Southern River MP Peter Abetz has this week delivered an insightful lecture entitled Human Trafficking and Prostitution in WA at the Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture Speakers’ Forum.
The talk took place on Tuesday, 15 April at Rosie O’Grady’s, Northbridge, in the presence of more than 120 attendees who filled every square inch of the pub’s extensive function room.
Abetz’s discussion was based on the premise that prostitution and human trafficking are inextricably linked and that the legalisation of prostitution leads, not to a safer and regulated industry for women, but to an increased demand in sexual services that fuels an ‘out of control’ human trafficking market.
In other words, for Abetz, the argument that legal brothels prevent the incidence of rape and assault against prostitutes simply “does not hold water”.
He believes legislation that reduces the prevalence of prostitution should be introduced; only then will human trafficking be minimised.
As a former pastor, Abetz began his talk by stating that every human being is made in the image of God and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.
In this light, he placed the issue of prostitution under the spotlight, revealing its dehumanising aspects and links to human trafficking.
Abetz also warned that, despite its illegal status, prostitution is an ongoing problem faced by Western Australia and more needs to be done in terms of labelling this phenomenon as unacceptable in modern society.
The first point covered by the presentation focused on human trafficking. Abetz warned that there is a growing problem of human trafficking in Australia, particularly concerning Asian women, with prostitution being the main reason driving the ludicrous trade, followed by forced labour and forced marriage.
“One of the toughest things about human trafficking is to get convictions. Someone can come to Australia with a student visa, or a working holiday visa and legitimate papers. No one at border security picks up people with legitimate papers. It is hard to prove that person is trafficked. The traffickers have them under such control and such fear that they are very reluctant to speak up, particularly if they have no knowledge of English,” Abetz said.
Yet Mr Abetz emphasised that if prostitution was illegal or decriminalised throughout Australia, there would be no great need to traffic women and organised crime would be at a loss.
“Since prostitution was legalised in Victoria in 1984, the state has experienced a 20 to 40 fold increase in the size of its sex industry.
“Currently, there are 100 legal brothels, 400 illegal, not to mention escorts, solo operators or street prostitution.”
In Abetz’s view, prostitution harms women. He backed his argument with statistics and studies showing that 70 per cent of women involved in prostitution for more than two years suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and more than 90 per cent use drugs to cope with their physical pain.
“A long-term study in France found prostitutes’ life expectancy is reduced by 60 per cent compared to the general population. Similar studies in other countries have found a 40 per cent reduction in life expectancy,” Abetz said.
He briefly took the audience around the world, filling his presentation with more spine-chilling statistics, such as Germany’s ever-growing sex market of 400,000 plus prostitutes; the 35,000 to 50,000 Russian women trafficked out of Russia every year with only two per cent ever returning; and the thousands of trafficked women working, often against their will or simply out of desperation, in Dutch brothels.
Abetz continued painting this grim picture, depicting prostitution and human trafficking as, in his own words, “two sides of the same coin”.
Back home in Australia, Abetz emphasised that the situation is no better as “the high growth rate of the sex industry has led to pimps forging links with Asian organised crime to provide enough ‘product’ – compliant Asian women – for the Australian market.”
So what has been done to combat this phenomenon?
Abetz focused on certain advancements in Swedish legislation in the late 90s that have led to a significant decrease in both prostitution and human trafficking on a global scale.
The so-called Nordic Approach, introduced in Sweden in 1999, tackled the demand aspect of prostitution and criminalised the purchasing and attempts to purchase sexual services, as well as leasing an apartment for prostitution or renting a hotel room, knowing it will be used for prostitution.
The legislation, Abetz explained, was gradually implemented in Sweden and led to the closure of 500 brothels and a reduction in street prostitution by 50 per cent, and brought about a cultural change which portrayed prostitution as unacceptable and significantly reduced organised crime in Sweden.
Mr Abetz explained that the Nordic Approach led to a change of direction in Europe, particularly in Germany and The Netherlands, where it was acknowledged that the legalisation of prostitution led to state-sanctioned human trafficking and was deemed a failed experiment.
Since then, countries such as Norway and Iceland, Ireland, France and Canada have either passed Nordic-type legislation or are in the process of doing so.
In 2014, the European Parliament passed a resolution which resembles many of the facets of the Nordic Model.
“The idea of the model emerged in the 90s when Swedish feminists realised that no girl ‘aspires’ to be a prostitute. Prostitution is not about empowering women, but about exploitation of women by people with money,” Mr Abetz concluded.
What can Western Australians do to combat prostitution? Mr Abetz emphasised that the West Australian Parliament has the opportunity to be at the forefront of social reform in Australia.
It can begin by taking the position that prostitution, like domestic violence, is unacceptable in a modern society and be the first jurisdiction in Australia to introduce the Nordic approach to address the problem of prostitution and the associated human trafficking.
One possible avenue for those wanting to offer their skills and time to a long-term campaign is Adopt Nordic WA Inc. Details can be found by contacting Amy Gibbs via email at gibbs.amylouise@gmail.com.
The Christopher Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture is an incorporated association seeking to encourage lay Christian engagement with contemporary philosophical and cultural issues.
The next event will be on 19 May 2015. Dr Philip Matthews, Acting Dean and Senior Lecturer in the School of Philosophy and Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia, will speak on Morality in Contemporary Culture. His talk will analyse the lines along which moral debate is conducted in a contemporary Australian context, pointing towards the revival of an applied ethics focusing on virtue as a way forward.
Details of the Society’s lecture series can be found on www.dawsonsociety.com.au.