Selling Sex in Sweden: An Analysis of Discourses about Sex Workers and their Human Rights

Abstract: Sweden was the first country in the world to criminalise the purchase of sex whilst keeping its sale legal. This approach to prostitution is highly controversial: some herald it as an effective way to tackle the oppressive, exploitative nature of prostitution, whereas others claim that it worsens working conditions and denies sex workers’ agency. This thesis, an analysis of discourses of two central figures in the prostitution debate in Sweden, the Swedish government and the NSWP, investigated how sex work and sex workers are socially constructed and how these constructions impact notions of sex workers’ human rights entitlements. Research questions were as follows: How are sex work and sex workers constructed in the discourses of the Swedish government report and the NSWP toolkit? What aspect(s) of the sale of sex are presented as problematic in each discourse? How do these problematizations fit into the Swedish context? What do these constructions imply in terms of sex workers’ human rights? The analysis found that the whether or not prostitution is considered consensual is key. The Swedish government constructs sex workers as exploited victims and prostitution as antithetical to gender equality: protective rights are necessary to shield prostitutes. The NSWP, on the other hand, builds an image of autonomous sex workers who are disempowered by Swedish legislation and are entitled to human rights on the same basis as any other citizen: they call for empowerment.