Gadejuristen (the Street Lawyer) law agency, which works with sex workers on a regular basis, said that a ban would only make the current situation worse.
Lawyer Nanna Gottfredsen said on behalf of the firm, “It’s completely wrong if you think that you can solve serious social issues by criminalising them. Doing this will only worsen the situation. You push the sex workers further into a grey zone. They will hide themselves and their activities and social workers will no longer be able to contact those in need of help,” Jyllands Posten reports.