What do sex workers think about the French
Prostitution Act?
Hélène Le Bail, Calogero Giametta, Noémie Rassouw

To cite this version:
Hélène Le Bail, Calogero Giametta, Noémie Rassouw. What do sex workers think about the French
Prostitution Act?: A Study on the Impact of the Law from 13 April 2016 Against the ‘Prostitution
System’ in France. [Research Report] Médecins du Monde. 2019, pp.96. �hal-02115877�

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WHAT DO SEXWORKERS THINKABOUT THE FRENCHPROSTITUTION ACT?
A Study on the Impact of
the Law from 13 April 2016
Against the ‘Prostitution
System’ in FranceACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank everyone who gave us their time to carry out this study: first andforemost, the people we interviewed, but also the members of the study’s partner organisations,employees and volunteers, particularly those who provided the interpretation, translation andtranscription of the interviews..

April 2018 for the French version / April 2019 for the English version
Translated from French by Irene McClure
Cover photo © Boris Svartzman

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

AUTHORS
Hélène Le Bail, research fellow, CNRS, Sciences Po Paris-CERI.
Calogero Giametta, researcher on the European Research Council Project: “Sexual Humanitarianism: Migration,
Sex Work and Trafficking”. Kingston University and Aix Marseille University.
Noémie Rassouw, master student, INALCO, intern at Doctors of the World in 2016, has co-written theunpublished first version of the report in 2017.

STEERING COMMITTEEMarielle Chappuis (Doctors of the World - Observatory of the Domestic programs Division)
Flo Gil de Muro (Grisélidis - Toulouse)
Mylène (STRASS, French Sex Work Union, and The Collective of the Women of Strasbourg-Saint-Denis - Paris)
Marie-Christine Grosdidier (Doctors of the World - Rouen)
Cécilia Nguyen (Doctors of the World - Rouen)
Audrey Kartner (Doctors of the World - Domestic programs Division)Maïwenn Henriquet (Paloma - Nantes)
Gabriella Ota (Paloma - Nantes)
Chloé Le Gouëz (Aides - Paris)
Tim Leicester (Doctors of the World - Lotus Bus Programme - Paris)
Sarah-Marie Maffesoli (Doctors of the World - The Jasmine Programme against violence targeting sex workers - Paris)
Irène Aboudaram (Doctors of the World - Nantes)
Christine Etchepare (Arcat - Paris)
Cécil Lhuillier (Les Amis du Bus des Femmes - Paris)
Antoine Baudry (Cabiria - Lyon)
Damien Simonin (Cabiria - Lyon)
Carine Favier (Mouvement français pour le planning familial)
Raphaëlle Angulo (Doctors of the World - Montpellier)Damien Nantes (Doctors of the World - Montpellier)Sébastien Béchereau (Doctors of the World - Poitiers)
Ramona (Acceptess-T-Paris)

HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE SURVEY
Marthe Jonki (ARPS - La Réunion)
Vincent Dubaele (Entr’Actes - Lille)
Nathalie Mazurelle (Entr’Actes - Lille)
Chrystel Odobet, Corinne Monnet, Mathilde Bon (Grisélidis - Toulouse)
Marjolaine Pruvost, Savina Sharkova (Amis du Bus des Femmes - Paris)
Marie Vicart, Diane (Arcat - Paris)
Alexia Rivillas Garcia, Eliana Rocabado (Arcat-Pasaje Latino - Paris)
Théau Brigand, Mathieu Brancourt (Aides - Paris)Anaïs (STRASS - Paris)
Elise Didier (Doctors of the World - Domestic programs Division , Observatory)
Fabrice, Bijia Sun, Justine Rochot, Aël Théry, Nora Martin-Janko, Nathalie Simonnot (Doctors of theWorld - Lotus Bus Program - Paris)
Mihaela Dimitrescu, Clara Toffani, Magali Cathalifaud, Emeline Chauchard (Doctors of the World - Poitiers)
Timotée Delescluse, Sonia Mladin (Doctors of the World - Rouen)
Marie Bonnet, David Le Nechet, Paul Bolo (Doctors of the World - Nantes)
Magali Ibanez, Anne-Marie Mejean, Elisabeth Fournier (Doctors of the World - Montpellier)

3

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

The main objective of this study is to assess
the impact on sex workers’ living and working conditions of the act of law n° 2016-444(adopted by France’s parliament on the 13th ofApril 2016 with the aim of reinforcing the fightagainst the prostitution system and supporting
people in prostitution).1 This is a qualitative
study focused on the viewpoints of sex workers
themselves who are directly affected by thelaw. For the purposes of this analysis interviews
were conducted with 70 sex workers (a further
38 sex workers were consulted via focus groups
and workshops). A further 24 interviews andfocus groups were conducted with sex worker
groups or other organisations working with
sex workers across France. Two researchers (inpolitical science and sociology) supervised thestudy and analysed the results in close collaboration with 11 outreach organisations. Alongside
this qualitative study, a quantitative survey was
also conducted between January and February
2018 involving 583 sex workers the results ofwhich were integrated into this report.
In France, prior to the criminalisation of sex
workers’ clients in 2016, sex workers weredirectly targeted by the criminalisation of
public soliciting, which had been reinforcedby the 2003 Law for National Security (LSI).
The legislation adopted in 2016, inspired by
the Swedish legal framework, sought to end
prostitution via criminalising clients rather thansex workers. However, despite the stated aim ofthe law to protect sex workers, the majority ofthe sex workers we interviewed reveal thatthe criminalisation of clients has in practice been more detrimental to themselves
than the previous laws against soliciting.
The vast majority of those interviewed reported
that they have far less control over their working
conditions as the number of clients has diminished since the new law came into effect. The
impact was even felt before the application of
the new law, due to the mediatisation of thisissue during parliamentary debates. For thesereasons, those interviewed were almost unanimously opposed to the criminalisation of clients.

1 - The terminology used to define people engaging in sex work/
prostitution is subject to much debate. In this report we choose
to employ the term “sex worker“. This term refers to all people
engaged in economic-sexual exchanges whether those economic

6

This study revealed a clear discrepancy between
the national policy of ‘protection’ of sex workers
and the local policies that continue to focus on
the repression of sex workers. At a local level,with the aim of maintaining public order,
municipal bylaws and regular identity
checks aimed at sex workers mean thatthey are still more often criminalized thantheir clients. Although some interviewees indicate that they have good relationships with thepolice, most often the police are not seen as
a source of protection. Sex workers often told
us about episodes of intimidation by the police
including being pressured to report clients and,if undocumented, threatened with deportation
if they do not comply.
Although most sex workers have neverthelesscontinued their activity since the new law, theirworking conditions have severely deteriorated.
Contrary to claims that the new law, by decreasing demand (clients), would also decrease
supply (sex workers) interviews conducted withorganisations show that there has been no
decrease in the numbers of sex workers. The
law has had a detrimental effect on sex
workers’ safety, health and overall living
conditions. The law has had a negative impact
on their autonomy as workers, on the risks they
may be willing to take, and on social stigma
and financial hardship. Almost all sex workers
and each of the organisations interviewed noteda shift in the power relationship between sex
workers and their clients, as clients feel more
entitled to impose their conditions (i.e. unprotected sexual practices, reduced prices,
unwillingness to pay, etc.), seeing themselves
as the ones taking the risk with regards to thelaw. It has led to increased impoverishment, especially among people alreadyliving precariously, namely undocumented
migrant women working in the street. 62.9%
of respondents in our quantitative survey said
that their overall quality of life has deteriorated
since April 2016 and 78.2% said that theirearnings have decreased. Generally, the law
has pushed sex workers to operate undertransactions are explicit (sexual benefits for money) or implicit(sexual services against protection, housing, psychoactive products,
assistance to migration ... ), and regardless of their working conditions.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

more risky conditions with dangerous implications for their health. Many interviews
highlighted a worrying decrease in condom
use as well as increased difficulties continuing treatment for those who are HIV
positive. Stress created by worsening working
conditions causes various psychosomatic healthissues from consumption of alcohol, tobacco andother drugs, to depression and suicidal thoughts.
The results of the qualitative survey also
reveal that cases of violence, of all kinds,
have increased: insults in the street, physicalviolence, sexual violence, theft, and armed robberyin the work place. Impoverishment, increased
health risks and increased exposure to violence form a vicious circle.
Besides the criminalisation of clients, the 2016 law
also included the creation of an “exit-program”
providing eligible sex workers access to financial
aid, a temporary residence permit of six months(that can be renewed a maximum of three times)
and the support of an accredited organisation toaccess housing and employment. Despite the factthat the support provided by the exit-program is
globally in line with the needs of sex workers whowish to change activity, organisations and sex
workers are highly critical with regards tothe exit-program’s implementation. The criteria
for accessing the exit-program and the limitationsof the support provided (for example difficulty
accessing housing, obstacles to applying for aresidency permit, insufficient financial aid) prevent
most people from applying and in particular those
who are most in need of support. Criticism of
the exit-program also stems from the misrepresentations of the sex industry that it
produces. Since support is given only to people
who assent to stop doing sex work, this can beseen as a basic infringement of their human dignity
and an unrealistic condition, for financial reasons,for most sex workers. Moreover, sex workers are
obliged to give up an activity that is not itself
illegal. This is both a legal and an ethical problem
that is shared by the social workers supporting sex
workers throughout the administrative procedures
whilst applying for an exit-program.

The creation of committees that are supposed tooversee the implementation of the exit-programin each administrative region has been very slow
since April 2016. These committees, presided
by local prefects and including representatives
from local governmental services, must validate
each application to the exit-program. Two years
after the law being enacted, these committees
still do not exist in many areas. The organisations
wishing to support applicants to the exit-program
must first apply for certification before they canpresent applications. Sex workers as well as
the organisations interviewed expressedstrong scepticism regarding the usefulnessof these committees, who possess limited
knowledge and understanding of sex work,and regarding the effectiveness of theexit-programs, as they fear they will be subject to heightened forms of social control.
Sex workers also expressed fears about the use of
the personal data gathered about them by publicauthorities and the risk of increased stigmatisationof the majority of sex workers who do not wish to
apply for the exit-program.
Two years after the new legislation, the repressive
aspect of the law, the criminalisation of clients, has
had the most impact on the lives of sex workers,
reinforcing their marginalisation, increasing violenceand stigma, and exposing them to greater risks fortheir health. Whereas, the part of the law aimed toprotect sex workers and help them change activity
is not effective, it concerns a very limited number ofpeople and risks reinforcing stigma for the majority
of sex workers who do not wish or are not able tochange their activity.
Paris, April 20187

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

8WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

INTRODUCTORYREMARKSTERMINOLOGYANONYMITY OF THE INTERVIEWEESThe terminology used for people who practice sex work/
prostitution has been the subject of many debates. In
this report, we refer to “sex workers” to describe people
whose work is defined by sexual-economic exchanges
where the economic transaction may be explicit (sexual
services provided in exchange for money) or implicit(sexual services provided in exchange for protection,accommodation, psychoactive drugs, assistance with
migration, etc.), regardless of the conditions in which
the activity is performed.

In order to protect interviewees’ anonymity, certain
quotations may have been slightly modified or shortened(place of work, place of origin, background) withoutchanging the meaning of the quote, further we will not
publish full transcriptions of the interviews. All names
have been changed.

It should also be noted that we have retained the original
vocabulary used by the people interviewed in order toreflect their position as accurately as possible, using
words such as “prostitute”, “sex worker”, and “whore”.
Sometimes, circumlocutions are used, such as “this kindof work”. The translations attempt to cover the rangeof terms used in the interviews, which were carried out
in English, Bulgarian, Spanish, Chinese and Romanian.
Similarly, we have used the terms from the French laws towhich we refer, terms such as “personnes se prostituant/personnes prostituées” (people in prostitution), “personnes
qui offrent des services sexuels tarifés” (people offeringcommercial sex services), “personnes se livrant à laprostitution” (people involved in prostitution), “victimes
de la prostitution” (victims of prostitution), and “victime
de traite des êtres humains et du proxénétisme”(victims of human trafficking and procurement).
This report is based on information which emerged
from a qualitative and quantitative study. As thequalitative analysis represents the heart of the analysis
presented here, we use the term “interviewees” to referto the people that were consulted through qualitativeinterviews. When we refer to the quantitative study, thisis specified.

9

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

PART I – AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEGALFRAMEWORK

15

17

I. A new legislative framework for sex work 18
1. A parliamentary debate which lasted more thanfour years
18
2. The main provisions of the Law of 13 April 2016 18
Decriminalisation of soliciting18
Ban on purchasing sexual activities
19
The creation of a prostitution exit programme 19
II. Discussions on the draft law
Decriminalisation of soliciting
Criminalising the purchase of sexual acts
(criminalising the clients)
Prostitution exit programme

22
22
22
22

PART 2 - STUDY METHODOLOGY

25

I. A qualitative study using semi-structured
interviews

26

II. A cooperative study method
Steering Committee
Access through grassroots organisations
A multi-site study

27
27
27
27

III. The panel of interviewees – semi-structured
interviews
Sex workers
Organisations

10

28
28
29

PART 3 – ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE
STUDY

31

I. From decriminalisation of soliciting to thecriminalisation of the client: what changes havearisen for sex workers?

32

1. Indirect penalties and intimidation forreporting clients32

2. Maintaining repressive measures towards
sex workers at the local level

33

II. The worrying impact of criminalising theclient: reduced autonomy, greater risks,
insecurity and stigma.

37

1. A law which is contrary to empowerment:
deterioration of relationships with clientsand the use of intermediaries

37

Reduction in the number of clients and areduction in income, but no reduction in thenumber of sex workers
37
Redressing the power balance in the client’s
favour38
Clarification required over the use of intermediaries
and loss of autonomy
41
2. A law which contradicts prevention:
an increase in risk-taking and violenceLess ability to select clients and shorter
negotiating times
A shift in meeting and working places:
towards more isolated places or online
Agreeing to risky sexual practices
Increased stigma and violence

43
43
44
46
48

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

3. A law that contradicts women’s rights: more
vulnerable living conditions and poorer health50
Reduced expenditure: from superfluous goods toessential goods (food and housing)50
An increase in the number of hours per day and thenumber of years they plan to work
51
Deteriorating health: fatigue, stress, depression andan increase in the consumption of tobacco, alcoholand drugs
52

DISCUSSION

71

1. The ‘domino-effect’ of repressive policy:social insecurity, violence, stigma, dependency
and health risks.

72

2. Intersections between protecting womenand migration policy74

3. Protection or moralisation?
III. The “prostitution exit programme”:
a controversial social initiative. Points of view
APPENDICES
and analysis by sex workers and grassroots
organisations
55
Interview grid with sex workers
Interview grid with organisations
1. A social policy tool that appears to be
Interviewees’ profiles (qualitative interviews)
wanted, but that generates little interest
56
Quantitative survey
Meeting the needs of sex workers wishing tostop
56
An additional tool for grassroots organisations 57
58
Relatively low interest from sex workers

75
77
77
82
86
88

2. Criticisms of the prostitution exit programme 59

The condition of “stopping prostitution” inorder to obtain social support: an unrealistic
condition against the respect of persons
Inadequate financial support for social andprofessional integration
Would a temporary work permit offer enoughstability to look for work?
The gap between application of therepressive aspect and the social aspect:poverty with no alternative
Selection criteria
Lack of resources, particularly for housing
3. Perceived risks: social control and stigma

59
61
62

62
63
65
67
67

The fear of social control
Criticism of the moralistic approach portraying
67
people as victims and encouraging stigma

11

INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

14

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

The aim of this study is to document the impact of
the law which aims to “reinforce the fight against theprostitution system and support people in prostitution”,
adopted by the French National Assembly on 6 April
2016 and promulgated on 13 April 2016 (Law No.
2016–444). More specifically, the study looks at the
impact of the law on sex workers’ living and working
conditions. It is a qualitative study which focuses on theperspective of sex workers themselves who are, alongside clients, directly affected by this law, as well as thechanges they have experienced since it was adopted.
This study is therefore underpinned by the words of sex
workers, as well as organisations that are in contact withthem at the grassroots level. The study was conductedin a large number of towns and cities in France in orderto take into account any differences across the country.
We concentrated on two aspects of the law: first, thedecriminalisation of soliciting and the introduction of
an offence of purchasing sexual services and, second,the establishment of a prostitution exit programme.

The study was coordinated by two researchers working closely with a network of grassroots organisations,a large number of which were community-basedorganisations. Interviews were conducted between
July 2016 and February 2018.
The launch of the exit programme out of prostitution
remains at an embryonic stage and, due to thedelays in its implementation, it is difficult to carry out
an assessment at this time. However, we collected sex
workers’ and grassroots organisations’ opinions about
this programme.
In contrast, although the provision which criminalises
clients has been unevenly applied from one city toanother, the possibility that it could be applied has hada significant impact on working conditions across thecountry. Statements referring to greater precariousness, more risk-taking behaviour, greater isolation and,
finally, an impact on health and the increase in violence,feature heavily in the interviews reported here.

15

PART 1
AN OVERVIEW OF THE
LEGAL FRAMEWORKPART I – AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

I. A NEW LEGISLATIVEFRAMEWORK FOR SEX WORK
1. A PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE WHICHLASTED MORE THAN FOUR YEARS
Following the presentation of a report by a parliamentary
special task group on prostitution,2 a resolution confirming
the country’s neo-abolitionist position on prostitution
was adopted by the French National Assembly on 6
December 2011. This initial text announced the will of
the Parliament to extend the legal provisions currently
in force.
This report served as the basis for the preparationof a draft law, submitted by the Socialist group to
the National Assembly, at the initiative of Memberof Parliament Maud Olivier in September 2013. For
two years, the law went back and forth between
the National Assembly and the Senate. In November
2015, the draft law was debated in a joint committee,
although no agreement was reached. A final reading,which gave the National Assembly the final say, led
to the adoption of the law on 6 April 2016. Law No.
2016–444 aiming to reinforce the fight against theprostitution system and to support people in prostitution
was promulgated on 13 April 2016.

LAW No. 2016–44 of 13 April 2016
Article 15 : “Article 225–10-1 of the Criminal Codeis repealed.”
Criminal Code Article 225–10–1: “The act of, by
any means, including even through a passive
attitude, publicly soliciting another person witha view to inciting sexual activity in exchange formoney or the promise of money is punishable by
two months in prison and a €3,750 fine.”
The Circular of 18 April 2016 recalls thatthe decriminalisation of public soliciting has
immediate effect.

2. THE MAIN PROVISIONS OF THE
LAW OF 13 APRIL 2016
The text of the Law of 13 April 2016 in underpinned bythree main provisions: the decriminalisation of soliciting,a ban on the purchasing of sexual acts, and the creationof a prostitution exit programme.3

DECRIMINALISATION OF SOLICITING
The Law of 18 March 2003, which made soliciting acrime punishable by two months in prison and a fineof €3,750, was repealed. Although sentences had
rarely been issued, many people had been arrested
and held in custody under these provisions, which the
French Ligue des Droits de l’Homme considered as
institutionalised harassment.4

2 - Among the members of the task group were Danielle Bousquet, Guy
Geoffroy, Philippe Goujon, Alain Vidalies, Marie-Jo Zimmermann, Elie
Aboud and Marie-Françoise Clergeau – 13 April 2011. Online: http://www.
assemblee-nationale.fr/13/rap-info/i3334.asp (in French).
3 - Vie Publique: Law of 13 April 2016 aiming to reinforce the fight against
the prostitution system and to support people in prostitution. Available
online: http://www.vie-publique.fr/actualite/panorama/texte-discussion/

18

proposition-loi-renforcant-lutte-contre-systeme-prostitutionnel.html(In French. Last consulted: Oct. 2016)
4 - Ligue des droits de l’Homme, Commission Nationale Citoyens-JusticePolice, Mission d’enquête. “Un harcèlement institutionnalisé: les prostituéeschinoises et le délit de racolage public”, 8 March 2013, online: https://www.ldh-france.org/Rapport-Un-harcelement/ (In French).

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

BAN ON PURCHASING SEXUAL
ACTIVITIESTHE CREATION OF A PROSTITUTION
EXIT PROGRAMMEThe offence of purchasing sexual activities is punishable
by a fine of €1,500. In the event of a reoffence, theoffence becomes a crime and is punishable by a fineof €3,750. In addition to this fine, there is an obligation
to attend an “awareness-raising course” on combating
the purchase of sexual activities (equivalent to a John
school).

Part of the law is directed at providing social support tosex workers through a “programme for exiting prostitution
and social and professional integration” (hereinafter
abbreviated to prostitution exit programme or exit programme).

The Law of 13 April 2016 is based on the principle thata client who pays for a sexual act contributes towards
maintaining the prostitution system. By introducing aban on purchasing sexual activities, the Law strives tomake clients aware of the reality of how humantrafficking and procurement networks operate.

Depending on the individual’s situation, this exit programme
may include the provision of a six-month, renewable
temporary residence permit, the provision of financial
aid to help with social and professional integration(known by its French acronym, AFIS) for those not eligible
for minimum government allowances, and the supportof an accredited organisation to access housing andemployment, training, healthcare and rights.

