. . . Mr. Garcia’s approach is at odds with a growing global awareness of the harms of prostitution, including its adverse effects on the safety of nonprostituting women as well as those in it. Prosecuting johns does make a difference, as Sweden has discovered. Sweden levies serious legal penalties against johns whom the Swedish law rightly views as predators, while decriminalizing the person being purchased. Since the Swedish law on prostitution was passed in 1999, prostitution there has been reduced by more than 40 percent, according to a conservative estimate by the Swedish police. Women in prostitution are now offered exit services instead of arrest. And trafficking of women for prostitution into Sweden has precipitously declined since the law was passed. Sweden now has the lowest rate of sex trafficking in the European Union.
Mr. Garcia’s serious error reflects the unjust approach of the Justice Department toward the most vulnerable among us. His decision is a gift to human traffickers everywhere. Its message is: men, you can buy a woman for sexual use as long as you’re not caught and as long as she has had her 18th birthday. If by some mistake you get caught, then quit your job, say you’ve sinned, and we’ll give you a get-out-of-jail-free pass.
Opinion: Why Spitzer Should Be Prosecuted | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com.
