On 22 May 2023 European Network of Migrant Women, CAP International, SPACE International, Equality Now and the Swedish Women’s Lobby are calling for the European Parliament to commit to a Europe #FreeFromProstitution. 

On 8 March 2022, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal on combating violence against women and domestic violence, to enshrine minimum standards in EU law for criminalising certain offences and improving access to justice, protection and support for victims.

Following this important step, and as the text was passed to the European Parliament for revision and approval, the European Union Civil Society organised and mobilised to include the exploitation of prostitution of others as a form of violence against women tackled by the Directive proposal.

In a resolution of 26 February 2014, the European Parliament had already recognised prostitution as a form of sexual exploitation. Today, as the Members of the European Parliament are working on a new initiative report on prostitution, we call for the upholding of this previous position in the upcoming texts in order for women and girls in Europe to be truly protected. 

Votes for both the Directive on combating violence against women and the intiative report on prostitution will occur in the European Parliament’s committees and in plenary session in the next few months. Women’s rights organisations are more committed than ever to ensuring prostitution and pimping are effectively tackled.

On 22 May women with a lived experience of prostitution, migrant & refugee women who make up the majority of victims of sexual exploitation, feminist experts and activists, EU-wide platforms, and grassroot service providers will gather in Brussels for a press conference as well as for a conference with international experts on the intersection of systems of discrimination in prostitution at Silversquare Europe.