LAW NO. 2016–44 OF 13 APRIL 2016
Article 20–611–1 of the Criminal Code “The act ofsoliciting, accepting or obtaining sexual relations
with a person involved in prostitution, including in an
occasional manner, in exchange for remuneration, apromise of remuneration, the provision of a benefit inkind or the promise of such a benefit, is punishable
by a level five fine.”
Article 20–225–121–1 of the Criminal Code “Whena repeat offence takes place under the conditions
set out in the second line of Article 132–11, the actof soliciting, accepting or obtaining sexual relations
with a person involved in prostitution, including in an
occasional manner, in exchange for remuneration, apromise of remuneration, the provision of a benefit inkind or the promise of such a benefit, is punishable
by a fine of €3,750.”
Article 21–131–16 of the Criminal Code “The obligation
to attend, where necessary at their own costs, an“awareness raising course” [John school] on the fightagainst the purchasing of sexual activities.”
The Circular of 18 April 2016 recalls that theban on purchasing sexual services has immediate
effect.

19

PART I – AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORKLAW NO. 2016–44 OF 13 APRIL 2016
Article 5–121–9–II of the Code on Social Action andFamilies (Code de l’action sociale et des familles): “A
programme for exiting prostitution and social andprofessional integration is offered to anyone who isthe victim of prostitution, procurement, and humantrafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
It is defined according to an assessment of health,professional and social needs, in order to enable
access to alternatives to prostitution.”
Article 5–121–9–II of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: “A person engaged in the programme for
exiting prostitution and social and professional integration may be issued a temporary residence permit
as mentioned in Article L. 316–1–1 of the Code on
Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right of
Asylum.”Article 5–121–9–II of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: “When an individual is not eligible for theallowances set out in Articles L. 262–2 of this Code,
L. 744–9 of the Code on Entry and Residence ofForeigners and the Right of Asylum and L. 5423–8 of
the Labour Code, financial assistance for social andprofessional integration will be provided.”
Article 5–121–9–II of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: “Any organisation chosen by the person
concerned which aids and supports people indifficulty, particularly people in prostitution, may
participate in the development and implementationof the programme for exiting prostitution and socialand professional integration, as long as they meet
the accreditation requirements set by a Decree of
the Council of State.”
The Decree 2016–1467 of 28 October 2016
defined the exit programme, the work of the departmental committees to prevent and combat prostitution,
procurement and trafficking in human beings forthe purposes of sexual exploitation, and the ways
in which organisations responsible for implementing
the exit programme out of prostitution are accredited.

20

REGARDING THE ACCREDITATION OF
ORGANISATIONS:
Article R–121–12–1 of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: organisations which have been legally
established for at least three years and which havea statutory activity to provide assistance and support
to people in situations of prostitution, victims of trafficking in human beings, female victims of violence,and vulnerable people, may be issued with an accreditation issued by the Prefect of the Department where
the headquarters of the organisation is based.
Article R–121–12–1 of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: The accreditation mentioned in Article L.
121–9 is issued to any organisation which can provide evidence, on the date upon which it requests
accreditation:“1. Of its commitment, through deliberation by its
general assembly, to implement a policy whose
main objective is to help people in prostitution andvictims of procurement and human trafficking out of
prostitution.
2. Of the human and material resources enabling
the organisation to implement the exit programme,
as well as a network of institutional and organisational partners contributing to it;
3. Of the implementation of training for employees
and volunteers with the aim of supporting people
in prostitution to establish a social and professional
integration project, and enabling these people toaccess alternatives to prostitution.”

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

REGARDING THE CREATION OF A
PROSTITUTION EXIT PROGRAMMECIRCULAR DGCS/B2/2017/18
OF 31 JANUARY 2017

Article R–121–12–1 of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: the person engaged in the programme for
exiting prostitution and social and professional
integration mentioned in Article L. 121–9 may benefit
from:“1. Housing within the regulatory conditions governing
access to social housing, accommodation in a hostel
or accommodation appropriate to their situation
under the conditions of Article L. 345–2, L. 345–2–7
and L. 345–2–8 of the Code on Social Action andFamilies;
2. Support aiming to facilitate access to physical andpsychological healthcare and to rights, in particular
those mentioned in Article L. 121–9, Part II, line 5;
3. Support with social integration aiming to encouragesocialisation, individual autonomy in daily life andthe development of a professional integration project.

2.2.5 Review procedures for requests to begin and/or renew the application for an exit programme. The
request to begin or renew an application includes the
production by the accredited organisation of thefollowing documents:– The request to begin/renew the given exit route(Appendix 6 or 7)– The enclosed documents (documents providing
evidence of the administrative, family and social
situation of the individual, and a sworn statement tocease the activity of prostitution).
– The copy of the ordinance granting accreditation
to the referring organisation.

Article R–121–12–12 of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: the programme for exiting prostitution andsocial and professional integration is formalised in adocument prepared by the accredited organisationand the individual in question. It covers all actions
planned for the individual and their commitments tocomply with and monitor the objectives of the exit
programme.

Decree 2017–542 of 13 April 2017 defines theamount of financial assistance for social and professional assistance (known by the French acronym
AFIS) and the ways in which it will be paid. It sets
this assistance at €330 per month (+ €120 per
dependent child).

Article R–121–12–13 of the Code on Social Action andFamilies: “the decision of the Prefect of the Department
to authorise or renew the programme for exiting
prostitution and social and professional integration
gives rise to the right to payment of financial assistance with social and professional integration under
the conditions set out in Article L. 121–9 and enables
foreigners to be issued with a temporary residence
permit lasting at least six months, allowing them toexercise a professional activity under the conditions
set out in Article L. 316–1–1 of the Code on Entry and
Residence of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum.”21

PART I – AN OVERVIEW OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

II. DISCUSSIONS ON
THE DRAFT LAWDECRIMINALISATION OF SOLICITING
There was a broad consensus around the decriminalisation of soliciting from those in the sex work sector
and organisations working with sex workers, whether
or not these organisations were “neo-abolitionists”.5
Moreover, this opinion was mentioned and supported
in the information report by the parliamentary special
task group on prostitution in France, submitted to the
National Assembly on 13 April 2011.6

CRIMINALISING THE PURCHASE
OF SEXUAL ACTS (CRIMINALISINGTHE CLIENTS)
In contrast, the issue of criminalising the clients has
divided opinion. This provision was supported by
neo-abolitionists, particularly those grouped around theAbolition 2012 collective. The rationale was to place
responsibility on the clients for two reasons: because
the act of purchasing a sexual service was violent andbecause it contributed to maintaining a “prostitution
system”, in other words, it contributed towards networks
of exploitation.
The provision was, however, strongly criticised by sex
workers themselves and health prevention organisations,both community-based and otherwise, which grouped
together into an anti-criminalisation collective. Theirarguments were broadly based on those put forward
against the crime of soliciting and listed in the 2011
information report which are given below:- Simple geographic displacement of prostitution
and a weakening of the position of people in prostitution (greater risk of economic precariousness andexposure to violence).
- Greater difficulty accessing healthcare (harder toaccess social and NGO services)- Loss of autonomy and an increase in procurement(increased risk of exploitation)7.

5 - In this study, we use the term “neo-abolitionist” in the sense that has
become standard in France, to refer to a position in favour of measures toeliminate sex work and which does not envisage any form of recognition
or regulation of the work. To understand the genealogy of the term in
French, see the work of Lilian Mathieu: La Fin du Tapin, ed. François
Bourin, 2013 (in French).

22

In addition to these shared arguments, the anti-criminalisation collective raised questions as to whether
shifting the criminalisation from the sex worker to theclient would change the power balance between thetwo parties. It also raised questions about whether
feelings of impunity for those attacking sex workers
would decrease.

PROSTITUTION EXIT PROGRAMME
Although opposition to this provision was not raised assuch, as is the case of the criminalisation of clients, thisprovision also gave rise to discussion. Nobody criticised
the establishment of an additional tool and new
budgets to help people who want to stop sex work.
The criticism of the draft law focused on the discriminatory
nature of the way in which the exit programme wasestablished, conditions of access to it, and the failure
to take into account people’s living situations.
Thus, the obligation to cease the activity of prostitution
in order to be eligible for the exit programme is a problem with regard to equal access to rights for all, as
expressed by the French Human Rights Ombudsman(Défenseur des Droits) in an opinion of 16 December
2015:“The Human Rights Ombudsman notes with regret
the concept of a prostitution exit programme. This concept would appear to be particularly inappropriate
because it requires people in prostitution to sign up fora predefined procedure without, once again, taking
into account the diversity of their situations. The obligation for “victims of prostitution” to cease prostitution if
they want to benefit from this assistance or protection
is problematic. The Ombudsman also has serious
reservations about the conditions for engaging in anexit programme, in contrast to the principle of equal
access to rights, and recommends unconditional accessto social, health and professional support mechanisms.” 8The necessity to stop an activity which is not in itself
illegal raises a legal problem and an ethical problem
for social workers.

6 - http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/rap-info/i3334.pdf (inFrench).
7 - Idem, p. 115-118
8 - Opinion online (in French): http://www.defenseurdesdroits.fr/sites/
default/files/atoms/files/ddd_avis_20151216_15-28.pdf

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

An organisation wishing to request accreditation needs“to implement a policy, by deliberation at its general
assembly, the main objective of which is to help people
in prostitution and victims of procurement and humantrafficking out of prostitution.” This requirement fromthe government has been heavily criticised for making
public funding conditional upon compliance with a
specific political position. Moreover, Decree 2016–1467
contained a shift in meaning between the initial formulation of the law, Article 5–121-9-II which appeared toopen a right for everyone to an individualised exit programme and the provisions of the Decree, which mademediation of an accredited organisation compulsary.
Further, the Prefect holds the right to select the applicants upon recommendation of these organisations.
In this context, the need for accreditation significantly
restricts sex workers’ ability to choose the organisation
they want to support them. Finally, from the very outset,
the project was criticised for its lack of realistic budgeting in order to establish the exit programme, which
was deemed highly insufficient.9

9 - The planned budget is “6.1 million euros for the prostitution exit programme, of which 3.8 million is for the ‘financial allowance for social andprofessional integration’. If, as is the case for the Central Office for the
Repression of Human Trafficking (OCRTEH), it is estimated that there are
30,000 sex workers in France, the budget for the exit programme would
amount to €10.60 per month per person. In addition, 4.5 million euros canbe used from funding from the Agency for the Management and Recovery
of Seized and Confiscated Assets (AGRASC), without it being specified how
and by whom this would be allocated. As it stands, we are far from thegovernment’s promises.” (Aides press release, 26 November 2016, on line:
http://www.aides.org/communiques-de-presse/budget-de-la-loi-finance2017-le-volet-social-et-sanitaire-de-la-loi. (in French).

23

PART 2
STUDY METHODOLOGYPART 2 - STUDY METHODOLOGY

I. A QUALITATIVE STUDY USING
SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
The choice was made to carry out a primarily qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. The first andmain group of interviewees were sex workers themselves. The second group was organisations working
with or for sex workers.
As in any qualitative study, we have taken into accountthe phenomenon of the saturation of responses (interviews stopped when new interviews did not contribute
any new information). However, despite rapid saturationof a large number of questions after around twenty
interviews, we continued the study for two reasons. The
first was to see whether the responses changed after
one year (the first wave of interviews took place in thesummer of 2016 and the second wave took place
between May and February 2018). The second reason
was to strengthen and expand the sampling strategy
for our qualitative methods. This study was based on
70 interviews with sex workers (61 of which wererecorded and transcribed) and 24 interviews or
focus groups with grassroots organisations(including 15 interviews which were recorded andtranscribed and one focus group which was transcribed.
The others took the form of notes).
The materials were supplemented with notes taken
by organisations during their outreach activities, andstatements collated during their rounds. Focus groups
and workshops with sex workers also took place inToulouse and Paris; they involved 38 sex workers
during three bus rounds in Toulouse and two meetings
at the premises of the Grisélidis and Lotus Bus organisations. Finally, some documents produced by theorganisations and annual reports were also analysed.
At the same time, we established a quantitative survey
which was restricted to a few relevant questions fromthe qualitative study. This questionnaire was distributed
to nine organisations and resulted in 583 responses.

26

We used the results of this questionnaire to confirm or
supplement the analysis of the semi-structured interviews.
The questionnaire grid and the methodology adopted
can be found in the Appendices.
Finally, additional informal situations during the study
enabled the researchers to make ethno-graphicalobservations that will not be revealed in this report but
which provided elements that helped understand theexperiences of these sex workers and enriched thecollated data.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

II. A COOPERATIVE STUDYMETHODSTEERING COMMITTEE
The study protocol and the interview grids were createdcollectively over several meetings of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee brought together representatives of sex workers’ organisations (Collectif desFemmes de Strasbourg Saint Denis, STRASS), community
health organisations (Acceptess-T, Cabiria, Grisélidis,
Les Amis du Bus des Femmes, Paloma, Aides), healthand human rights organisations (ARCAT, le Mouvement
Français pour le Planning Familial and Médecins duMonde/Doctors of the World), and researchers. The
protocol was reviewed and adjusted after six months
following the first results. The first analyses and versionsof the study report were also read and commented oncollectively.
This cooperation with the individuals concerned andgrassroots organisations meant choices around thepanel, questions and wording could be made whichreflected realities on the ground as closely as possible.

A MULTI-SITE STUDYInterviews with sex workers were carried out on thepremises of, or as the result of, contact with the following
organisations: Grisélidis in Toulouse, Cabiria in Lyon,
Entr’Actes in Lille, Paloma in Nantes, Doctors of theWorld in Montpellier, Poitiers, Paris and Rouen, Arcat,
Acepptess-T, les Amis du Bus des Femmes, le Strass,
and the Collectif des Femmes de Strasbourg-Saint
Denis in Paris.
The vast majority of interviews were carried out by
researchers and the assistant research intern. Of the 61
interviews carried out with sex workers, 19 were carriedout by members of the partner organisations. Of the
24 interviews and focus groups organised with grassroots
organisations, seven were carried out by members of
the partner organisations. The interview grid helped
maintain consistency between the interviews. Someinterviews were carried out in small groups of two or
three people.

ACCESS THROUGH GRASSROOTSORGANISATIONS
Cooperation with grassroots organisations also gave
the research an access route to a population whichis largely stigmatised and marginalised and, hence,difficult to access. Grassroots organisations had often
already established a relationship of trust which allowed
us to request face-to-face, recorded interviews. This
access may, of course, create a bias in that it may
produce a discourse corresponding to the objectivesof the organisation; we worked to take this potential
bias into account when analysing the interviews. We
felt that the selective bias of respondents was less of arisk, given the great diversity of the people who attended
the activities carried out by the organisations where wereached out to them. The diversity is reflected in thepanel that we describe below.

27

PART 2 - STUDY METHODOLOGY

III. THE PANEL OF INTERVIEWEES– SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
SEX WORKERS
A qualitative study does not strive to be statistically
representative of the population being studied. The
important thing is to construct a panel which takes
account of the diversity of this population as best as
possible. Rather than using estimates of the sex worker
population which are in circulation without knowing
how these figures are reached, we based ourselves on
the knowledge of a number of actors involved in theSteering Committee who knew sex workers’ experiences
and were actively involved in the work of the various
grassroots organisations. Based on this, we took into
account the following criteria to create a panel:- Sex and gender: cisgender women and men, transgender women and men;
- Nationalities (at least): Algerian, Bulgarian, Chinese,
French, Nigerian, Romanian and various South-American nationalities;- Place of contact with clients: street, internet, venues(bars, clubs, massage parlours, etc.);- Place of residence: large cities in France (mainlandand overseas) and suburban and rural areas.
The panel obtained (for the 61 interviews recorded andnine interviews which were not recorded) covered mostof the set criteria. The detail of the panel and the
profiles of the interviewees are provided in a table in
the Appendix 3.
- The diversity of sexes/genders appears to be close
to the reality of sex work.
- We also obtained a wide variety of nationalities
and residence statuses, which does not appear in
the table in the Appendix (most Nigerian and Chinese
women were in an irregular situation; many people
from Latin America and Eastern Europe – Bulgaria
and Romania – were in unstable residence situations).
- The age distribution was also balanced.10 We
chose in this study not to interview minors, althoughsome of the interviewees may have hidden the factthat they were minors.
- Interviews took place with people working in ninedifferent sized cities, as well as on country roads (theorganisations we interviewed also operate in towns,
in the woods near towns and on country roads).
- Finally, although this was not part of the initial criteria,
this panel reflected a great diversity of eco nomic
10 - If we compare with the number and profile of patients/clients seenby the organisations (at least once during the year, i.e. active file) those in
their forties were over-represented. However, organisations which were in

28

situations. Many sex workers live in vulnerable situations, even prior to the increase in vulnerability seenin April 2016. This undoubtedly, but not exclusively,
concerned many migrants who sometimes live fromday-to-day, particularly in terms of access to housing. Others, regardless of their nationality, lived comfortably, with a higher standard of living or were able
to fund relatively expensive personal or family projects.
However, some criteria could not be represented andwill need to be documented through further research:- In terms of distribution by nationality, it is more difficult
to make contact with people from Eastern Europe.
Interviews with grassroots organisations confirmed
the greatest difficulty establishing in-depth relationships with them because they are often more mobile
between two or more countries, travelling back andforth between them many times. Interviews withorganisations attempted to overcome the small
number of interviews with Romanian, Bulgarian,
Albanian, etc. Language remains an obstacle, with the
exception of a few organisations with native employees.
- In terms of modes of activity, street-based
work or working in vans is over-represented. This
over-representation is not uninteresting in the sensethat those most affected by the legislative changes
are street-based workers. A bigger problem is thatthe panel of people working online is French,
Chinese and a few South Americans. Once again,
women and men from Eastern Europe are absent
from the panel.
- Again on the subject of modes of activity, we wereunable to conduct i nterviews with people entering
into contact with their clients in venues (massage
parlours, bars, clubs, etc.). Some interviewees mention
this type of work when they travel abroad and only
one person spoke about working in a massage
parlour (without this being entirely explicit). Grassroots organisations also have less easy access to thispopulation, which is one limitation of our grassroots
approach.
The interview grids were constructed in several stages:
tested over three interviews in June–July 2016, thenreviewed and enhanced (particularly the questions onviolence) in April 2017. This interview grid can be foundin the Appendix 1. Focussing on semi-directive interviews,
the questions were not all systematically asked in orderto leave room for dialogue or the expression of opinion
from the interviewees.
contact with South American and Chinese sex workers had an average ofolder clients.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

ORGANISATIONS
These interviews with sex workers were supplemented
by a second round of interviews with grassroots organisations. This involved interviewing these organisations
using the same questions put to the sex workers, in orderto cross-reference the responses. They were also asked
about the impact of the law on their work, whether or
not they had changed their grassroots work, in particular in terms of preventive work, needs and measurestaken to manage requests for exit programmes. Theinterview grid can be found in the Appendix 2.
The steering committee established a list of grassroots
organisations, taking into account three types of organisation:- Sex workers’ organisations;- Organisations whose social and health work istargeted at sex workers and who were, therefore, indaily contact with them before the law was passed;- Organisations which have requested accreditation or
are likely to request accreditation to support applications for an exit programme.

Some of the grassroots organisations supported thelaw while others did not. Ten organisations which wereinterviewed had obtained accreditation or had begun
the accreditation procedure; three had taken part inpreparatory meetings for the “departmental committee
to prevent and combat prostitution, procurement andhuman trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation” and had thus been consulted; two did not want torequest approval but had been strongly involved in theprevious work of the committee either upon request of
the Departmental representative of the Delegation for
Women’s Rights (Délégation aux Droits des Femmes) or
during the process of preparing files for people they
had followed elsewhere.

The list of organisations contacted is as follows:
Amicale du Nid Paris, Planning familial de l’Aude, Ippo
Bordeaux, Arap Rubis Nîmes, ALC Nice, Pénélope
Strasbourg, Putain dans l’Âme Besançon, Aux Captifs
la Libération Paris, CAPS Rouen, CIDFF Poitiers, LesAmis des Femmes de la Libération Poitiers, Mouvement
du Nid Nantes, L’Embellie Avignon, Arcades Valence,
Comité de TDS de Perpignan, Autres Regards Marseille,
Entr’Actes Lille, Arc75 Paris, ARPS Réunion, Charonne
Paris. In addition, some organisations were in theSteering Committee: Paloma, Grisélidis, Cabiria,
Médecins du Monde Montpellier/Poitiers/Rouen/
Paris, Aides Avignon/Région Centre/Rouen, Arcat,
Acceptess-T, Les Amis du Bus des Femmes. The large
majority of organisations agreed. Only six did not
respond to or follow-up on our request: l’Amicale du
Nid Paris, Charonne Paris, Pénélope Strasbourg, Putaindans l’Âme Besançon, CIDFF Poitiers, Mouvement du
Nid Nantes.
We collated interviews with 24 grassroots organisations(or specialised programmes within organisations). 15
interviews were recorded and transcribed; five focus
groups were carried out, four were transcribed and
one was recorded; four interviews were not recorded
due to a lack of time. In addition, three organisations
submitted summaries of observations.

29PART 3
ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
OF THE STUDYPART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

I. FROM DECRIMINALISATIONOF SOLICITING TO THE
CRIMINALISATION OF THE
CLIENT: WHAT CHANGES HAVE
ARISEN FOR SEX WORKERS?
This first part of the analysis of the interviews looks at
sex workers’ experiences of the decriminalisation ofsoliciting and the first two years of the criminalisationof the purchase of sexual acts (hereinafter we use themore common expression of “criminalisation of the client”).
Only a few migrant women said they were relieved
when soliciting was decriminalised, most of them did
not see any difference, or felt that the criminalisation of
the clients penalised them even more than the offenceof soliciting. Many also mentioned that other formsof criminalisation or control had not changed, or had
even been established in order to make them move outof certain areas.
Another aspect that strongly emerged from the interviews, which will be addressed in the conclusion, was thelack of understanding, or even criticism, of a moralising
approach condemning all clients on the part of the sex
workers. The way in which sex workers see their clientsis much more nuanced. The interviews also questioned
the rationale according to which criminalising the client
helps fight against networks of exploitation, and theyoften expressed that the objective was rather to fightagainst sex workers without taking their interests into
account in any way.

1. INDIRECT PENALTIES AND
INTIMIDATION FOR REPORTING
CLIENTSSix months after the application of clients’ criminalisation,
French newspaper Le Monde published a figure of
only 250 fines for clients.11 Since then, few figures havebeen published in relation to the enforcement of thelaw. In any case, as it clearly emerged from the interviews,
police presence and pressure has contributed to puttingclients off and this should be taken into account when
considering the impact of the law.
In the interviews, only a few interviewees were notaware of the legislative changes. Some migrant women,
who felt that they had to choose between the twoforms of criminalisation, thought it should be the client
to be targeted and that they should no longer be
11 - Gaëlle Dupont, “In six months, 250 clients of prostitutes received verbal
warnings”, in Le Monde.fr, 4 October 2016. Available on line:
http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2016/10/04/en-six-mois-250-

32

arrested for soliciting because this often led to lawyers’
fees or the risk of deportation. However, in contrast,
a much larger number of interviewees felt that if they
were to choose, they would prefer that they were thetarget of criminalisation rather than their clients.
Indeed, in practical terms, at least in places where theoffence of soliciting was no longer implemented, thecriminalisation of clients had led to a sharp decreasein their income and working conditions, which will be
described in more detail in the following part. The
quantitative study carried out at the start of 2018indicated that 511 of the sex workers interviewed were
opposed to the criminalisation of clients, compared to
20 who supported the legislation.
Beyond the practical effects of the change in the law,
many interviewees raised questions over whether it
was even possible to criminalising a purchase without
criminalising a sale: they felt that they were also undoubtedly a target of the law. Thus, in towns or areas where
the purchase of sexual activities had been banned,
police presence was described either as a barrier towork, or as a form of intimidation which targetedboth sex workers and their clients. Often the sex workers
remained the only real target of intimidation, as in thiscase reported by the Cabiria organisation:“During one of our rounds in the countryside, a womanthat the gendarmerie wanted to leave and who had
resisted because there was no objective reason toleave, saw one of her clients being picked up to increase
the pressure on her. The case was closed with no further
action and the gendarmes (in the absence of any further
means of pressurising her), gave up.”
Cabiria, organisation in Lyon
During arrests, it is not uncommon for police officers to
intimidate sex workers to report their clients, or even toarrest them if they do not have residence papers.

“I kept some distance from him and confirmed that I
didn’t work on the street. But the police officers told methat if I didn’t say he was my client, they would take meto the police station! I was really scared, so I told them
I was a prostitute and I was at work!”Jili, Chinese woman
The pressure to report on clients was confirmed inseveral interviews where women explained that theysystematically denied the person was a client. This was
also reported by grassroots organisations, such as theclients-de-prostituees-verbalises-sur-le-territoire_5008000_3224.html(In French. Last consulted: November 2016)

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

Cabiria team, who mentioned the case of a migrant
woman who spoke French and who responded to thegendarmes, saying that ‘I am not coming with you tothe station, I have known this man for a long time, he is
my friend. He hasn’t come to sleep with me, and I havenothing else to say to you. And I do not want to comewith you to the police station.” The police officers let itgo, but the team of social workers and peer workers
explained that it was much more difficult for people
who do not know their own rights and who are afraidof being arrested to resist this kind of pressure.
In addition, the interviewees often described how often they felt responsible, or even guilty, when a client
was arrested:“When I saw that, I felt sad for him, I couldn’t sleep thatnight. When I saw the client leaving, I told myself that his
wife would know and his work colleagues would know,
and I felt so guilty I couldn’t sleep for two nights! But I
don’t know how to tell him that, I don’t understand or
speak French so I couldn’t say to him, ‘I’m sorry’ aboutthat day, I protected myself and I didn’t protect you.”Jili, femme chinoise“I really empathise with the clients. Once I was arrested
and I was afraid (cries), but I really didn’t want toreport him. If a client comes to see us, it’s because hedoesn’t have money, or has an unstable job or no job
at all. And the government wants to punish him more.
It’s unfair.”Min, Chinese woman
The grassroots organisation Aides in the Centre region
told the story of a very militant van worker whoseclient had been summoned to the gendarmerie andthe woman went with the client to the meeting to give
him support. It is not unusual for women to support theirclients when they are able to.

2. MAINTAINING REPRESSIVE
MEASURES TOWARDS SEX
WORKERS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
According to the law, repealing the offence of soliciting
forms part of the provision “protecting” people who are“victims of prostitution, procurement and human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.” In otherwords, according to the spirit of the law, the repressive
measures and arrest are contrary to the objective ofprotection: “in order to protect prostitutes instead ofarresting them, the offence of soliciting has been
removed.”12
However, several interviews mentioned that the offenceof soliciting was not the only way of putting pressure on
sex workers and questioned whether from one day to
the next the police could prioritise their “protection”. In
reality, cities continued to apply municipal ordinanceswith a view to preventing sex work in certain areas:
these ordinances relate to parking vans or comings
and goings in public places. Interviews with grassroots
organisations confirmed that these local ordinances
continue to be applied in, among other cities, Lyon,Nîmes, Narbonne and Toulouse. In some cities andcertain country roads, sex workers continue to be more
penalised than clients, some even receiving several
fines on the same day.
These local ordinances have led to a deterioration insex workers’ working conditions, as they are forced towork in even more isolated areas, and are, therefore,
less “protected” from the risks of violence. Faced withthis combination of local ordinances which indirectly
prohibit solicitation and the criminalisation of thepurchase of sexual acts, one interviewee reported a“double punishment”, given that, far from the objectivesof protection, the priority often remains how to make avisible street population disappear:“We are criminalised on two counts, it is a double punishment. Nobody talks about these local ordinances.
Everyone talks about the criminalisation of the client,so they say: ‘Right, OK, the upshot is we’ve left theprostitutes alone’. That’s not true. We are criminalisedon two counts because the local ordinances ban us
from parking on public roads for too long. That iscalled prostitution. It is exactly what is aimed at.
All the areas and addresses known for prostitution
are targeted, just as much as before: Boulevard des
12 - Law of 13 April 2016 aiming to reinforce the fight against the prostitution system and to support people in prostitution.” in vie-publique.fr, 14
April 2016.

Available on line: http://www.vie-publique.fr/actualite/panorama/textediscussion/proposition-loi-renforcant-lutte-contre-systeme-prostitutionnel.
html (In French. Last consulted: February 2018)33

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

Arceaux, Avenue d’Assas, Avenue de Toulouse. All theseavenues and addresses are known for being hot spots
for prostitution so of course it is the prostitutes that theywant to chase out of town. But at what price? At theprice of our physical safety.”
Amel, French trans woman
In other cities or areas (sometimes alongside ordinancestargeting sex workers), ID checks have replaced operations to combat soliciting. This is the case in Montpellier
and along the roads surrounding the city and in the
Belleville neighbourhood of Paris, according to statements collected by the Doctors of the World programmes.
In the case of Belleville, at the end of May 2015, atthe request of town halls overlapping with this neighbourhood, the police increased arrests for soliciting.
One year later, after soliciting had been decriminalised,a requisition from the public prosecutor of the Préfecturede Paris enabled ID checks to be carried out in this area.
Statements collected by the Doctors of the World Lotus
Bus programme report discriminatory checks being
carried out targeting Asian women. The parallel
between the two statements below, the first in June2015 and the second in June 2016, is striking:“Near the metro station in Belleville, I entered the metro
and a police officer ran after me and said ‘Madam,show me your papers’. I showed him my papers. He
took my photo and said, ‘get out of here’. I left themetro and hung about in a supermarket for a while.
Now you don’t only see police in Belleville, but also as
far away as Couronnes [metro station]. We can’t doanything anymore, not even walk about. The guys inthe street are nasty, the rates are low, the cops are
everywhere, we are in even more danger, it’s hard, we
don’t earn any money and can’t go back to China [herfriend cries]; every day they come around 3pm and we
can’t do anything. They threaten us and say we’ll haveto leave within 20 days ... When you have no papers,
you can’t fight back.”
Collation of statements, Lotus Bus, Doctors of theWorld, 1 June 2015
“The police come every day. During the day. At night, I
don’t know. But during the day, they come every day. We
are on the lookout for both the police and the clients.
[Question: Since April 2016, have you seen changes inpolice officers’ behaviour?][The police] chase us everyday. Every afternoon, they come to move us on. That’s
not changed”.
Ludi, Chinese woman

34

These two quotes from 2015 and 2016 show that in
the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris, Chinese women
saw no difference between before and after the
repeal of the offence of soliciting. In Montpellier also,
the Doctors of the World programme saw more cases ofdetention, and statements from people revealed selective operations by the police targeting African women.
This statement from a Nigerian woman in Toulouse
describes the same situation. One year after the criminalisation of clients provision was established, she feelsthat there are sometimes more ID checks on migrantsthat on clients:“If the girls don’t have papers, they take the girls. They
ask them for their papers, if you show them yourpapers, OK, and if they are out of date or you don’t
have any, they take the girl. Because now they evencome in private cars, as if they were clients, and theytake the girls [...] Before they checked clients more, but
now they check the girls more. They also check theclients, but more the girls [...] it’s nothing new. When I
arrived in Toulouse, checks already took place. There’s
be no change, but there are more checks than before”
Blessing, Nigerian woman
Romanian and Bulgarian women also reported anincrease in checks and expulsions. Their ID papers arechecked at the same time as the client’s when he isarrested and some are even issued with a “ban onentering France” (interdiction du territoire français, ITF)
for disturbing the public order.

“When they catch the client, they always ask forboth my ID and the client’s, that always happens [...]
Previously, we usually got here about 11am and now, wecome at about 2pm, 2.30pm because of the police
checks. That’s how two girls were issued with ITFs, us
girls are afraid. All girls are now afraid of getting an
ITF. Because if you are banned from coming back toFrance, how are you going to get to work?”
Elena, Bulgarian woman
One of the Romanian women felt it was unfair thatsex work was not recognised as work because, as it
stands, she cannot prove she is working and so cannot
be granted the right to remain for more than threemonths in France. In the Aude Department, the Planning
Familiale organisation corroborated interviews whichwere carried out in other regions regarding the more
frequent checks on Eastern European women:

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

“At the same time as clients are criminalised, there are
ID checks and the police also check how long the Romanian people have been in the country. During the ID
checks, they give their name and identity. But it is particularly the border police (Police aux Frontières, PAF) in
Port-la-Nouvelle - which patrols the Perpignan road which asks people for their ID and asks them to provide
evidence of when they arrived in France with bus tickets.
If they don’t like what they see, they tell them to leave.”
Planning familial de l’Aude, Lesignan CorbièresThis feeling of pressure and control does not only concern
migrants. French women also report feeling that policepressure has got worse despite the end of the offenceof soliciting:“They hassle us more and more, because you get the
feeling that they are almost making us bump into them.
They say that we have no business being in the streets,that it would maybe be good if we went to the bars
in Belgium and all that ... And then they do more andmore checks even though I know that soliciting doesn’t
exist anymore so ... “Léa, French woman
According to the social workers at the Entr’Actes de Lilleorganisation, the situation has, however, calmed downin the old town and the police is mainly there to checkfor the presence of minors. However, in the neighbouring town of La Madeleine, which had increased
measures to discourage sex work before the law was
passed, the pressure on sex workers does not appear
to have reduced. Similarly, in Lyon, anti-van ordinances
are still in place. In Nîmes, the ARAP Rubis organisation
believes that sex workers are still more penalised thanclients, due to local ordinances.

Although situations appear to differ from town to town,
or sometimes even from area to area, and someinterviews mention relationships of trust with the police
and even a feeling of being protected, most often thepolice are not considered as allies. Intimidation or theapplication of penalties contribute to a feeling of deep
mistrust or even defiance towards the police, which isa barrier to calling on the police in the event of danger
or violence:

One woman who mentioned the scale of physicalviolence said that she would never report that violence
to the police: “I’m afraid of the police. I don’t reallyknow what could happen but I’m afraid. [...] Because
people don’t want prostitution in this country, they don’t
need it. So when I’m asked what I am doing on theroad… this is why. I have no problem with the police[before]. The police push us out of the street to stop
working. They say that they will take us to the police
station. I don’t want that, so that’s why I can’t go andtell the police.”
Trésor, Nigerian woman“I’ve never had good relations with the police and thesame can be said for them. The other day, they threatened to pick me up for soliciting if I didn’t go home. I
told them that soliciting had been repealed and theyanswered that if they wanted to, they could pick me up
anyway for another reason, so I had to leave. So, I left
without having been able to earn anything to eat thenext day. [...] As far as I am concerned, I see them as
persecutors and not as protecting our safety”.
Aurora, Argentinian trans woman

It is very clear that urban areas which are being gentrified are places where there are more ordinancesor ID checks to try to increase the pressure and pushsex workers further away. This is the case in Avignon,
particularly during the summer Festival, although there
have never been any ordinances which specificallytarget sex workers, according to the two organisationsin the town, Aides and l’Embellie.

“Even if it was an extremely violent rape, I would see
what info I had about the guy. Did I see his face, where
did I pick him up, were there cameras there, are therebanks outside that could have been filming. So, I
suppose, if that was possible, yes, I might press charges... uhh... A few weeks later. A few days later, but notstraight away [...] I’ve been punched in the face, it
wasn’t anything serious ... Maybe if I had a broken arm... If I only had cuts and bruises ... apart from insulting
me, what would the cops do?”Julie, French woman

The gap between the national policy of “protecting”
sex workers and the local policy of cracking down on sex
work clearly raises questions around the motivationsof local authorities. Their priority often remains that of
public order, rather than the protection of persons.

Whether they be French people with a network of family
and friends or migrant women in extremely unstablesituations, the vast majority of interviewees reported
feelings of mistrust arising from the idea that they were
either doing something illegal or out of fear that their

35

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

activity would be made public. In all cases, marginalisation makes it more difficult to use the law andaccess police services.
This part focused on statements around the criminalisation of clients. In the next part, we will look at thematerial impact of the law. We will see that the criminalisation of the client has had a major effect. It has
led to a significant reduction in the number of clients,
which has led to greater insecurity in sex workers’ living
and working conditions. This insecurity takes the formof acute exposure to the risk of violence and a generaldeterioration in sex workers’ health.

36

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

II. THE WORRYING IMPACT OF
CRIMINALISING THE CLIENT:REDUCED AUTONOMY,GREATER RISKS, INSECURITY
AND STIGMA.
As anticipated by the legislators, criminalising clientshas led to a drop in the number of clients. For sex
workers, the consequence is a significant, sometimes
alarming, reduction in income. Faced with less work,
and when the official alternative of a prostitution exit
programme ultimately only concerned a small minority
of sex workers, some have ended up in extremely
vulnerable situations. The majority among them has
tried to adapt their practices and living conditions;most of them continue to offer their services and workin poorer conditions.
This section reveals how the drop in activity first led toa lower bargaining position in the power relationshipwith clients and, sometimes, reduced independence.
It subsequently led to working in more risky conditions,and then to significant impoverishment and deterioration in health, particularly among those who werealready very vulnerable, undocumented migrant women
working in the streets. There is a cause and effectrelationship between economic instability, risk-taking
practices and exposure to violence from fake clientsand others. Thus, in terms of sex workers’ safety andtheir overall living conditions, the effects of criminalisingclients have been detrimental.

1. A LAW WHICH IS CONTRARY TO
EMPOWERMENT: DETERIORATIONOF RELATIONSHIPS WITH CLIENTSAND THE USE OF INTERMEDIARIESREDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF
CLIENTS AND A REDUCTION IN
INCOME, BUT NO REDUCTION IN
THE NUMBER OF SEX WORKERS
The first observation made by interviewees was thatthey had seen significant reduction in the number ofclients. This was mentioned in almost all interviews withstreet-based workers, with the exception of one Frenchwoman working in Lille city centre and one Bulgarian
woman in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris (both of whomwere interviewed in 2017, when the effect of thechange in the law might have been less pronounced).
These two people did not, however, contradict thestatement below regarding a change in the profile ofclients.

“Clients disappeared, so we’re out of work. We spend
hours waiting for nothing. Previously, we saw two or
three clients per day, now we see two or three clients
per week, so you can imagine the difference.”
Camila, Brazilian woman“Before, I could do between 15 and 20 clients. Now
it’s six or seven.”
Manuela, Ecuadorian woman“Normally, I would see between two and three clients
per night. Now I only see one client per night.”
Diana, Nigerian woman“Before I would see three or four clients (per week).
Now I see one or two clients.”
Daniela, Ecuadorian trans woman“Look, I came out at 9.30pm and have seen twoclients. Not even two, really, because I did one client
and the other gave me money.”Inès, Algerian trans woman
In terms of those working on the internet, the responses
were more varied. Some had not seen any obvious
change (this was the case of the Chinese woman and
one French man) and felt that clients on the internet did
not really feel they were affected by the law. Others,in contrast, described a rapid drop in their activity,
fewer calls, and more appointments which were notrespected. They also described greater irregularity intheir work, which appeared to be influenced by media
coverage of this law.

“I hope that with time things will improve. With time,maybe they’ll come back. I hope so [...] But now, they’regoing to be talking about it again on 6 October. So,
for six months there will be lots of articles about it. And
that means lots of articles where they count the numberof people arrested. It might be people in the street, it
affects everyone when they publish articles like that.
And for our colleagues in the street, it must be awful. I
can’t even imagine.”
Magali, French woman

37

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY“I’m better off than some in terms of working conditions
after all [...] the clientele, from one month to the next, I
went to none from one day to the next and I couldn’t
understand where they’d gone. Afterwards I saw thething about criminalising the clients in the media andthen there was a wave of arrests, I don’t know where,
and suddenly I had no more clients.”
Marie, French woman
Two interviewees voiced doubts over a link between adrop in clients and the law. They felt that the explanation
was more to do with an increase in competition(occasional prostitution and sexual liberation) and theeconomic crisis more broadly, which has also affected
this sector. Indeed, it could be asked whether the dropin the number of clients is simply a consequence ofcriminalising clients or if the new legislation has been acatalyst of a trend which was already under way andthe shift towards contacts on the internet.
In any case, grassroots organisations confirmed
the drop in the number of clients, but did not reportany significant drop in the number of people theyencountered in their work. The notable exception was
the Maison de Vie du Roussillon and the Comité desTDS in Perpignan, as well as the Planning Familial in
Aude, which reported a significant decrease in thesex workers they meet. In fact, this is a region where
provisions to criminalise clients were strictly enforced
across the country roads. The organisations think thatmany sex workers moved to the clubs over the Spanish
border or that they now work on the internet.
The drop in the number of clients led to a reduction inincome which, with the exception of four people, wassystematically mentioned in the interviews – regardlessof the interviewee’s nationality and way of working.

on the choices the escort makes and how much timethey spend etc. But not anymore! My dear, if I make
€2,000 in a month, I’m happy.”
Magali, French woman
This observation was corroborated by the quantitative
questionnaire which indicated that around 63% of
respondents saw a drop in their quality of life over the
past two years and that more than 78% had seen a
reduction in their income since April 2016 (see tablesin the Appendix 4).

REDRESSING THE POWER BALANCE
IN THE CLIENT’S FAVOUR
In contrast to the argument in favour of criminalisation,
which assumes that sex workers hold the upper hand in
the power relationship with a client who is committing
an offence,13 the interviews unanimously revealed thatthe balance of power has deteriorated. The growing
competition between sex workers is advantageous tothe clients.

“Do I feel as if I am in a strong position in comparison
to the client? No, I don’t think so. On the contrary. […]I beg them to come and see me. I don’t feel strong,quite the opposite. (The law) has completely crushed
me, because I am always running after the client toget him to agree. Before, I had the choice. Usually theclient approached me and I told him my price. Now,
it’s him who sets the price and him who says where
we go. Truly, it has utterly crushed me. It has crushed
me because now I chase after the client. How do you
expect me to feel strong?”
Yacine, Algerian travesti“Previously, I had two days off every week. Now I only
have one. Before, I worked from 2-8pm. Now I go out
at 1pm and I get home later. And I earn less.”
Manuela, Ecuadorian woman

When the interviewer asked the question “Insofar as
you can report the client, do you feel you are in a better
position to negotiate with them?”, responses weregenerally given as if the question was absurd. The interviewees talked about the lack of commercial logic
in the idea of reporting clients and, more importantly,
the risk of triggering more violence by threatening theclient. First of all, in an economic transaction, it makes
no sense for the people being interviewed to reporttheir source of income to the police.

“Full-time work, depending on the escorts and the way
they work and everything else, used to earn between€4,000 and €15,000 per month. It really depends“No prostitute is going to do that, because they knowthat the media could say that the clients are being
criminalised and that clients won’t come any more.

13 - See for example, the statements from Mouvement du Nid: “If you are aclient of prostitution, faced with very vulnerable women, you will no longer
be able to make the most of your economic advantage”; “If the client insist
upon a sexual act, without using a condom or a sexual act that the prostitute refuses to perform, he would be taking a major risk of being reported,because simply soliciting this purchase is illegal.” in Julie Pietri, “La loi pénalisant les clients de prostituées de retour à l’Assemblée”, on France Inter, 3
February 2016 (in French). Available on line: https://www.franceinter.fr/societe/la-loi-penalisant-les-clients-de-prostituees-de-retour-a-l-assemblee.
(Last consulted: November 2016).

“Previously, I made between €3,000 and €4,000
per month. Now it’s more like €2,000 or €3,000.”
Fan, Chinese woman

38

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

Prostitutes are not stupid, they’re not going to kill theirjobs. So, in contrast, I think that prostitutes will be evenmore permissive, unfortunately”
Amel, French trans woman“That’s an argument that I’ve never understood in thesense that if you start reporting your clients, you won’t
have any more clients coming to see you. You’re notgoing to shoot yourself in the foot! From a marketing
point of view, it doesn’t work like that. After all, the truthis that we wouldn’t need to report the clients if we wereallowed to have the clients we wanted. But we wouldn’treport them. Why on earth would we do that?
Magali, French woman“Quite frankly, well ... as a woman, as a working woman,
I would not report a man when he had done nothing tome. If he had hit me, I would.”Elsa, French woman
The ones that sex workers want to be able to reportto the police are the “fake clients”, those who pretend
to be clients in order to steal from them, often using
violence. But, as mentioned earlier, even in these situations it is difficult to turn to the law, and the changes
to the law has not improved this. Sex workers do not
feel any greater sense of legitimacy in reporting clients
than previously. Trying to intimidate clients or “fake”
clients by threatening to report them to the police isoften seen as a reason for the escalation of violence:“Last week a client hit me because he wanted me togive him back €20 because he hadn’t managed to
ejaculate after thirty minutes. When I said I’d report him,
he nearly strangled me. Everything that is happening isscary. (...) I will never again tell a client that I’m going toreport him, what happened to me was too horrible. (...)
What’s more, I’ll tell all my friends to be careful. There
are some people who think that they will be able toreport clients who are aggressive, disrespectful andviolent. I think they could kill one of us. I hope not, but
I know this environment and what some “clients” think
we are worth.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman“I think that if I called the police when a client didn’t pay
me, the client would destroy my phone and hit me.”Stella, Nigerian woman“Young people, for example, there’s no negotiatingwith them, they’ll say I don’t care, on you go, do what

you want, whatever you do, if you cause me problems,
I’ll just send you to the cemetery or the hospital”
Agnès, French woman
Of all the interviewees, only one woman said she had
threatened to call the police on a client who did notwant to pay, and succeeded in being paid. Only one
other said that the risk of a fine protected her from themost aggressive clients because she could report themto the police. Finally, one last interviewee said that thefear of being reported forced clients to stay decent:“I think that sometimes, they are decent with me justbecause of that. They are afraid that I’ll call the police.
There are lots of them who are careful about what they
do because of this.”
Bianca, Romanian woman
All the other interviewees thought that the power relationship had shifted out of their favour or that the argument
about reporting clients is absurd and even dangerous.
In contrast, redressing the power relationship in theclients’ favour was illustrated by the difficulty in negotiating prices. Sex workers and organisations reported
several cases where clients “play on the competition” inorder to get a better price.

“Yes, physically they are the same, but they want to pay
a lot less precisely because it’s obvious that we are notworking, we’re waiting around with nothing to do, sothey offer three times less. (...) We are, therefore, more
vulnerable and have fewer clients, so less money andthey play on the competition, which is normal.”Camila, Brazilian woman“He asks, ‘how much?’ and I say ‘€30’. He says: ‘Noway, I’ve only got €10.’ Before, I wouldn’t have accepted.
Even my friends wouldn’t accept €10. But now, I’ll takeit. I’ll tell you the truth. I accept €10. So how do you
think this law makes me stronger? It’s just the opposite, I’ll take anyone for €10 ... There are some people
who have no money. They need to eat a sandwich. So,
they’ll take €7, €8, €9. That’s the law for you.”
Yacine, Algerian travesti“I ask for €30-50. But if the client demands a lower
price, I have to agree, otherwise someone else will say yes
and I won’t have any more work. It wasn’t like that before,
they’d agree to what I asked, but now, for the past year ...”
Cristina, Ecuadorian woman

39

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY“Yes, the clients say, ‘You see that blond girl there, yourfriend, she does it without a condom, she knows what
she’s doing’, and afterwards you think that he’s a goodclient, a loyal client, who is paying attention. And you
start thinking that the girl does everything ... And someclient sites post comments about the girls, horrible
comments ...”
Griselidis, focus group with sex workers
Criminalising clients has even become an argumentthat is used to negotiate prices down: because theclient is taking the risk of paying a fine, he asks thesex worker to give him a break. Clients feel they areentitled to ask for more, because they are taking a risk:“[the clients] say ‘police are everywhere…’ You understand. Before I used to go for €80 now there is noclients, there is the police, so I say €50 now. You understand this difference now, because there’s not somuch of clients, and it’s like they want to risk themselves
to go with you, so I have to say lower price.”
Grace, Nigerian woman“That’s what happens. Now before a client comes withyou, you spend hours negotiating and they ask to pay
less because they’ll be arrested and will have to pay
a fine. So, I agree and every time it gets cheaper andcheaper. They’re happy now because they have thepower to decide everything and I can’t do anything
about it.”Aurora, Argentine trans woman“Since they’ve known that it’s the clients who are
criminalised, they’ve been coming up with lower offers.
Most clients don’t come any more and those who do,come with the idea in their heads that there is a law
which criminalises them so we need to make a bit ofan effort on our side.”Amel, French trans woman“One Nigerian person told me: ‘My client said: ‘you’re
lucky I come at all’’, so he’s already making her feelindebted to him. He starts negotiating by saying: ‘You
should be thanking me for being here because I’mtaking a risk’, so in the commercial negotiation, everything has changed. The power balance has shifted.”
Autres Regards, organisation in Marseille“On the whole, it is the clients who decide and leadthe negotiations. There is a balance that has changedin the dominant-dominated relationship. Before it was

40

the woman who decided, but now it’s the client who
leads the dance ... The client is more anxious yes, a
lot more stressed, more demanding, the client sets theprice, so of course the price is going to drop.”
Entr’Actes, organisation in Lille
In terms of the choice of practices as well, people seem
more likely to accept practices that they had refused in
the past:“Condoms can be a bit problematic, yes. But it might
be other practices that we wouldn’t have done before
because we don’t feel comfortable with them, or because
we don’t feel safe. [... ] It’s not so much that people
insist on them, it’s more like, because there are fewer
and fewer clients, there is a time when you have to ask
yourself the question. Something has to give. Yes, there
are a few colleagues who have asked these types ofquestions on forums or between ourselves. Questions
are starting to be asked.”
Magali, French woman“In fact, lots of colleagues have kept the same rates
as before, but have increased what they do. They now
agree to sodomy, or foot fetishes ... We’ve had to increase
the services we provide ...”
Julie, French woman
Ultimately, as a result of criminalising clients, not only
do sex workers agree to work for less and accept practices they would previously have refused, but they needto spend a certain amount of time reassuring the client.
They say they have to reduce the client’s anxiety andreassure them that the exchange will go smoothly.

“It takes more work for him to get aroused, to forget thestress, forget his work, his children, his wife. Because heis paying me for a good time, that is my job: to makesure he forgets it all and enjoys this time even if it’s
twenty minutes, thirty minutes or an hour. If he needs it
and he’s stressed, I’ll give him a massage.”
Daniela, Ecuadorian trans woman“Of course, if you take them into car parks, they areafraid. They’re always looking around and asking if thepolice are there, if the police will come, so all we haveto do is reassure them, because we need the work.”
Blessing, Nigerian woman

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

CLARIFICATION REQUIRED OVER
THE USE OF INTERMEDIARIES AND
LOSS OF AUTONOMY
In the discussions around criminalising clients, one of
the arguments against the draft law was that there
was possibly a loss of autonomy and an increase inprocurement, hence increased risks of exploitation.
Based on the interviews, several different opinions areworth looking into further.
The case of Nigerian women: exploitation has
not decreased and may even have increased
The issue of intermediaries (pimp, mama, boss, agency,etc.) was not always addressed so as not to compromise
the relationship of trust during the interviews, inparticular with migrant women originating from subSaharan Africa.
Grassroots organisations and various anthropologicaland sociological studies confirm the seriousness of
situations of exploitation and loss of autonomy for
Nigerian women in the sex work sector. However, it
should be noted that these studies are always very
nuanced in describing the complex processes which
combine the fear of traffickers and debt, and theability to make choices at the time of departure aswell as within the country of arrival on the part of the
migrant – that is, when they may adopt the codes of
the country in which they are settling and renegotiate
their autonomy.14
Interviews with grassroots organisations highlighted
three points: the number of Nigerian women has not
reduced for two years, the age of new arrivals tends
to be lower, and exploitation tends to become global,
with the increasing presence of men. Hence, as we
discuss in the conclusion, the expected impact of thelaw – to reduce the market and traffic around thismarket – depends upon more global reasons linked
to migration.

A rise in the use of intermediaries for wantof a better alternative
Since the law was passed, interviewees had not seen arise in propositions from intermediaries. When the draft
law was prepared, the majority said they had turned
down such offers. Some said they had refused to use anintermediary in order to maintain their independence
14 - Nicola Mai, Travel, ethnofiction, 2016 ; Simona Taliani, Calembourde choses dans le vaudou italien : Corps-fétiche et principes d’inégalité
devant les dieux, Social Compass · février 2016 ; Françoise Guillemaut,and refused to share their income. However, given thelong-term decrease in the number of clients, some said
that in the medium term, they would no longer be able
to refuse such offers.

“I am starting to think that I’ll have to find myself
something if they start to apply the law strictly. I’ve
been offered to go and work in a bar where clientscome and we take them home. I was told that I should
pay for every client I ‘take out’ of the bar, but I don’tknow much more yet. In any case, if I see that it works,
it would make sense to agree.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman“I have many colleagues who prospect for work
either in bars or agencies ... So, they are looking forintermediaries who they can work for. In fact, up to thispoint, we didn’t need anyone to organise our work, but
now ...”
Magali, French woman
Others go to work abroad, in countries where thelegislation permits what is criminalised in France as
procurement. This is mostly the case of people whowork as escorts and who use agencies in neighbouring
countries where this practice is authorised, in order
to include them in their services. However, demandis high and the selection process in these agencies is
not easy. Escorts working on the internet sometimes go
to Switzerland or Luxembourg, even though they do
not necessarily like the rigid framework of sex work inthese countries. For sex workers in the streets of Lyon orin Savoy, Switzerland is an alternative. In the south ofFrance, it is Spain with its clubs along the border andthere again, the working conditions and presence of aboss are factors that are not regarded positively.

“What people in prostitution first think is that this law has
encouraged procurement, encouraged mafia networks.
Perpignan is a good example, because at La Jonquerain Spain [a border city hosting clubs], more than 400
additional girls were hired after this new law. [...] so
in fact, effectively they are people in prostitution andwhether they have come through mafia networks orwhether they have always chosen sex work, they havegone to work in brothels.”
The Comité des TDS in Perpignan“I have been a prostitute in Perpignan since 1985
and have three children. I worked in the street before
going on the internet. Since the middle of 2016, I« Femmes africaines, migration et travail du sexe », Sociétés 2008/1(n° 99), p. 91-106.

41

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

chose a solution which I think is more protective, even
if I’m not necessary in favour of it! I work in DALLAS
at La Jonquera because I am protected by the laws,
my clients aren’t taking any risks and neither am I.
Unfortunately, 20% of my salary goes to the brothel[...] I’m a bit disappointed because I’d never had apimp in my life and had always fought against it. And
then last year I felt an obligation to protect myself bygoing to this brothel”
French woman, statement collected by the Comité desTDS in Perpignan

and checking residence papers since then) tend toencourage the use of intermediaries in a voluntary way.

The Doctors of the World Lotus Bus programme reported
a growing number of Chinese women working on theinternet, despite the fact that, given the language
barrier, this requires them to use an intermediary. Of
these women, many had first worked in the streetsand had chosen to change because they could not
find enough clients or wanted to avoid police checks.
Most often, with the exception of a few cases of heavypressure related to debts incurred through immigration,
the women explained that this was their choice andwas not due to “networks” or “pimps” having a holdover them. One Chinese woman said she decided not
to work in the streets any longer but through internet
adverts due to the police presence in the Bellevilleneighbourhood. “The best thing is obviously to work
alone”, but arrests cost her €4,000 (€1,000 inlawyer’s fees to get her out of detention for each of fourarrests) and this is, therefore, why she sought out anintermediary who would organise her travel and makeappointments with clients. She therefore preferred toearn less money but avoid the costs linked to policearrests. However, only people who spoke a little French
could avoid going through an intermediary:“No, I’ve never had [a boss] and even if someone offered
their services to find me clients, I wouldn’t accept
because a visual assessment is really important whenchoosing clients, you have to know what to look for. I
don’t care how much you give me, the important thing
for me is to be able to see the person [the client].”
Lily, Chinese woman“There are no more clients in Paris, it’s no longer
possible to work in the streets, so we go to the internet.
If you want to work on the internet, you have to pay anintermediary which is often very expensive. They post
your advert and find housing, but I managed to do it
all by myself [because she speaks a little French]. Theintermediary takes 50% of our money from the clients
we get on the internet”
Focus group with Chinese women, Doctors of the World- Lotus Bus programme
Criminalising clients may, therefore, raise questions
around the autonomy of sex workers in their practices.
In a broader sense, these interviews highlight thefact that repressive measures (soliciting until 201642

A majority of sex workers defend their
independence
However, in contrast to one of the hypotheses of opponents of criminalising clients, there has been no obvious
increase in the use of procurers. On the contrary, thequestion of independence is a subject upon which theinterviewees liked to comment and defend“The good thing is I work for myself, I don’t work foranyone else. Everything I earn, I can keep. Or I spend
it on things I need and I can relax.”Daniela, Ecuadorian trans woman“I’ve always worked alone. I never wanted to have aboss. I never wanted too many people getting involved.
I don’t need protection and don’t want to do too much.
If you have a boss who organises things, it’s them who
decide how much you work. I prefer to be free. I accept
when I want to and refuse if I don’t want to. My priority
is my safety, not how much money I earn.”
Meimei, Chinese woman“At the beginning I worked with him and afterwards hewanted us to go fifty-fifty, but I said no. I didn’t agree.
And I told him to delete my number from his phone or
I’d come with the police and I would ... I would ... find
him at his home, because I know his address.”Ana, Romanian woman
One Romanian woman said she had had offers fromintermediaries in order to have more clients, to which
she responded negatively:“Yes, there are some that do stupid things, like that. But
you mustn’t fall for it. I listen but say no straight away.”
Bianca, Romanian woman“People have offered to get me clients, but for the time
being, I don’t want to work for other people, not forWHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

anything in the world. My independence is more important than anything. But if it happens, it happens.
And I wouldn’t say anything to the police. Because if I
can earn money and it works well, it’d be crazy to tell
the police.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman

2. A LAW WHICH CONTRADICTS
PREVENTION: AN INCREASE IN
RISK-TAKING AND VIOLENCELESS ABILITY TO SELECT CLIENTSAND SHORTER NEGOTIATING TIMES“I’m sorry, but it’s my body and no one else is goingto make money of it, not the state, not the bosses inthe brothels who offer me €3,000 per month for fourdays’ intense work. Every day on Gayroméo, I getmessages from the bosses of brothels in Spain asking me
to come and see whether I would be better working
in the warmth and safety of their brothels! You would
think the 2016 law was made for them ... But if one
day I have no more clients, then I won’t have a choice!”
French man, internet, statement collected by the Comité
des TDS in Perpignan“I preferred the previous law on soliciting. At least withthat law, I know who the good clients were, the ones
who paid well, who were respectful, who were notafraid. Now I am always begging them.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman

Several interviews mentioned the idea that statementsfrom politicians about exploitation are absolutely false
and that the police know very well that many sex workers
do not have a procurer.

“Because before, it was older people with money whocame and now, those who come are more likely to be
the scum who don’t care about the police.”
Camila, Brazilian woman

Finally, some interviews mentioned an increase in sex
workers reporting exploiters or intermediaries due totheir increased economic vulnerability and their inability
to pay. This information is sparse and needs to be
confirmed or denied. Practical cases appear to becomplex, including possible abusive use of the reporting
procedure.

“The clients who don’t come any more are those who
paid well. These were the good clients who ... arescared of being arrested and don’t dare come any
more. Those who come now aren’t good clients.”
Fan, Chinese woman

An opinion shared by almost all the people interviewed
who work in the streets, as well as by many people
working on the internet is that “good” clients are rare.
“Good” clients generally means clients who respect theestablished conditions of the exchange.

The sex workers find themselves forced to accept clientsthat they would not previously have accepted, even if
it means lowering their selection criteria and risking
greater exposure to violence.

“We don’t have any money, so if we meet bad clients,
we take the risk anyway, risks we wouldn’t have taken
before [...] There is more violence than before the law.
We take a lot more risks. Before, we could choose ourclients, but now our margin of manoeuvre is very slim.
We say to ourselves: “OK, let’s give it a try”. We takerisks we wouldn’t have taken before.”
Min, Chinese woman“There was a time when I thought twice about accepting
new people from my black list, not the whole black list,
you have to be able to distinguish between the ones
who just smell bad from those who are really physicallydangerous. I tested one and felt so bad that I put him
back on my black list.”
Marie, French woman

43

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

The counterpart to this statement is that the numberof “disrespectful’ clients is proportionately greaterthan before, and there are even more clients who do
not have as much money or do not want to pay theprice set by the sex worker than before. More time isneeded to clearly establish the working conditions withthis type of client, but in order to reduce the visibility of
the negotiations, discussions with the client often now
take place much faster.

Thus, the reduction in the negotiation time due to thepolice presence hinders the sex workers’ ability to impose
their working conditions and leads them to take morerisks.

“This is because of what I said before, because they
are afraid. If you want to negotiate with them, you haveto do it really, really quickly. They say to me: ‘Come on,come on, come on! Let’s go straight away, right now.’
And they leave quickly by car because they are afraid.
They don’t want to be arrested by the police.”
Grace, Nigerian woman

Meeting places

This stage of the negotiation is a key part of selecting
the client and setting the conditions of the exchange(the price, service, condom use, place, etc.). By getting
into the client’s car, the sex worker is more committed
and it is more difficult to negotiate, to insist on the conditions of the exchange, or to terminate the agreement.

“(The negotiation takes place) more quickly. Sometimes
you don’t even negotiate. You just get into the car. You
can go far in the car before you are able to start negotiating. Sometimes, you go to the wrong place. Before,
when you negotiated with the client, you stated theprice clearly to him and found out whether he agreed
to it before getting in the car with him. But now, when
you get there, they say they haven’t got any money. So
sometimes you have to get back without him, because
he hadn’t warned you he had no money.”Grace, Nigerian woman“Now, I don’t have any more time to work out who thegood and bad clients are, as soon as someone offers
me something, I say yes straight away. This increases therisks that I’ll find myself in a hostile situation.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman“Because there are police officers who stop us constantly,
checking our papers, this has negative consequences,because we don’t have any time to check whether the
guy is a ‘bad guy’ or not. Usually I’m careful, I try toassess the danger, but with the police everywhere we
don’t have time to be careful and there are no girlfriendsaround anymore to warn us if he’s a bad guy.”Statement collated from fieldwork, Lotus Bus, 201744

A SHIFT IN MEETING AND WORKINGPLACES: TOWARDS MORE ISOLATEDPLACES OR ONLINE

Some people who work in the streets have changed theplaces where they wait for their clients. They move towards less visible places with a view to avoiding the riskof the client being arrested. They wait in more isolated,darker places in the street or the forest. According tointerviews with grassroots organisations, these changes
appear to vary greatly from one town to the next.
Being pushed into isolated, dark places leads to new
obstacles to conduct harm reduction work. Grassroots
organisations have sometimes had to extend theirrounds, exploring different places in order to stay incontact with people, and have sometimes had to beinnovative in their prevention work, as illustrated by the
Autres Regards organisation in Marseille. The teamdiscovered that Nigerian women had started working
in very dark pipe networks on the request of clients,
and that they used the light of their telephones to put
on condoms. So, they only had one hand left free, andthe team gave them information on how to put on acondom using the mouth:“One (sex worker) told me how to put on a condom
with one hand, holding your phone as a light, whichmakes the client lose their erection, etc. And so, we
asked ourselves, we have to change what we do, it’s
stupid but these girls, when they arrive, they have noexperience. We told them that maybe they could put
on the condom with their mouths because then you
have both hands free, so that’s what happened.”
Autres Regards, organisation in MarseilleSome of the people working in the street set their
appointments by telephone. This was common before
2016 but increased after the law passed. Clients goby and ask for their phone numbers, but do not stop.
The negotiations of the exchange then take place bytelephone, which reduces some sex workers’ ability toselect their clients.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

“Now there are clients who come and ask for the phone
number. There are some who come who do nothing.
They just ask for the phone number and call us once
they get home.”
Juan, Peruvian man“Lots of clients ask for my phone number, but I’mscared to give it out to everyone. How can I know
who will suddenly pretend to be a client and attackme in my home. Who would help me at home when
I have to do everything discretely so the neighbours
don’t report me?”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman
Some people working in the street have turned towards
the internet. This still seems to be rare among Nigerian
women. However, the Cabiria organisation in Lyon
has reported that some put up adverts to work in thesurrounding towns where there is no street prostitution.
Some South American and Chinese women decided
to shift from street-based work to Internet platforms(which means that many Chinese women need to use
an intermediary, as they do not speak French). However, using the internet as a means of dealing with thedifficulties arising in the street remains the choice of aminority. Of those who began to work on the internet
after working in the street, the majority felt that theinternet was more dangerous.

“I’ve only been using it for two months. But it scaresme a bit because I don’t know who is coming into myhome. When I go home with a client from the woods,
I can see him and can discuss things with him on theway. This helps me know if I can trust him ... With theinternet, I don’t know who’s coming into my home.”
Juan, Peruvian man“I’ve never worked through the internet. Because I thinkit’s really dangerous. It’s really, really dangerous working
on the internet. I have friends who have been attacked
by clients. For example, Sylvie,15 the last time ... Already on
the street when I leave with a client, I test them. I haveto see a client two or three times before they come to myhome. On the phone, I don’t know who is coming to myhome, it’s really suicide. Unless you have a bodyguard
or someone to watch out for you, I don’t know. It’s really,
really dangerous. Since the law, I wanted to workthrough the internet, because it really led to less work(...). But I really think ... you’re gambling with your life.”
Yacine, Algerian travesti

Working on the internet is viewed as a more isolated
activity, while in the street, sex workers can chat with
their colleagues and support one another in the eventof danger“Before, I worked at Belleville and shared a room withseveral people. When I was in danger, my friends
could come. (...) On the internet, that’s not possible. If
you meet a bad client, you don’t dare ask for money.
Already, if they don’t hit me, that’s a plus.”
Fan, Chinese woman
Those who work exclusively through the internet saw
a rise in precautions taken by the client. An increasing
number of clients contact them by telephone by withholding their numbers. This reduces the possibility of
being able to identify a potential attacker whose
number is doing the rounds on social networks.

“I think that there are some people who are convincedthat you can easily put them on speakerphone, so I
think they are afraid. And I have more and more callsfrom withheld numbers. This is also pretty dangerous.
There weren’t so many of them before. Now there are
more. You get the feeling that they are afraid, they are
worried.”Magali, French woman
Working through the internet is also an obstacle forprevention work, because people are often invisible.
Several organisations established virtual drop-in sessions
before the law passed, but in some places, the transition did not work and the prevention organisations
lost contact with some street workers. In Perpignan, theComité des TDS (sex workers committee) reported:“La Maison de Vie in Roussillon, which dealt with many
people in prostitution, doesn’t come by at all any more.
I’ve got a close relationship with them, I work a lot withthem, but we no longer distribute condoms because we
don’t see them anymore, the prostitutes, they hide themselves away.”
Comité des TDS, organisation in Perpignan

Places of work
Since the law passed, there has been a change inthe places where the work takes place, on the clients’request. For people working in the street, clients insist
that the transaction takes place in more isolated locations. For example, many interviewees mentioned that15 - The first name has been changed to ensure anonymity.

45

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

clients ask to go to car parks which are further away,
thus increasing the risk taking.

“For example, previously, I wanted to work with men
next to where I worked. In the car park next door. But
that’s no longer possible. They say ‘no, no, no’. The men
are afraid, so we have to go far away.”
Grace, Nigerian woman“You can imagine what could happen in places that theclients choose, that we don’t know and which are outside
the city centres. Because they think they are safer intheir places, for example, clients who propose goingto their car parks which are two kilometres away from
where we work, others suggest going to their homes
and they sometimes live two, three, four kilometresaway. We never know what could happen. And they
explain that they do that to escape the police and notrisk any fines.”Amel, French trans woman
If problems do arise, it is more difficult for them to callfor outside help or for colleagues waiting nearby.

“When you go somewhere really far from where you
work, it is very dark and they can take advantage ofyou. That’s risky for people who work in the street.
Because they know you are all alone. No one is there.
There are no colleagues nearby.”
Grace, Nigerian woman
The interviewees also mention a rise in requests fromclients to go to an apartment, either the sex worker’s
home or their own. Several of them say in the interviews that, to reassure the client, they now agree tomeet them at their homes, which they would not havedone in the past.

“The clients often ask to go into the apartments. That’s
something I find really different compared to otherrepressive laws. Whether they do it or not, I’m not sure,but in any case, they ask to go into the apartments
much more than before.”
Grisélidis, focus group with sex workers“Previously, we’d usually go into the car park. Now, I
suggest we go to my place. They pay a bit more, but
it’s better, they are more relaxed. Because they are
stressed that the police will arrive and so they can’t
enjoy the moment, so I suggest we go to my place. And
there are clients who say ‘OK, it’s better that way’. But

46

there are clients who say ‘no, I don’t have the time or
the money’.”Daniela, Ecuadorian trans woman“Now, with the client, we go up to the apartment. And
now, it’s not only with the regular clients.”
Bianca, Romanian woman“For a long time, we said ‘Yeah, yeah, the law iscoming, the law is coming ...’ And after that, the clientsleft. There are clients that give you their number so thatyou can then go and work at their place.”Inès, Algerian trans woman
However, most people refuse to work at the client’s
home because it involves too great a risk. They do notknow the places and do not know if the client will bealone.

“Many clients ask me to go to their places. Yesterday, I
had one client who asked me to go to his place. I told
him that I couldn’t. When I suggest they come to myplace, they say no. They tell me that there is no problem
at their place, they live just nearby. I can’t trust them, you
can’t trust them.”
Yacine, Algerian travesti“I know my apartment, I know where to find what I
need if I have to defend myself. I know my apartment,
I would never go to the client’s place. Because I don’tknow where it is, if he lives alone, if he’ll be alone in theapartment or if anyone is hiding. At my home, it’s not
the same. I am alone, I know the place. I know how to
defend myself if a client attacks me.”Daniela, Ecuadorian trans woman

AGREEING TO RISKYSEXUAL PRACTICES
It appears in a very large number of interviews thatwearing a condom has once again become the subjectof negotiations with the client, even although the
majority says that this was always the case.

“It wasn’t like that before. Now, for oral sex, it is almost
impossible that the client will agree to wear a condom.
Even if I tell them that I’ve just been with another client
who didn’t use a condom and that they risk getting a
disease, they don’t care.”Amanda, Ecuadorian trans woman

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

“Clients have become more and more demanding,they do any old thing, let me explain: when we offer acomplete service, oral sex, protected penetration, you
could say that 50% of the clients will refuse, they want
no protection.”
Agnès, French woman“Work is not the same as before, there are more demands ...
- Demands from clients?
- Uhh, not to use condoms, to do this or that, like oralsex [...]- And in that case, who decides, is it you or your boss
[laoban in Chinese, which means the person who puts
the adverts on the internet, takes the phone calls, rents
the studios etc.]?
- The boss discusses it with us: for example, this client
wants no condom, this one wants oral sex ...
- And it’s up to you to accept or not?
- It doesn’t happen very often. Some do it, but I never do.
You can say to the boss, I don’t care about the price, I
won’t do it. But oral sex without a condom, me personally ... it’s very rare.”Yan, Chinese woman“You see how many girls who come from Spain, andnormally in Spain the girls are ... well, they do it without
condoms.”.
- Really?
- And the one that won’t do it without condom, shedoesn’t get any work. That’s why I think that it exists
more and more here in Lyon”.
Lola, Dominican woman“The prices have really gone down all the same, evensince I started, the prices have gone down. There area huge number of requests for unprotected practices.
Uh, it’s really complicated. Today, performing out oral
sex with protection it’s ... I don’t know if I still havecolleagues who do that, it’s practically, yeah ... You canstill insist on using protection. But, you’re right, there are
more and more girls who agree.”
Julie, French woman
Although many of the people interviewed remain uncompromising, it should be recalled that these interviews
were carried out as part of the work of health prevention
organisations and that there is a heavy bias in the
responses on practices. Thus, indirectly, many said thatthey remained firm in refusing unprotected practices
but not the “others”, their colleagues. This may be a wayof talking about themselves. Finally, some clearly said
they agreed or felt they would agree to more unprotected encounters after a certain period if their income
dropped too much.

“Now I agree to give a blow job at the price they offer.
I would never have believed that I would give oral sex
without a condom for €5 or €10, never mind with dirty,
demanding men. The worst is when they offer €50 for
unprotected sex and I have to agree.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman“We are faced with clients who say: ‘I’m risking a€1,500 fine and a criminal record, what can you do
for me? Could you do ...’ I don’t want to be crude but:
‘Could you give me a blow job without a condom?’ It’s
really dangerous. For the time being we say no. But
how long can we say no? Until the time comes when
we need to eat. We are going to need the money.”Amel, French trans woman
All the grassroots organisations confirm that requests
for unprotected relations had increased and manyorganisations confirmed that the number of people
who agreed to this was regularly rising. Several organisations reported their shock at dealing with people
who admit to not always using a condom, which is areal change:

For several years, this was something that we justnever heard about. And now there are people who say
it clearly: in any case, I’m going to have sexual relations
with the client without a condom”»
Cabiria, organisation in Lyon
“For the first time, I heard a Nigerian woman tell methat she had agreed to unprotected relations. I had
never heard that before. At that point, she was in tears.
She said to me: ‘I don’t have any choice, I have nomoney, I have to agree to things like that.’ This is thefirst time I heard someone saying that.”
Paloma, organisation in Nantes
Finally, in very practical terms, grassroots organisations
receive many more reports of burst condoms, despite
the fact that they are distributing the same condoms,
and they are seeing more demand for abortions. All
this information points to one thing: as vulnerability
increases, the use of condoms decreases.

47

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDYINCREASED STIGMA AND VIOLENCE
The change in the law has not altered the rate at which
sex workers turn to the police. However, as this Nigerian
woman describes very clearly, it has led to a vicious circle
and a feeling of impunity for people who steal from andattack sex workers and who, as most of the interviews
stress, are generally not clients:“Most of the girls are afraid, maybe 97% of the girls areafraid to go to the police. Very, very afraid, because
they think that the police might deport them or cause
other problems for them, so they don’t go to them. And
because of that, there is a lot of violence. Because themen also know that the girls are afraid to go to thepolice. There are few girls that can go to the police andmake a complaint. [Repealing the crime of soliciting
hasn’t changed anything], they are afraid anyway,
because of the checks.”
Blessing, Nigerian woman
The issue of a lack of trust in the police was confirmed
by many of the grassroots organisations, including ARAP
Rubis in Nîmes, which explained that as long as theordinances against sex workers are applied, people
will hide from the local police and will avoid complaining to them. In contrast, the women organise among
themselves in order to communicate information on theattackers. The situation, therefore, has not changed.
The observation that violence has increased is broadly
shared by the interviewees. In addition to the fact thatmany of them accept clients who are less safe (seeabove), cases of violence in the street, thefts, androbberies in apartments were also mentioned.

Verbal attacks
Of course, when it comes to stigma, many people said
that they are used to this, but around half felt that insults in the street had clearly increased:“It is always people who go by in their cars, often incars because they don’t dare say it to our faces, so they
go by in their cars, open the window and shout out‘dirty whore, what are you doing, have you no shame?’[...] It happens more and more now. Before it was lessand less and it was often young people. I ask myself...
Even their kids open the back windows and insult us
as well.”Lise, French woman

48

Physical attacks and thefts in the street have also beenon the rise over the past two years according to theinterviewees:“For example, now when I see a group of guys approaching, I hide. I didn’t do that before”
Mateo, Argentine travesti“[I was the victim of violence several times]. Since the
new law was passed, I think that ... that people really
don’t care, they aren’t afraid anymore.
- The clients?
- Well, you can’t really call them clients, I would callthem shit stirrers.”
Lise, French woman“At Gerland, for example, during the day, the kids coming out of school throw stones at them. If sex workers
were considered as victims and if the law had changed
society’s view of them, maybe the kids would havechanged their views through their parents and all that.”
Cabiria, organisation in Lyon
Robberies in apartments
Robberies in apartments are clearly aimed at migrants
and rarely at French escorts. Over the past two years,
the Doctors of the World Lotus Bus programme hasrecorded a growing number of reports from Chinese
women who have been robbed in their working apartments. The robbers pretend to be clients and generally
operate in pairs.

“There are a lot of attacks. The robbers come into theapartments we rent in smaller towns or in Paris, andsteal all the money we’ve earned, and sometimes ourphones too. They are often extremely brutal.”
Focus group with Chinese sex workers, Doctors of theWorld - Lotus Bus, organisation in ParisIn the discussion group organised by Aides in Chartres,
women talked about their fear of robberies and said
that they avoid young clients who they identify as
potential robbers. In addition, few people would report
the things that happen to them for fear that this would
turn against them, as this Chinese woman explains:

After the robberies, many women don’t dare report it
because they risk losing their accommodation or placeof work by giving their address to the police. I reportrobberies five times to the police and each time I was

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

kicked out my apartment”
focus group with Chinese sex workers, Doctors of theWorld - Lotus Bus, organisation in Paris

Physical and sexual violence
In terms of serious violence, the situation is much moredifficult to analyse. All the organisations had the feeling that reports of physical and sexual violence had
increased. The statistics from their work sometimes reflect this increase very clearly.
In the case of the Doctors of the World-Lotus Bus
programme, the number of victims of violence requesting the programme’s help has increased sharply: 162
requests in 2016 compared to 92 in 2015. These are
essentially reports of serious violence: rapes and violent
thefts.
In rural areas, the Planning Familial in Aude reported
a clear increase in attacks resulting from a move awayfrom the main roads in order to avoid the police (thisis a Department which has issued the most verbal
warnings to clients), which has led to the sex workers
being further apart from one another, reducing theirability to help one another and provide mutual protection. Similarly, in the Réunion, the ARLC organisation
felt that there were not necessarily more attacks, butthat the intensity and seriousness of the attacks had
clearly worsened.
The statements taken from sex workers about, inparticular, the fact that they accept more potentiallyviolent clients, support the reports from grassroots
organisations. Interviews with the sex workers also
indicate a greater number of clients who take backtheir money at the end of the transaction, with varying
degrees of force.

Violence between sex workers
Conflicts between groups of street-based workers,
often between groups of different nationalities, arecertainly nothing new, but have been exacerbated by
the drop in activity and increase in competition.

“There are high levels of stigma between them, theysay: ‘It’s the Romanians who are dropping their prices,it’s the Nigerians who are making prices go down’. Thisis a really contentious issue. And it cannot be verified.
But it causes a lot of tension between the communities.
Because it’s often always down to another group, whois the scapegoat for the system.”
Entr’Actes, organisation in Lille“Many women work later because of the lack of work.
There is more competition, particularly among the transgirls. If there are new arrivals, then there are two transgirls already there who will defend their monopoly.
There is quite a lot of violence between the girls.”
Arcat Pasaje Latino, organisation in Paris
However, these tensions have not destroyed solidarity
between groups when it comes to dealing with violencefrom third parties:“Since the law was passed, there has been a hugeamount of competition between them but, in contrast,
they remain united, because they report dangerous
clients to us. Between themselves, they might be at war,
but they come here to report others so that they are notattacked.”
Entr’Actes, organisation in Lille

However, many social workers remain cautious about
making a connection between the application of thelaw and the increase in violence because, at the sametime, many of them had set up places where sex workers
could talk or had launched activities to encouragereporting and support for victims of violence. Other
organisations had not necessarily established specificactivities on this subject, but mentioned that trust had
improved recently, which could lead to more statements
being made.

49

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

3. A LAW THAT CONTRADICTSWOMEN’S RIGHTS:
MORE VULNERABLE LIVING
CONDITIONS AND POORER HEALTH
REDUCED EXPENDITURE:
FROM SUPERFLUOUS GOODSTO ESSENTIAL GOODS (FOOD
AND HOUSING)
Faced with lower incomes, the interviewees explainedthat they cut back on their day-to-day spending.
The scale of these cut-backs varies depending on theeconomic situation of the individual and goes as far as
leading to situations of extreme poverty.
In situations where sex workers have back-up in theform of savings, the cut-backs first affect what may beconsidered “superfluous” or non-essential items. However, these restrictions reduce sex workers’ quality oflife and well-being. Thus, there is a reduction in expenditure relating to “hobbies” or clothes. This is notably
the case for sex workers who reduce the frequency of
their journeys to their countries of origin.

“My living conditions are beginning to deteriorate, I needto economise and focus on the essentials: now there
are very few trips to restaurants, no entertainment, no
superfluous purchases.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman(A reduction in spending) “Yes. Not so much in termsof buying things, but especially travel. Before I always
went back to my country in December. Now I’m hesitating.
Do I go now, or do I wait?”»
Juan, Peruvian man“It really puting us in ... I would say danger, or whatsoever. Sincerely, now I don’t even have €20 in my purse.
The only money I have is one euro. So, in somehow, it’sdifficult for us to eat.”
Jennifer, Nigerian woman
Grassroots organisations in Nantes and Lille described
the growing number of requests for food since the law
was passed:“It’s difficult to ask, particularly for food, because there
is a stigma around poverty, but there are a lot of requests
for donations from the food bank. It is done under conditions of confidentiality, so that the women don’t feel
uncomfortable in relation to the others. But it’s really to
do with a deterioration of living conditions, the fact that
there are fewer clients. That has increased enormously.”Entr’Actes, organisation in Lille“They say that they take risks for extremely poor living
conditions, it’s really got much worse. People no longer
have enough money to pay their rent, and are more
likely to turn to charities for food.”
Paloma, organisation in Nantes

Access to housing is becoming more difficult
For some people, their income no longer means thatthey can pay their rent. Some have been forced toleave their homes for other precarious housing arrangements. Yet others live in hotels and are no longer able
to pay their rooms. Some are forced to ask clients toaccommodate them to avoid sleeping in the streets.
This situation heightens the vulnerability of the womenin relation to their clients.

“I can’t buy any clothes. I can’t buy food, only small amounts
because I have no money. But I don’t have enoughmoney to change my clothes or my hair.”Stella, Nigerian woman“Now paying hotel fees is difficult . Sometimes I beg
to sleep at people’s houses. Sometimes I don’t haveenough to pay my hotel, so I take the few things I have
. and now anybody I see, I say ‘Please, let me spend
the night with you’.”
Diana, Nigerian woman“I have made big, big changes, I have changed a lot.
I no longer wander round the shops, buying lots ofperfume and underwear like before, or loads of clothes[...] I stick to the essentials now.”
Thérèse, French woman“You know, the girls that work in the street, there is no
one to care for them. They have to pay their house rent.
If you don’t have any clients, you can’t do that. That’s
why we don’t agree with the new law.”
Victoria, Nigerian woman

More worryingly for some, the loss of income puts evenessential goods into question, such as food and hygiene.

“I was at uni last year. I was preparing for a law exam,
but messed it all up. I failed it because I didn’t have50

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

an apartment [...] I looked for another one, but it was
too difficult to find. In the end, I found a student room,
thanks to a friend who agreed to be my guarantor.
After that, I was relaxed. But that was the end of theschool year. I had to deal with everything at the sametime: the rent, electricity, food. I also had to send money
to my mother. She is ill, in the hospital. So, when there
are not enough clients, it’s no good. It’s the same for alljobs, it’s difficult when there’s not enough work.”
Bianca, Romanian woman
Several grassroots organisations, including Paloma in
Nantes, Arap Rubis in Nîmes, and Grisélidis in Toulouse,confirmed that, for a growing number of people, accessto accommodation at night depends on the amount ofmoney earned during the day.
This level of poverty has an impact on the work of theseorganisations: faced with the need to earn enoughmoney, some sex workers reduce their contact with thesocial workers, or lose contact with them all together.

AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF
HOURS PER DAY AND THE NUMBER
OF YEARS THEY PLAN TO WORKWe described above how sex workers have oftenchanged their place of work, thus bringing into question
the quality of health prevention in their practices. To
avoid the police, or to try to find more clients, interviewees
also talked about how they have changed their hours
and have often extended their working time, which hasconsequences in terms of their exposure to violence aswell as their health.
The majority of interviewees have changed their working
hours. Most often, they move or extend their nighttime
hours.

“[The drop in clients] makes me want to stay longer,even when there is no more traffic, no more cars, there’s
nothing. So, I get even more annoyed... [Question: is
it more dangerous to stay later?] Yes, the longer you
stay on a Friday or Saturday, the more risk you haveof being hit and having your bag stolen. Quite simply,
because they’ve been drinking.”
Elsa, French woman

now come out at night. There are two or three like that.
They only go out between midnight and two or three inthe morning [...] before, the older ones could get clients
every day, but there’s no more work now.”
Jili, Chinese woman
Undoubtedly, it is the most marginalised people whowork at the most dangerous or isolated times: the oldest
and the migrants who are heavily in debt.
To deal with the reduction in number of clients, sex
workers increase their working hours. For those working
in the street, in order to increase the number of opportunities, the waiting time for clients has become longer.

“Yes, I stay longer in the street, because there are noclients. So, I have to wait until 4, 5, 6 o’clock [in themorning] so that I can see clients and I can earn a little
money to eat. Yes, I stay longer in the street.”
Stella, Nigerian woman
For three clients, I have to stay until 6am. Before, I could
do three clients in an hour, maximum two hours.”
Ana, Romanian woman“Previously, I had two days off every week. Now I only
get one day off. Before I worked from 2-8pm. Now I goout at 1pm and I get home later. And I earn less.”
Manuela, Ecuadorian woman“Now I work from 8pm to 2am in the woods, so aroundsix hours. Before, I didn’t need to work any more than
three hours to earn the same amount of money.”
Amanda, Ecuadorian-Spanish woman
Many sex workers work longer hours but earn less. They
stay for longer in the hope of getting one more client
because they need to pay their rent, their bills or theirdebts. In the street, extending working hours leads totensions between the sex workers who would workfrom specific spots in the street.

“[There are only] six or seven of us in the street, the others
prefer to do it at night. There are those who are a bit
older who stayed to work in the street but who only

While some sex workers are giving up on sex work because
they no longer earn enough, it is often those who are
the most financially vulnerable or the least independent
who have no choice. The variety of responses in thequalitative interviews sheds light on the figures which
emerged from the quantitative study (see Appendix):
37.6% of people said they had increased their working
hours, in terms of the length of time waiting or looking
for clients.16 In contrast, a smaller number of workers

16 - In the qualitative study, the proportion of people who talk about increasing their working hours is higher. Cer-tainly, some people will haveanswered the questionnaire thinking that the question on working timerefers to the time spent with clients, and does not include the waiting time.

51

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

have reduced their working hours, believing they are
wasting their time. As this Nigerian woman describes, it
is undoubtedly the most vulnerable among them whoneed to work extra hours to pay their rent or their debts:“For some girls, it’s more working time. For others, likeme, it’s less working time. Some girls don’t have any
work, no money at all. They have to pay their rent.
Some girls also have to pay someone else. So, theworking time increases because they have to findmoney to pay, to eat, etc. But for some girls, like me, it
really means fewer working hours. Because I don’t owe
any money to anyone, if I earn €50, €60, €100, forme it’s OK. I can go home. [...] and now they come at
8pm and finish at 6am. They want to see more clientsand think that when the girls have gone, they’ll get thework. So, they stay longer. They arrive earlier and gohome later.”
Blessing, Nigerian woman
When the practice takes place through the internet,
some people also say they have increased their working
hours. With fewer calls from clients, they spend more time
searching on the internet, particularly by increasing thenumber of adverts. In addition, criminalising the clientshas led to an increase in the number of cancelledappointments.

“Because what happens, when you work, you might betired and lots of things ... But you work! Emotionally, it’s
OK! You know what you’ve done with your day, you’ve
earned a living, you’ll be able to pay your bills. But
when you wait for the client and no one turns up, youhave three potential appointments and none of themturns up. Then you have spent your day waiting. That’s
really hard. It’s really stressful because you don’t know if
you’ll be able to pay your bills; emotionally, it’s horrible.”
Magali, French woman
Some workers have experienced this reduction since2013. Lower income over the long-term forces people
to rethink their plans. While some sex workers planned tostop in two or three years, to retire or change work, they
are now forced to extend this working period.

“That was my plan, not to stay long in the street. Just to
make some money. But I found out things is not coming
like that with the laws and the police. So, it’s very difficult. If they can’t just let the women go on. But I think it’s
not all the girls that want to be in the street. Many girls,
they just want the money and then they leave. But some52

want to go on in the street. Want to go on and on andon. For many it’s for the money. For 99% it’s because of
the money. It’s not your problem if they have the money
or not, just give them two or three years in the street
and after they quit the street.”
Janet, Ghanaian woman“I can see my life is not moving forward. But even if I try
to study and be positive, I have a pessimistic view of
my future with everything that’s happening. Especiallybecause I am already middle-aged. I hoped to earn a
lot of money and open a shop. But I’m going to haveto look for another country or else I don’t know how I’m
going to manage with this debt. I see myself living inpoverty and it haunts me terribly.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman
The reduction in income forces them to reconsider theirplans to change jobs in order to cover their essential
daily costs. Extending the working period forces sex
workers to delay their professional or personal plans,or even abandon them altogether. By making people
more vulnerable, criminalising clients thus hinders sex
workers from pursuing their professional and personal
life plans, some of which include plans to retrain, particularly for the oldest workers who are preparing to stop.

DETERIORATING HEALTH:FATIGUE, STRESS, DEPRESSION
AND AN INCREASE IN THE
CONSUMPTION OF TOBACCO,
ALCOHOL AND DRUGS.
The increase in working time leads to extreme fatigue.
This fragile condition has damaging consequences on
the health and safety of the interviewees.
The increase in waiting time for clients, in the street
and on the internet, leads to physical pain and anxiety:My health has deteriorated. I am emotionally exhausted
due to the stress of clients deserting the area every
day, I’m physically exhausted from standing all thetime, which leads to joint and bone pain.”Emma, French woman
Before, when there is no law, maybe you go to thestreet by 3 o’clock or 2 o’clock and then you go torelax, you go to sleep. But now, no! Because you areafraid somebody is coming, because you want some

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

money, because you need to buy something, so you
stay longer, you stay until morning, until 5 o’clock. So
it’s stressful.”
Janet, Ghanaian woman“And the worst thing when you are in the street, is thatsometimes you think of your family, you think about
that, you think about many thinks, and especially when
you stand for two hours and there are no clients. You
start thinking ... For me, I don’t know about other people.
But for me, that’s really stressful.”Jennifer, Nigerian woman
Stress has many negative consequences on health:cold sores, ulcers, colds, joint pain:“I went back to Paris where I wanted to work, and it
was just catastrophic. It’s really stressful for me, I’m insuch a state ... I can feel it, I’m at breaking point. I’mready to scream at everyone, and I sleep very badly.
Maybe that shows. I’ve developed a cold sore today
and managed to keep it under control, but it looks likeit’ll take over my mouth. That’s not happened to me
for years. And mouth ulcers too. It’s been twenty years
since I’ve had them. You can’t really see it, but I knowthat if anyone goes by, I’ll get into a fight with them. I
managed to work a bit this week, and suddenly I fell
ill. I got a cold, I got a cold sore. And everything got
messed up. It’s really nervous tension, stress, anxiety.
Handling a few calls from people who are really noteasy-going. Then I went to see a doctor, he told methat I needed to take a holiday, needed to get away
for a few days.”
Magali, French woman“I have lots of [symptoms], joint pain, difficulty sleeping,diet problems, lots of things, skin that is covered in spots.”
Camila, Brazilian woman
Anxiety about earning enough money to cover daily
expenses or accumulated debts generates depression
and stress.

“I’m now working more hours for less money. That’s
what worries me. I have debts that I never had before.
I’m starting to worry about losing my apartment, myrent is really expensive.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman“And because I have rent to pay, I try to get clients,
but today I’ve had none. So, I started to get a head-ache and took a tablet. I’m fed up. It was easy before,
because I only worked at night. Now I have to work
during the day as well. It causes me a lot of mental
stress. I hope I’ll find a solution. I’m going to move a bit.
I try to sleep, but at the moment I can’t sleep any more.
Yesterday I went to bed at 7am. And because I don’t
sleep well, the next day I don’t feel well.”Bianca, Romanian woman
In terms of anxiety, some people said they had increased
their alcohol and drug consumption in a concerning
way: the combination can trigger depression.

“The stress of being unable to earn a decent living
leads to melancholy or the start of depression which
increases alcohol consumption. Alcohol becomes a crutch
which helps manage expectations and disappointment.
It relaxes me and I can be more patient when dealing
with clients. Alcohol is a very bad solution though, given
the rough nature of my work: first of all because there isa high risk of becoming an alcoholic with all the knownside effects, but above all, if you’re under the influencewhen you start something, this puts you in danger fromunscrupulous or dangerous clients, who can spot it andcan lead to lowering the attention we pay to the client.”
Emma, French woman“Now I drink alcohol every day, still under the excuse
that I need to relax. I don’t drink a lot, but previously I
didn’t drink every day.”
Camila, Brazilian woman“I’ve been screwed since they approved that damned law.
I’m angry. I’m depressed again. Taking drugs damages
my health. And on top of it all I take anti-depressants.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman
DMoreover, meeting clients after drinking, taking medication or drugs, or when in a state of depression canheighten sex workers’ vulnerability to potential attackers.
Organisations working with trans people are also
extremely concerned about the move towards itinerant working for people living with HIV or those who
are transitioning and find themselves interrupting theirtreatments“SWs [sex workers] are starting to work in an itinerant way.
HIV-positive sex workers stop their treatment when
they leave Paris to find work (sometimes for periods ofthree or four months). Sometimes they come back to

53

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDYParis in a terrible condition, they’ve almost contracted
full-blown AIDS.”
Acceptess-T, organisation in Paris
Finally, the Paloma organisation, in Nantes, reported
an increase in suicidal thoughts among the people
they receive, which led them to delivering training on
identifying people with suicidal tendencies.
All these observations have a strong impact on accessto healthcare and rights. Tired, stressed, and demoralised, some workers no longer attend the contact
points and services provided by organisations and nolonger take the steps needed for caring about theirhealth.

54

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

III. THE “PROSTITUTION
EXIT PROGRAMME”: A
CONTROVERSIAL SOCIALINITIATIVE. POINTS OF
VIEW AND ANALYSIS BY SEXWORKERS AND GRASSROOTSORGANISATIONS“No one is interested in our opinion; no one asks us ‘doyou want to get out of this situation?’ If you want to get
out: what would help?’”
Part I described the “prostitution exit programme”. As areminder, here are the main elements:• “Financial assistance with social and professional
integration” for people who are not eligible for minimum social benefits;17• A “provisional residence permit lasting for at least
six months” with permission to work;• Support through an accredited organisation tocarry out mediation and facilitate access to social
rented housing or a place in a hostel, medical careand development of a career plan.
Although the exit programme contains these provisions,which might respond to the needs often expressed by
sex workers (residence permit, access to housing, help
with looking for employment), the mechanism has alsocome in for harsh criticism in terms of its design, theimages of sex work it might convey and its implementation. The questionnaire carried out at the start of 2018
showed that more than half of the interviewed sex workers were unaware of the exit programme. Of those who
had heard of it, a third said they were interested in the
programme (see Appendix). The qualitative interviews
showed that, very often, the more people knew about
the programme, the more sceptical they were of it.

The sex workers were often in doubt about whether themechanism was directed at them: they felt that theywould definitely not be a priority because they were
foreigners, they were Africans or Chinese, or because
they were trans. Further, people close to retirement
age and students thought they were not the ones being
targeted by the law and that nothing would be put
in place for them. French citizens felt completely
unaffected by the mechanism. Everyone thought it was
not for them, which tends to show that the law has notbeen clearly presented, no one really knew the extent
to which they were or were not affected by it.
Finally, although everyone felt that this might be auseful mechanism for the most vulnerable people, both
French and migrant workers were against the setup ofa social mechanism outside common law which risked
strengthening the stigma around those who take partand those who were not interested in it. This exit
programme risks creating divisions between those whoare considered as worthy of protection (because theywant to stop sex work) and those who prefer tocontinue, who would then be considered as thecollateral damage of a political objective that does nottake into account their choices and their rights. In otherwords, sex workers, in more or less constructive terms,
criticised the moral aspect underlying the new law.

The study clearly revealed that this support mechanism
was of greatest interest to the most vulnerable migrants(those who were older and ill), and those who had no debts
to repay and had already tried other means of regularising their migration statuses. It was also of interest toother migrants, particularly Chinese or South-American
migrants who, nonetheless, remain sceptical or cautious
about the conditions being proposed. However, thisprogramme was of no interest to French, European or
migrant workers who had residence permits.
17 - As a reminder, financial assistance is €300/month (+ €102 per
dependent child.)55

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

1. A SOCIAL POLICY TOOL THATAPPEARS TO BE WANTED, BUT THAT
GENERATES LITTLE INTEREST
MEETING THE NEEDS OF SEX
WORKERS WISHING TO STOP
The majority of people interviewed expressed thedesire to do something else. Lots of them did not know
about the existence of the exit programme which theinterviewers broadly explained to them. In contrast to
the entry into force of the well-known criminalisationof clients (and experienced on a daily basis by mostof them), many interviewees knew nothing or very little
about the exit programme. This lack of knowledge should
be seen in light of the uncertainty of the organisations
themselves regarding the implementation of thismechanism. Many Departments have not yet established committees to approve the exit programme andit is widely acknowledged that different Departments
will apply the measure differently.
When an overview of the mechanism was presented
to people who know nothing or little about the exit
programme, it was viewed as something positive bypeople who want to leave sex work, especially those
who are working in the most difficult conditions andwho earn little money (in general, but not exclusively,
migrant women). Generally speaking, the less people
know about the details of the mechanism, the moreinterested they were. Among those who had heard
about it, there were lots of false ideas circulating,particularly about immediate access to housing andthe level of financial assistance.
The solutions proposed corresponded well to theneeds expressed by those who were interested:papers, housing, training. The question of financial
assistance led to much more debate. A few people feltthat the financial assistance set out in the decree wasenough, yet most people did not really understand why
the support was so little, which is why we have kept thisquestion for the following sub-section on criticisms.
The “papers” to be able to look for another job :“I just want to say to the government that they should
be fighting against prostitution to help those who workin the streets so they don’t go back there. They need56

to be given enough to eat and money so they can
do good things. We need documents so that we canwork. We need documents so that we can work with
our hands and they will pay us every month and we
don’t work on the streets with clients. It’s not good for
us. We are spoiling our bodies, especially I don’t like it.
So the government needs to do something very fast. I
know we are not students, we are Africans we are from
Nigeria, but they should help us […] I left my country
because they want to kill me. They are telling me to go
back to my country which is not good. The government
needs to do something, to give prostitutes documents,that should be good.”
Tresor, Nigerian woman“If they want to stop it [prostitution], first they have togive women documents, a house, contract of work. But
if I have no place I can stay, no documents, no way I
can stop.”
Jennifer, Nigerian woman“If course I’d like to change job, this is really not agood job. What we need is the papers and then any
job I can do would be fine with me. We need about€1,000 per month in income. We don’t really needanything else.”
Lily, Chinese woman“It’s good. It’s good to have the opportunity to work withthe right papers ... But what papers will they give us?”
Antonia, trans Colombian woman
The quantitative study, which took place at the start of2018 (see Appendix), asked people who said they wereinterested in the exit programme what, for them, wastheir most pressing need (from the following choices:help with housing, residence permit, financial assistance,
training, other). A residence permit was considered by morethan half of respondents as being the most important.
Stable housing is a sure way of escaping the spiralof poverty:“If they gave me an apartment, well ... I’d just stop, it’dbe over for me and I’d stop this work. I’d look for ajob ... Quite simply. But my problem is I don’t have any
accommodation, so I have to stay in a hotel. And living
in a hotel on family allowance is simply not possible[...] I need to pay €1,237 per month, so it’s simply notpossible if I only get €800 in family allowance.”Elsa, French woman

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

“Accommodation is the most important thing, before
the papers. People tell us: ‘I want to stop, but the
problem is I can’t pay my rent and I don’t know where
I’ll sleep. People in my community only want to accommodate me if I pay my rent.’ And so, in fact, before thequestion of the papers comes the issue of housing,
somewhere to rest, keep your things and then prepare
for everything else.”
Paloma, organisation in Nantes
In terms of the quantitative study the choice of “helpwith housing” was selected by one person in six.
Training. The request which emerged most often
was learning French, given that it can take one or two
years, depending on the mother tongue, level of
education and age of the people, before they canhave a sufficient level.

“I have to try, yes. But if I start to look for another job, it’s
not going to be that easy. Particularly because I can’t
speak very good French. If you want to send in your CV,
then there’ll be an interview ... OK. They’re going to say
to me: ‘Sorry Madam, your French is not good’. So, it’s
still a problem”.
Grace, Nigerian woman“In practical terms, we need the papers and that’s
complicated. Then of course, we need to learn French.
Maybe I would need a year to learn to speak French,
at least, but more likely two years, five or six hours per
week.”
Lily, Chinese woman“I need to study before I’d be able to work. Because
there isn’t any work in France. For the jobs there are,you need to speak French. I can’t speak French. I don’tknow what I’d need to do to be able to get a job.”
Victoria, Nigerian woman“If I could get the papers, I could get a good job or
go back to my studies, particularly French classes. And
I could stop this shitty job. I don’t like working in thestreet. [...] Now, I’m taking French classes. But at night,
I work in the street. But if I stopped and the only thing I
needed to do was learn French, then I could catch up
and get up to the right level.”
Diana, Nigerian woman“Above all, I need to study French [in order to find work].”
Antonia, Colombian trans woman

Most often, those who want to stop this activity encounter
difficulties in looking for new jobs due to their irregularsituation in France and their poor ability to speak
French. Issuing a temporary residence permit andproviding support with training and employment are
seen as solutions responding to their needs, even if
the implementation of these measures raises questions
that we will cover in the following sub-section.
For some people, it is the deterioration of their working
conditions and the loss of income since the law has
been enacted that has forced them to think aboutsigning up for an exit programme, despite the factthat previously they did not think it affected them. The
mechanism thus represents an alternative due to the
reduction in the number of clients or the deteriorationof the working conditions they have seen since 2016,
or even since the debates around the law in 2013.

AN ADDITIONAL TOOL FOR
GRASSROOTS ORGANISATIONS
Although grassroots organisations were openly criticalof the prostitution exit programme mechanism (from its
design through to its implementation), many had alreadyapplied for accreditation. Some organisations had
supported the establishment of this measure (without
being naive about the financial obstacles and possible
rejection of applications). Other organisations, althoughmore critical, had nonetheless wanted to help the
people they were already supporting benefit from it.
In the majority of cases, while not holding any illusions
as to the exit programme, the idea was to consider the
new mechanism as an additional tool to overcome thelack of financial resources in order to carry out social
monitoring work and address the obstacles to accessinga residence permit.

“The exit programme is just another tool [...] So we startwith the possibility of reporting pimping. If that’s notpossible, for many of them, the possibility of making
an anonymous statement, requesting asylum, OFPRA,
using the CNDA, well you know all that by heart. So,
we’ve done all that and so the possibility of offering
people the ability to join an exit programme, it’s in addition to all that.”
IPPO, organisation in Bordeaux57PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

Thus, the idea is to make the most of this tool, evenwhen remaining critical of it, to help people who want
to stop sex work.
Moreover, the committees are supposed to become
places to discuss and steer policies on the departmental
level. Thus, although critical of the mechanism, someorganisations felt forced to apply for accreditation inorder for their voices and expertise to continue to beheard. This pressure to participate or not participate
in the committees depends on the context of each
Department. When the organisations have a sort of“monopoly” on contact with sex workers, when they
are the only ones in direct contact with them, they canmore easily retain their independence. In Departments
where there are several grassroots organisations inoperation, the ones that are not in the committees risk
losing their voices in the discussions.18

although we have a number of people we see, and I’mgiving you the 2016 figures, there are 584 people, andbasically, the number of applications that have been
made after these information sessions and we are still
explaining this, there are three or four, OK I’ll be
generous, ten applications.”
Autres Regards, organisation in Marseille
Similarly, the L’Embellie organisation in Avignon and
the Grisélidis in Toulouse, following widespread communication work, managed to bring together about
ten people who were interested.
The reality is that, under different and better conditions, many more people might have been interested.
This is the subject of the criticisms that we describe in
the following section.

RELATIVELY LOW INTEREST FROM
SEX WORKERS
Despite the fact that the exit programme mechanisms
appears, on the face of it, to correspond to the needsof people wanting to stop sex work and, despite thecommitment and sometimes great energy deployed
by grassroots organisations, the mechanism has notraised great interest.
Of the grassroots organisations which have worked
most to promote this mechanism, the Lucioles ALC
in Nice submitted 15 applications in April 2017 for anumber of patients/clients seen by the organisations(at least once during the year, i.e. active file) of morethan 400 people.
The estimate is even lower for the Autres Regards
organisation in Marseille:“We communicate information about the law. We carryout group sessions where we explain the law, including
the prostitution exit programme. Those who come andwho are starting to get involved are a group of Bulgarians who say: ‘It might be of interest to us, this thing,because we are no longer young and have been in
France a long time and why not, it would give us accessto training’ ... And some of the Nigerian group who, forsome girls, have finished paying off their debt or when
they are nearly finished paying it off, they say: ‘That’s
not bad’. They could have a period of time when they
are regularised in France and get training etc. But
18 - We will not set out here the arguments that have been put forward
for and against participation in the commit-tees. The document published

58

by the Grisélidis organisation gives some insight:
http://griselidis.com/node/64

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

2. CRITICISMS OF THE PROSTITUTION conditions under which they would like to change job,
EXIT PROGRAMME
as well as when the retraining should take place. The
The criticisms made of the prostitution exit programme
can be divided into two. The first type is around its very
design, that is: the condition that the person must stop
sex work, the amount of the financial assistance, andthe type of residence permit. The second type of criticism
relates to its implementation including: the gap between
the repressive aspect and the social aspect of the law,
how applications are selected and, finally, the lack ofconcrete measures, in particular around the issue of
housing.
Moreover, in the following part we will see the criticismsthat have been made of the images of sex workers that
this social aspect of the law conveys.

THE CONDITION OF “STOPPINGPROSTITUTION” IN ORDER TOOBTAIN SOCIAL SUPPORT:AN UNREALISTIC CONDITIONAGAINST THE RESPECT OF PERSONSThe central criticism of the exit programme is aroundthe commitment applicants must make to stop sex work
even before the committee examines the application.
Many feel that a gradual change would be much morepractical and more respectful of sex workers’ choices
and needs. As the CAPS, an organisation in Rouen,
said: “There is also a problem because, to ensure an
income between the time they agree to leave prostitution, submit the application and the time when the exit
programme begins, what happens?” This is a basic but
key point, given that, for example in Nice, applicants
had to wait six months before receiving a response(almost all negative) and in Toulouse, where they still
had received no answer three months after submission
to the committee (at the time of writing this report).

“It’s a bit paradoxical. You can’t say they have to stop
before [the start of the exit programme] because they
won’t have any income. At some point you have to berealistic, or else you are encouraging other forms ofincome [...] working on the black, petty crime, etc.”
Aux Captifs la Libération, organisation in Paris
Beyond the fact that there would be a period without
income, the programme would also imply that sex
workers should give up their freedom to decide thelatter is often wanted, but at different times dependingon the individual.

“If one day I decide the stop sex work, it’ll be because I
have decided this for myself. For the time-being, I haveno plans to stop. What’s more, how can I live if my rent
costs me €1,200, not to mention my bills and personal
expenses? [...] If they can guarantee that they will giveme stable housing in a decent place, a job where I
can earn more than €2,000 and the papers, then I’dagree without hesitation. I’d continue to do my clientsin secret anyway, and who would stop me? In any case,for me, the best conditions for leaving this work is if theyleave me alone and I can earn my money and decide
for my-self to leave or not when I want.”
Aurora, Argentine woman“For example, if I found a job where I could earn goodmoney, I wouldn’t do this. But I don’t want to stop
straight away. I want to stop gradually. Because overtime, I get tired and afterwards I can’t go out during
the day. I’m getting out gradually. We can’t stop justlike that.”
Yacine, Algerian travesti“I go to the Bois de Boulogne from time to time. Now,
I’ve started filling in administrative forms, training to bea cleaner/maintenance worker. This week, I wanted tostart a writing course, because my plan is to train towork in a retirement home or a hospital, that’s my plan.
And I’ve already started to work on that plan.”Gabriela, Colombian trans woman“The right conditions would be to get support for real
careers advice and professional training with healthprofessionals, social workers, outreach workers andthe job centre. Having the choice to decide on how
to change career without imposing this or that exit
programme. Not being thrown into poverty and theability to have decent financial autonomy, up to thesame amount I earn as a sex worker during my careerchange.”Stéphanie, French woman
One of the criticisms that cropped up again and again
was that there should be a period of alternating between several activities, including sex work. In fact, lotsof people interviewed are already doing this.
“My idea is to train to find another job and that way,59

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

gradually, I’ll be able to get out of prostitution. At thestart, I could switch between the two jobs. I’ve got
friends who do that. They work during the week. And
at the weekend, when they are off work, they cometo the woods to work. It’s extra money! The problem
with the exit programme is that they want you to stop
straight away.”
Amanda, Ecuadorian-Spanish trans woman“The programme should be a halfway between sex
work and retraining, with the key point being a training
course chosen by the sex worker, preferably paid. The
choice to continue working should be left to the professional, so she can deal with emergency needs.”
Emma, French woman“As soon as a person wants to change, move in one
direction or another, I think it’s good that there is support. But it’s true that you have to take into account thefact that ... well it’s a job which has a different rhythm.
So, in terms of people who go to work 40 hours [perweek], there are people who work at any time, any day[...] All the same, for physical reasons I realise I am getting older and that I won’t be able to do this all mylife. And I want to fulfil myself in something else. Even
though ... I like what I do. There are ups and downs
but, yes, I would like to have two jobs and spend lesstime as an escort and be able to do other things. This issomething I’m doing at the moment; I’m doing a skills
assessment.”
Jean, French man
These extracts from interviews highlight the advantages of a progressive career change compared to the
obligation to immediately stop sex work; or at least, thepossibility of having the choice of progressively stopping. Several interviewees recalled the fact that, froma very pragmatic point of view, it’s not possible fromone day to the next to sign up to such a sudden drop inincome, because people are often committed to supporting their parents and children living in their countryof origin. Some may even be in danger if they do not
repay their debts.
Thus, the freedom to choose when to stop sex workand the gradualness of the process would make achange of career more likely to succeed. In otherwords, the interviewees revealed a desire to make thiscareer change with the help of an organisation or with60

the help of government services, while retaining theirfinancial autonomy. This is how most grassroots organisations work, by adapting to the individuals’ needs andrhythm without putting conditions on the support theyreceive.

“There is one young girl, well she is 28, who arrived
in the city. But she is saddled with debt, [...] she wants
to set up her own business. We have started on that.
We are working with another organisation, but thequestion was: ‘Will I be able to keep a few clients forthe weekends, because there are some that are nice?’
What do you want us to say to her? No? It’s her life. I
said: ‘What do you want to do?’ - ‘Well first, if thebusiness I want to set up doesn’t work too well ...’ I said
to her: ‘I am here to help you get out of that, at yourown rhythm. If you go from, I don’t know, 15 clients tothree, well listen, that’s 15 to three, it’s not a problem.’”
ARPS, organisation in Saint-Denis de La Réunion
The proposal to provide support with a change ofcareer is already at the heart of the work of many
grassroots organisations. What they lack are theresources to be able to help with regularisationof residence and funding to provide the social work
support that is needed. In this context, why create acumbersome system like these committees, which arecertainly costly in terms of budget and time? Is it
because there is a need for something symbolic? Is it
a result of mistrusting grassroots organisations (whenthese organisations are now put in the position of
having to train the committee members who have very
little knowledge of this reality)?

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

INADEQUATE FINANCIAL SUPPORTFOR SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL
In terms of the possibility of providing financial assistance to people who do not have access to minimumsocial benefits, some people felt that this is not a key
issue, that they did not need financial assistance.

“I don’t want anything from the French government. If
I could work and get a salary, that’d be ideal. I don’t
want to depend on government handouts.”
Min, Chinese woman
Or that they only needed very little:“Even if it’s €200, €150, that’s OK. It’s enough for
food, it’s OK”.
Favour, Nigerian woman
However, for the majority of people interviewed, theamount allocated was deemed to be insufficient toencourage them to stop sex work from one day to thenext. Estimated living costs are most often between€1,000 and €1,500 per month, given that many do
not want to live in unstable housing.

“Some people, including myself, earn around €1,500.
If you offer us €1,000 or €700, not many people
will want to take part in the exit programme because
we can earn more than that. In contrast, I can tell you
what another group of people think who earn moremoney. [...] Because they earn lots of money, if you offer
them €1,500, they won’t stop. If you ask them to stop,they will agree to take part in this type of programme
but it’d be for the papers, to be able to go back to
China and see their families, but they will always do
this type of work [...] most of them are not divorced, they
have left for a bit to earn money for their families. They
have no intention of remaining in France. You see, they
don’t speak French even though they’ve been here forfive years, all they can say is ‘how much?’ They have nodesire to lose an hour studying. There’s no chance they
will stop.”
Xiaomei, Chinese woman“What can you do with €300 per month? The law
doesn’t offer a solid basis to enable you to stop working. You can’t quit your job just like that. But if they offered me a job I could do, definitely, I’d stop prostitution! I want to stop but not under these conditions.
Offering the right kind of training is essential.”
Jessica, Peruvian trans woman“I’ll tell you the truth, the truth is that you say to a
prostitute: you will take home €300 per month, andthen pay your rent, find work, all that. So, then there
are prostitutes who think that €300 is a small amountof money, that’s the truth because here, you can earnmaybe €300 a week and there you get €300 amonth ...”
Elena, Bulgarian woman
For many migrants who were interviewed, income ismore important than working conditions, particularly
for migrants who did not plan on staying long in France,
who thus had a specific financial objective and saw
no interest in agreeing to join the exit programme. For
migrants who want to settle in the long term, the exit
programme made more sense. However, people still
do not know how their applications for residency would
be processed. After a maximum of 24 months, they fallunder the terms of the CESEDA (Code d’Entrée et deSéjour des Étrangers et du Droit d’Asile), like everyone
else, and the procedures for applying for residency forwork are extremely strict.
We will see below that other people who were interviewed were quite simply contemptuous of the financial
support planned in the programme and reject what
they consider to be charity.

“It’s a good option. It’s good but I’m not sure it’ll be
used, you know we earn more than €300 a week inthe street, so €300 a month to stop, I don’t know if
the girls will accept that.”
Blessing, Nigerian woman

61

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDYWOULD A TEMPORARY WORKPERMIT OFFER ENOUGH STABILITY
TO LOOK FOR WORK?
Even if a temporary work permit is renewed for up to
24 months, sex workers and organisations consider
that this is too short a period for a number of people.

“We see that with people we already receive here, wetake time to carry out professional integration… It takes
an average of three years when all the right conditions
are in place: papers, accommodation, social support,
no question of resources.”
CAPS, organisation in Rouen
Lots of people raised doubts as to the Government’s
ability to support career changes when so many otherpeople are out of work.

“I know some people they don’t work as prostitute but
they have documents and they can’t find work. They try
to work, but there is no work. So, how they are goingto do it? If they give [papers] to all the prostitutes? If
people who already have the documents but can’t findthe job? I think it’ll be difficult because there is no job.”
Grace, Nigerian woman“What are they going to offer us? Already, there arepeople who work who are looking for a little bit ofmoney, real work... They can’t find it so what about us?
What are we going to do? At my age, at 41 years old,do I have to go back to school? To do what? That’s it.
They should have left us alone ... like it was before, OK
it’s illegal, it’s not acceptable but, anyway, we get on
doing our thing …”
Thérèse, French woman
Given this context, a six-month work permit, even if it isrenewable, does not appear to them to give enough ofa guarantee to be able to stabilise their situation.

“Yes, it would be really easy [to find work]. But with asix-month residence permit, you are not allowed to dojust any kind of job.”
Fan, Chinese woman“If they gave us the papers, of course we wouldn’t dothis work. If they gave us six months and then anothersix months, that’s good, a year would be best. But if it’s
only six months, that’s no use.”
Lily, Chinese woman

62“In this case, I’d have to be sure that the promises would
be kept. And know how much money there is. Because
six months’ work isn’t enough for me. What would I do
after that? Go back to prostitution? In order for people
to really leave prostitution, they have to be supported
in the long term.”
Manuela, Ecuadorian woman

THE GAP BETWEEN APPLICATION
OF THE REPRESSIVE ASPECT
AND THE SOCIAL ASPECT:POVERTY WITH NO ALTERNATIVE
Grassroots organisations are highly critical of the way
in which the social aspect of the law has been applied.
Some had argued before the law was drafted that it
would be necessary to prioritise the social aspect over
the repressive one. In other words, they were suggestingthat social support might be a better response toforced sex work than criminalising the client. But this
proposal was based on the understanding that sex
work can be a chosen form of work, which is not thedriving argument behind this law.

“Because they are committed to giving help and getting
prostitutes out of prostitution, I think they should haveremoved the article on the criminalisation of the client.
Tell the prostitutes: ‘We are going to offer you an exit
programme, this help is available.’ When the help
arrives, the organisations go back to the prostitutes
and say, ‘come on.’ You would have seen a certain
take-up. The prostitutes would have come saying: ‘OK,
listen, if there’s training and stuff, let’s do it.’ But here, they
haven’t even given us enough time to pay our rent. They
are criminalising the client. We find ourselves impoverished such that our only concern is to be able to buy
food and pay our rent [...]”.
Amel, French trans woman
The fact that the repressive aspect (criminalisation of
the client) was readily applied caused more precarisation among sex workers, as we described above.
Several interviewees asked why the lawmakers did notstart by offering an alternative to those who wanted it,
rather than pushing them into more vulnerable situations. Grassroots organisations unanimously said they
had seen the effects of this criminalisation on workers’
living conditions. They had also seen the expectations
and subsequent disappointment of people who had
shown an interest in the exit programme.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

At times some interviewees have waited more than a
year, like this Nigerian woman who stopped working
in the street because she was no longer earning any
money and was looking for support from all possibleorganisations, but in her town no committee had beenorganised in 2017:“With [the social worker] we went to see the [accreditedorganisation] and they said that the law had not yet
been applied.”
Precious, Nigerian woman
The social worker told us informally that indeed, theperson had been waiting for a year to be able to submit
an application, which put the organisation in an uncomfortable position, being unable to give her a date.
Several organisations made the same comments on
waiting times that they had not anticipated and a lossof motivation from the sex workers who were originallyinterested in the programme. The L’Embellie organisation in Avignon explained that, following the vote on
the law, they had distributed lots of information andhad managed to find ten people who were interested.
By the end of 2017, no committee had been organised
for the Vaucluse Department and now there were only
perhaps five people ready to start the process. Given
the slowness with which the mechanism has been implemented and the other obstacles mentioned below,
several organisations said that they had stopped distributing information in order not to raise false hopes.

SELECTION CRITERIAFor organisations, which have been accredited tosubmit exit programme applications, the question of
applications’ selection has been raised. This questionis two-fold. On the one hand, the preparation of
applications and the monitoring needed involves asignificant amount of work, although of all the grassroots organisations interviewed, only one had received
additional funding for this purpose. Some organisations had even seen their departmental funding dropin 2017. On the other hand, most of those responsible
for the relevant departmental services (the delegate forwomen’s rights) had said that the number of applications
that could be accepted would be reduced, given thefinancial resources available.
Some organisations refused to make this selection fromamong the applications they received, such as the ALC

in Nice which submitted 15 applications, and Grisélidis
in Toulouse, which ultimately only had five applications.
The backdrop of a strict migration policy with regards
to irregular migrants was another aspect which had tobe taken into account during the committees, as applications would necessarily come from people in irregular situations. Although the law stated that a temporary
residence permit would be provided, and although
there are no official criteria on the residence status ofpeople while the committees consider their applications, it is clear from the interviews that there was significant tension between the approach to combating
irregular immigration and that of supporting people
who want to stop sex work.

“No quota has been mentioned. The only thing that was
mentioned was from the person from the Prefecture
responsible for residence rights, they told us that if
someone was regularised elsewhere, in this case, theNigerian person who was regularised in a third country,
without a doubt, obviously the Prefect would not
authorise them to join the exit programme. [...] in contrast,
they weren’t very clear about people in situations under
the Dublin Regulation, people who have been issued
with an OQTF [obligation to leave French territory].”
Paloma, organisation in Nantes“There are people who might be interested [in the exit
programme] because they have exhausted all possibilities of being regularised. In other words, they failed
the asylum seeking process, for example. They couldn’t
possibly press charges against a network of exploiters
because for them, anonymity is not possible. And forthem it’s impossible to ask for their OFPRA [asylum]
applications to be reo-pened with new elements telling
their real story.”
IPPO, organisation in Bordeaux
The case of the Alpes Maritimes committee was a
shock for many organisations that did not think that an
irregular status could be used against the applicant,when the law specifically mentioned the possibility toissue a temporary residence permit.

“We had two preparatory meetings. At the second
meeting, we invited the delegate for women’s rights.
There were only 22 people who were interested, andthe delegate explained the framework of the law etc.
So, we had potentially 22 applications but ended up
with only 15 because the girls said, ‘actually no, in the63

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

end we’ve thought about it and we’re not interested
because it’s too complicated, or it’s not the right time’,so we had 15 applications in the end. And these 15
applications were submitted to the first departmental
committee established in France, in April 2017. […]To be honest, the applications were full of information.
The vast, vast majority of applications were from Nigerian
women who, for understandable reasons, either they
had failed the asylum process or had not pressedcharges [against the procurer] so, obviously, for them,it was a way out. And we had a Bulgarian man too.
We were very precise about the work we did. Social
workers worked on the applications, the work was
really thorough. We submitted the applications on 7
April. And on that day they told us, in any case, giventhat the applications are mostly from Nigerians ... The
members of the committee were mostly people we had
worked with for a long time, people who knew thePrefecture, the national police, social cohesion, anyway,
all these people came from bodies that we had worked
with for a very long time, so they knew exactly whichgroups we were going to talk about. In contrast, thePrefecture’s position was to say: “We think these provisions are going to be misused and, because controlling
migration is an extremely sensitive issue, particularly in
the Alpes Maritimes Department, we will be examining
the applications from that perspective. So, people whohave been issued with an OQTF [obligation to leave
French territory] and people who fall under the Dublin
Regulation (which was all the applications we presented)
will not be considered in a positive light [...]”
ALC, organisation in Nice
According to the ALC, members of the committee wereafraid that the exit programme would be used bymigrants as a new means of being regularised. Thus,
the priorities of the departmental migration policies
strongly impacted on the implementation of the social
aspect of the law and utterly discredited it.

“[...] We were a bit surprised by this. We said to them:‘Wait, what did you expect to see? If they were 25-year
old French women or 40-year old Belgian women theywouldn’t need to go through the departmental committee, they’d have no need for this at all. Of the 15
applications, one was accepted, which was the Bulgarian man for whom, ultimately, it wasn’t a great step
forward because he had the right to work anyway. He
is a European resident, so ... And one other applicationfrom a young Nigerian woman for which no reason wasgiven, no explanation was given from the Prefect of the64

Alpes Maritimes Department. So, we found ourselves ina bottleneck situation, we had wanted to tell everyone
on the streets about the law, and felt we were capableof doing that. […] The result is pretty up-setting.”
ALC, organisation in Nice
After a huge amount of communication work withpeople who were interested in this mechanism, thecreation of agreements with housing providers andtraining bodies, the ALC-Les Lucioles saw two applications being accepted. In Poitiers, in the Vienne
Department, according to the Amis des Femmes dela Libération organisation, four applications were
presented to a committee meeting in November 2017and only one was accepted. The person received
notification from the Prefecture of their acceptanceinto the exit programme, but the process ground to ahalt due to the fact that the applicant did not have ID
documents.
The L’Embellie organisation in Avignon decided not tosubmit any applications to the first committee meeting,but to use the initial period to meet with members of
the committee and play an ‘educational role’ (in theirown words) providing information on the reality of thepeople affected by the exit programme. In Bordeaux,in the Gironde Department, an agreement has beenreached between the accredited organisation and
the Prefecture to the effect that the exit programme
primarily benefits people who are victims of humantrafficking. To convince the members of the committee,
training on this subject was carried out with them
beforehand:“So, we have a committee which was established in
Bordeaux in July. If I remember rightly, it was 6 July
2017, I think. We did lots of work with the delegation,
the Departmental delegate for women’s rights, because
that’s the person in charge of the Departmental
delegation, and the committee was established. She
brought together all the members of the committee,
and before the committee met, she wanted them to beable to take part in the training on the theme of humantrafficking. She asked the national Ac.Sé programme[...] to come and deliver training in Bordeaux for membersof the committee.”
IPPO, organisation in Bordeaux
A close, trusting relationship with the delegate forwomen’s rights often emerged from the interviews. Hurdles often came from elsewhere. The power exercisedWHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

by the delegate for women’s rights varies from one
Department to another, which is likely to explain, atleast partly, how committees operate and their results.
Hence, in Paris, despite a very small number of applications being submitted (seven), they were all accepted
and the committee appears to operate in a climateof cooperation. For the Aux Captifs le Libération
organisation, which submitted one application to thiscommittee, the person received their residence permit
quickly and financial assistance within a month. Similar reports come from the Drôme Department, where
there is a good relationship between the delegate
for women’s rights and the only accredited grassroots
organisation, here the committee operates smoothly
and favourable opinions have been issued for the twolodged applications.
In the case of the committee established in Toulouse
for the Haute-Garonne Department, the Grisélidis organisation reported its shock about the atmosphere of
suspicion which prevailed during the examination of
applications by almost all the members: the gendarmerie, the police, the Prefecture, the DIRRECTE [departemental directorate for work and employment], representatives of the national education system etc. The
two accredited organisations, Grisélidis and L’Amicale
du Nid, were confronted with a series of criteria whichwere used to dismantle the validity of the applications:applications which were not sufficiently personalised(similar stories, requests to intrude into people’s private
lives), applicants who had been arrested a long time
ago or, in contrast, who had not yet been arrested forsex work, lack of ability in French, lack of evidence ofbeing integrated into society, possibility for applicants
to use other procedures (right of asylum). Grisélidis reported several disparaging statements made about
applicants on the part of the committee, which assumed that they were far from being “victims of prostitution”. Of the ten applications submitted, only four
received a favourable response.
Above and beyond the different interpretations that
the Prefects made of the law, or their willingness
to implement it, selective criteria were established dueto the lack of resources to deal with several applications. All the organisations mentioned that submitting
an application required a significant amount of extra
work, which they wanted to do but which they were notnecessarily capable of doing. The Paloma organisation
also mentioned the invitation it received to the preparatory meeting for the committee:“It was on the agenda of the previous meeting: whatcriteria will be put in place to deal with applications
impartially, so that everyone has equal access. There
were lots of us around the table, including the local
CHRS mission [Centre for Social Housing and Reintegration], the police, the Mouvement du Nid, different
social partners [...] This meeting went off in all directions
and the Movement du Nid, the accredited grassroots
organisation, the only organisation in the Loire-Atlantique, constantly said: “But in any case, we can’t do it,
we don’t have the staff or the time, we can’t meet withpeople, we can’t meet with everyone, so criteria will
have to be established’”
Paloma, organisation in Nantes
The establishment of the committees and the way they
operate has led to applications being processed very
unevenly from one Department to another, not to mention the fact that in many Departments, nothing had
been set up after two years, sometimes even in large
cities such as Lyon and Rouen.

LACK OF RESOURCES,PARTICULARLY FOR HOUSING
In addition to the fact that, as we have mentioned, few
grassroots organisations have seen an increase in theirbudgets (some accredited organisations even saw
their budgets decrease in 2017), resources to support
people to stop sex work have not been put into place.
For many organisations, the primary concern is housing, particularly when financial allocations are so low.
It was viewed as essential to offer housing to those who
risk being on the streets, however, the organisations
found that access to housing was particularly difficult:“We cannot offer a long-term exit programme if we
can’t find a solution for accommodation [...] We sentnotes to the departmental delegate for women’s rights
to find out if it was possible to increase the numberof housing places available. Here we have 11 places,
going to maybe 12 or 13 would mean that we would
have one or two places which would be reserved for
women on the exit programme. We could offer thema roof over their heads and some support, even if thiswas time-limited, start with a year, two years but ... tostay on track. Another possibility is to go through common
law, so with the 115 homeless hotline and the SIAO
[Integrated Reception and Guidance Services] – theSIAO is the service which manages the 115 hotline. But
currently, the SIAO, from what I have recently heard,

65PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

said that it was not possible to find accommodation
for them [...] I learned that last week ... the SIAO, which
manages accommodation places in the CHRS [Centre
for Social Housing and Reintegration]. So, anyone who
only has a temporary residence permit, which the law
recommends, will not be given a CHRS place”.
Arcades, organisation in Valence“We’ve talked a lot about the problem of housing. We
said that the first thing that people ask for, even before
asking for the papers, is to have housing, but in the
texts there is nothing about accommodation. So, all thepeople sitting round the table, people from the CHRS,
the person responsible for the SIAO who was there,
were looking for solutions. Should the person apply
for the SIAO? Yes, but the SIAO application can only
be completed by a social worker. The Mouvement duNid, which is the accredited organisation has no social
worker, so who will make the SIAO application? The
person in the Prefecture wanted it to be the CHRS. But
the CHRS does not meet with people directly because
it goes through the SIAO platform, so they need to be
directed to the CMS [Medical Social Centre]. But weknow very well that the CMS social workers do notmeet with people in irregular situations, particularly for
SIAO applications, so we are up against obstacle
after obstacle. We set out all these problems. The SIAO
person said: ‘OK, submit an SIAO application, but thetimescale for getting a place is around nine months.’
So, clearly, the person could be accepted into the exit
programme but might not have any housing for ninemonths, how is that going to go for the first six months,
how will she be able to renew it if she is homeless?”
Paloma, organisation in Nantes
The organisations discover or report that the peoplecommitted to the exit programme were not prioritised,
and that if the organisations did not try to find housing
outside the common law structure, it would be practically
impossible.

66

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

3. PERCEIVED RISKS:SOCIAL CONTROL AND STIGMATHE FEAR OF SOCIAL CONTROLFor sex workers and grassroots organisations, thereservations expressed around the exit programme
related to a fear of social control and the use of personal
information. Many people did not want to be categorised as sex workers, or did not want to be assisted
by an organisation which would make their work
obvious. Many people did not have sex work as theirmain source of income, or did not want to be identified
with this type of work.

When I went to the [X organisation], because they
worked with the BRP [Police unit responsible for thesurveillance of prostitution and the repression of
procuring], they reported my request for support andsuddenly I was registered with them and I don’t wantthat kind of thing happening again. [...] They were
responsive in providing me with help, but I was disappointed. The organisation didn’t give me anything.
What’s more, when I applied for jobs and this periodwith the organisation appeared, it pretty much destroyed
my credibility with potential employers.”
Amel, French trans woman“No, for my part, no. I don’t want to be registered. If
I say that I want to leave prostitution and then they
catch me with a client? What would happen? I would
be recorded and then later, if I want a residence
permit or some other status, they won’t accept me.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman
Organisations indicated that when they explain to thesex workers what they need to provide in terms of
documents, several of them withdraw from the process.
Of the organisations that refused to apply for accreditation (despite sometimes being asked to do so by the
Department), the argument against social control is an
important one. They refuse to have to check on people’s
activities to take the risk of losing the trust they haveestablished with the sex workers:“We were afraid of the information that would be given
to the Prefecture because, ultimately, it involves giving
a lot of information about people who are in irregularsituations and who are extremely afraid what thePrefecture could do with this information. We were not

comfortable with giving information about the people
we work with, knowing that the Prefecture could thenrefuse the applications ... As a whole, it’s because thelaw is a hollow shell that we support people. People
trust us. We aren’t comfortable with this mechanism
which clearly appears not to be a mechanism to reallyhelp people; we had the impression we were being
used, supporting people to do something which we
didn’t feel was entirely ethical.”Paloma, organisation in Nantes
In addition, the organisations raised the question of
their responsibility in communicating information to thePrefecture on people in irregular situations whose
applications could be rejected.

CRITICISM OF THE MORALISTICAPPROACH PORTRAYING PEOPLE AS
VICTIMS AND ENCOURAGING STIGMAInterviewees broadly rejected the victimising, moralistic
and ultimately stigmatising approach which, for them,is implicit in the exit programme mechanism—the factthat it denies the option of considering sex work as
a profession was criticised. Of the sex workers interviewed, some did not want to “exit” the sector because
they felt that they had chosen this work and it suitedthem. Interviewees defended the idea that they could
assess the quality of their work, as well as its usefulness
and their level of professionalism. Sex work is apossibility for those who do not have many options as
to how to earn a living in decent conditions due to thefact that they do not have many qualifications, do not
speak the language, have issues with their residency
status, etc. It is a real choice for others who see
advantages in it:“First of all, I don’t want to ‘exit’ from this work. And then,I’ve worked 20 years in the private sector, I alreadyknow that most jobs don’t suit me. I can’t imagine themfinding me a job which suits me and which allows me
to make a decent living.”
Magali, French woman“I worked for three years as a nanny in a family. [Thechoice of prostitution] means I am free to organise mytime, and don’t have to worry about other people.
Before, I worked for a Wenzhou family, I was in theirhouse 24 hours a day, I couldn’t stand it anymore [...] it
has to be said that in China no matter how much trouble

67

PART 3 - ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

you go to, it’s difficult to improve your life, and here
there is a lot of pressure, the working conditions andhours are so hard, [doing this job] is a painful choice
to make in order to protect your freedom, but it’s notgood work.”
Lily, Chinese woman
Disagreeing with a victimising approach, even people
in highly vulnerable situations believe that the support
offered is a form of contempt or pity towards them:“The support offered by the State is ridiculous, theallocation is too low to survive”
Emma, French woman“Tsk, no, whatever, tsk, no, just leave us alone.”
Thérèse, French woman“No, even if they offered me €100,000 I don’t wantit. If I tighten my belt, I can get €100,000 in threemonths. I’m independent. I manage my own money, it’s
not my money that manages me.”Algerian travesti, notes from Doctors of the worldrounds in Montpellier“I’ll never bow down to this kind of moral domination.
[...] I don’t want this type of promises or offers fromanother planet. Leaving sex work to go into the worldof public charity? Never. I’d prefer to die as a free andproud whore than do that.”
Aurora, Argentine trans woman
Several people reject the immoral representationof their work:“[I’ll never apply for the exit programme] because I
don’t want to be categorised as having ‘repented’.”Maria, French woman“I think that we’ve given in to abolitionist pressure, todogmas, certain philosophies that have been used fora very, very, very long time by those involved in it, whowant to fight relentlessly against prostitution, in thename of religious principles, which I respect. [...]
Personally, I respect these positions. Because we live
in a democracy and I respect people who hold these
positions and these values. But they don’t hold themin our name, or against us. [...] People say to us: ‘But
you can’t understand because you are on the inside’.
They say it’s so bad what we are doing. No, not at all,our views have never been taken into account. If that’s

68

the case, we would have been interviewed. We’ve notbeen interviewed. Sometimes they listen to the Strass tolook good. I’ve never had any contact with the Strass.
They tried to defend our position as best they could. But
the result was what you see today, they weren’t taken
into account.”Amel, French trans woman
As we have seen above, the interviews showed thatthe stigma around prostitution has increased withthe passing of the law, which is reflected in insults
and violence in the street. The interviewees felt likethe wording of the plan to eliminate sex work strongly
strengthens the stigma around those who have chosen
this work.

“We continue to tarnish prostitutes’ reputations andgive a very poor image of them. That’s why we suffer somany attacks. If you like, we are considered in society
as the very bottom of the ladder, like human beings
that can be very easily attacked without any risk. Thereis almost impunity for those who attack a prostitute.
And all these laws contribute towards the idea thatprostitutes can be attacked with impunity, because
they don’t have the right to work or the right to be here.
The client is criminalised, prostitution is banned, we areseen as criminals and they are arrested ...”
Amel, French trans woman“We are never victims. No, we are sluts. First of all, we
are women. So why are we not tied to the kitchen sink,churning out babies? But, in addition to not being tied
to the kitchen sink and churning out babies, we dare
to make money for favours that should only be offeredto our darling husbands? That’s what this is all about.”»
Magali, French woman
This is one of the major criticisms made of the exit
programme out of prostitution, which increases the
opposition between those who are victims and those
who, regardless of any assistance, choose to continue
sex work. This programme may exacerbate the stigma
around many people who will continue this activity.
Despite a certain interest in a change of work, theinterviews revealed that under the conditions offered,ultimately very few people were interested. Similarly,
interviews with organisations who sometimes had
a great deal of information to give and partnershipbuilding to do to facilitate the exit programme showedthat the proportion of people interested was ultimately
low. However, nothing has been done to reverse theWHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

stigma around the many more people who continue
sex work:“Clearly, the rationale adopted by the public authorities
is a rationale of: ‘what we offer as social protection, thegroup, French society will support women who choose
the exit programme.’ Solidarity is at work there; you’lltell me that’s a start. But the question you have to ask
is: what do the others do? In other words, if the exit
programme is not compulsory, people have the choice
whether or not join in and so, what these people areasking for are decent working conditions, and there,
for the moment, there has been no answer.”
Les Amis du Bus des femmes, organisation in Paris
For many of the people interviewed, focusing oncommon law – which includes employment law – would
be the best way to support both people who want tostop and people who want to continue under better
conditions: in other words, better social support within
the framework of common law for those who want it.
Some interviewees compared the legislation in othercountries or talked about an alternative legal system
which appeared fairer to them. In particular, recognition of their professional activity is presented as thebest way to fight against marginalisation and topromote access to rights and social services. Recognition of their work would help reduce violence. It would
also guarantee them the same social rights as thoseof other workers, health coverage and a pension, forexample.

69

DISCUSSIONDISCUSSION

1. THE ‘DOMINO-EFFECT’ OF
REPRESSIVE POLICY: SOCIALINSECURITY, VIOLENCE, STIGMA,
DEPENDENCY AND HEALTH RISKS
From the 2003 law that criminalised public soliciting(part of the so-called Domestic Security Law) to the 2016
law criminalising the purchase of sexual services, French
legislation on sex work has been invariably repressive.
This has created a situation in which the needs andrights of sex workers have been undermined with aview to making sex work disappear. Within the current
neo-abolitionist situation, namely the criminalisationof sex workers’ clients, the deterioration of the working
and living conditions of those working in this sector
has been dismissed as collateral damage. According
to the typology of sex work political regimes proposedby Petra Östergren19, since the beginning of the 21st
century France has endorsed a ‘repressive’ approach,as opposed to a ‘restrictive’ regime (such as the oneused in Germany), or to an ‘integrative’ one (as in New
Zealand). With the new law in 2016 or, more precisely,
since the debates on this new law began in 2013, theneo-abolitionist political agenda has had a harmful
domino effect on sex workers in France, particularly those
who were already working in very precarious conditions. The following illustration attempts to summarise
the impact of this repressive regime and the various
repercussions it has had.

Impact on
physical andmental health

Increase ofviolence andstigmatisation,riskier working
conditions

Sex work
repressive policy(via thecriminalizationof the clients)

As the report has highlighted, one significant impact of
the criminalisation of clients has been a serious increasein economic insecurity among sex workers. Many interviewees described the difficulties they encounter making
ends meet, or earning enough money at the end of
their working day to pay for a hotel room. Economic
hardship is particularly exacerbated for street-based
workers. Although a large proportion of the researchsample consisted of street-based sex workers, the sameconclusions can also be drawn from the smaller sampleof eleven interviewees working online, as well as fromthe interviews with support organisations. This researchcannot, however, provide information on the experiencesof indoor sex workers (those working in clubs, bars andmassage parlours). Further research is needed to
document the impact of the law on these workers.
As the preceding illustration shows, economic insecurity
triggers, catalyses and intensifies a whole set of problems
and difficulties for sex workers: the deterioration ofworking conditions, new obstacles to health prevention
practices, the increase of stigmatisation and violence,and the deterioration of both physical and psychologicalhealth. From an ethical point of view, it is hard not totake into account the effects of this law, and even harder
to view them as a temporary and necessary side effectof achieving a specific political objective.
The interviews revealed that, because clients are now
criminalised, they perceive themselves as the ones
taking the risk with regards to the authorities. Theirbargaining power has thus increased, and they tend
to negotiate prices, places and practices of the sexual services more than before. In addition to theseheightened tensions, the remaining clients appear to
be more aggressive, disrespectful, and less willing topay. Furthermore, a growing number of individuals

Economic
precariousness

Exacerbatedtensions between
groups of sex
workers

19 - Petra Östergren (2017) From Zero-Tolerance to Full Integration:
Rethinking Prostitution Policies. DemandAT Working Paper No. 10. Dans lecadre d’un financement européen de recherche sur les politiques de lutte

72

contre le trafic des être humains. http://www.demandat.eu/publications/zero-tolerance-full-integration-rethinking-prostitution-policies

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

and groups pretend to be clients with the intention ofcommitting theft, robbery, and violent attacks. Everyday
violence has increased, especially in the street. Socialand economic insecurity exacerbates tensions between
groups of sex worker and may undermine existing formsof solidarity. There is a general context of impunity,
which has meant that respect for sex workers has not
improved and they face other forms of violence including
insults and disrespectful gestures from passers-by,
including young people
The situation is not the same throughout the country,
but varies from one Department, or one city to another.
However, regardless of location, many sex workers feelthat when they are victims of violence, they are neglectedby police. As before, and even more so since the newlaw, the interviewees do not report violence to the police.
They are fearful of being dismissed or even beingarrested or deported (for those who are undocumented).
Many believe that the possibility of finding the criminalis extremely low, as they usually do not have their names
or photos, and they prefer not to be exposed to institutional violence when filing a complaint as a sex worker.
The current municipal ordinances and identity checks
mean that the repressive measures still overwhelmingly
target sex workers rather than their clients. Continuing
repression and the limited recourse to police when they
are victims of violence contributes to a “vicious circle”,
reinforcing the feeling of impunity for those who perpetrate violence against sex workers. The report clearlyshows how the new law has strengthened the alreadyexisting climate of impunity.
Social and economic insecurity also leads to the deterioration of working conditions and leads to increased
risks for sex workers. Waiting for hours for a few sporadicclients is, physically and psychologically, exhausting.
Many interviewees explained how they must spend
longer in the street or on the internet in order to haveenough clients, to earn just as much as they used tobefore the law, or to earn the amount they need to
repay their debts, or pay for their accommodation.
The paradox is that, in some places, the effect of the
neo-abolitionist law is a greater visibility of sex workers
in the streets (except in places where controls of clientsand identity checks have been intensified) in the day
and at night (depending on the schedule of police
controls), thus creating more tensions with local people.

73

DISCUSSION

2. INTERSECTIONS BETWEENPROTECTING WOMEN AND
MIGRATION POLICY

are concerned, the everyday impact of the law means
they continue to be the target of repressive measures
as irregular migrants, rather than being protected as‘victims of prostitution’.

A single policy can hardly tackle all the issues surrounding sex work without leading to some contradictions.
How can the legislators cover in one single law the
many political issues involved such as labour conditions,human rights, morality, organised crime and migration?20
The focus on migration alongside the systematic victimisation of sex workers, tends to conflate different issues
that should be treated separately.

The changing profile of migrants in the sex work sector
points to the fact that migration practices partiallytranscend the neo-abolitionist approach to prostitution.
Migration flows develop according to complex rationales, which cannot be understood simply through thelens of this new law. Interviews with grassroots organisations revealed that there has been no reduction in
the numbers of new arrivals of Nigerian sex workers.
On the contrary, new arrivals seem to be younger, andthird-party exploitation seems to have increased (morepressure from the ‘madam’, a greater involvement ofmen, and increased violence). In the case of Chinese
sex workers, fewer of them work in the streets due tothe criminalisation of clients and police identity checks,
but also due to migration trends that are independentof the legislative context. Furthermore, in spite of thelaw, increasing numbers of younger Chinese womencome to France to work via the internet.

French sex workers consider the 2016 law as being
specifically aimed at migrant sex workers. On the one
hand, lawmakers have presented the law as necessary
to fight against human trafficking, which is understoodto mainly concern migrant women. On the other,
the only measures in the law that the interviewees
initially ‘supported’ was the possibility to have theirresidential status regularised by entering the ‘prostitution exit programme’. This measure only concerns
migrants. The new law brings nothing new in terms ofimproving living and working conditions for French sex
workers, or people with regular administrative status inFrance and they, therefore, view its impact as entirely
negative.
For the most part, for both migrant and non-migrantsex workers, the law has had a negative impact. Our
sample of interviewees covers many nationalities andadministrative statuses and shows that those who are
victims of trafficking, and who were supposed to be themain targets of this law, are also the ones who face themost drastic increase in insecurity, in health risks, and
who are increasingly exposed to sexually-transmitted
infections.
The study also illustrates the widespread use of identity
checks during which sex workers are sometimes arrested
and even deported. This is not a new practice, but insome places these controls seem to have intensified
since 2016, particularly targeting migrant sex workers,
including Chinese, South American, and European
workers who find it difficult to prove that they are
working in France, since sex work is not recognisedas ‘work’. By the end of 2017, only 29 people had entered the exit programme. As far as other sex workers

20 - WIJERS Marjan, VAN DOORNINCK Marieke, « Only rights can stop
wrongs: A critical assessment of anti–trafficking strategies », paper presented at EU/IOM STOP European Conference on Preventing and Com-74

bating Trafficking in Human Beings, September 18–20, 2002, European
Parliament, Bruxelles ; DOEZEMA Jo, Sex slaves and discourse masters: The
construction of trafﬁcking, London, ZedBooks, 2010.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

3. PROTECTION OR MORALISATION ?
This study, which prioritises the perspectives of sex
workers, reveals that they do not feel more protected
since the law was passed. In contrast, many criticise
the moralising approach of the law regarding both thecriminalisation of clients and the creation of an exit
programme out of prostitution.
A large proportion of the interviewees either do notunderstand, or condemn, the measure of criminalising
the clients. Sex workers’ opinions of their clients arenuanced and complex. Interviewees, including thoseworking in both good and more precarious conditions,said that they disagreed with the simplified vision ofa guilty client: not all clients are predators. Manyinterviewees expressed empathy, or even sympathy,
for some of their clients and stressed that sometimes
their relationships with their clients about more thana simple question of sex. Of all the interviewees, theonly one who clearly supported the criminalisation ofclients explained her opinion with an argument going
beyond the relations with her clients. She mentioned
the issue of street harassment and insecurity in public
spaces, which is particularly significant for sex workers
who spend long hours in the streets.

suffer the repercussions of a political objective that fails
to recognise and take into account their decisions andtheir rights.
The new law was based on the idea that sex workers(especially women) are victims of exploitation. It createda dichotomy between the sex worker/victim and theclient/guilty aggressor, yet the stigma attached to sex
work has not decreased and those who pay the costof criminalising the clients are most often sex workers
themselves. Whilst clients may risk a fine, for the sex
workers it is their overall living and working conditions
that have deteriorated. Academic research in Sweden,
where a similar repressive policy was implemented in
the 1990s, demonstrated that the stigma targeting sex
workers increased and that the access to prevention
and health services became more difficult.21 Our study
led to the same results: stigmatisation did not disappear,
but further silenced sex workers and discouraged themfrom exercising their rights. One of the conditions foraccessing the exit programme is for the applicant topromise to stop sex work, which may also push people
to engage in more hidden and risky forms of work,
should they need to avoid controls. As a result, rather
than protecting them, the law has put sex workers ateven greater risk.

The interviewees also questioned the premise thatcriminalising the clients is an effective tool to fight against
criminal networks which exploit women. Some evenexpressed the feeling that, since the beginning, theobjective of this law seemed to be to fight against sex
workers them-selves. According to many interviewees, if
the main aim of the law was to fight against exploitation, the criminalisation of clients should not havebeen presented as the key measure. The police alreadypossess other tools to fight against exploitation and to
dismantle criminal networks; criminalising the clients
does not contribute to this end in any meaningful way.
Furthermore, on the question of tackling exploitation,
cooperation between the police and sex workers is
crucial, but such cooperation requires a climate of trust,which has deteriorated since the law was adopted.
Regarding implementation of the exit programme,
many sex workers underlined the fact that this measure
may create a divide between those who are considered as deserving of protection – in other words, those
who are willing to stop sex work – and the rest. As aresult, those who continue engaging in sex work may
have to endure the consequences of the law, and will
21. Jakobsson, K. & Kotsadam, A. “The Law and Economics of International Sex Slavery: Prostitution Laws and Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation”. Working papers in economics no. 458. Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, 2010, en ligne : https://gupea.ub.gu.se/
bitstream/2077/22825/4/gupea_2077_22825_4.pdf ; Dodillet Susanneet Petra Östergren, “The Swedish Sex Purchase Act: Claimed Success andDocumented Effects”, Conference paper presented at the International
Workshop: Decriminalizing Prostitution and Beyond: Practical Experiences
and Challenges. The Hague, March 3 and 4, 2011, en ligne : http://www.
petrao-stergren.com/upl/files/54259.pdf
75

APPENDICESAPPENDICESAPPENDIX 1: INTERVIEW GRID WITH SEX WORKERS
7 KEY QUESTIONS:- After the law was voted, have you seen any changes in your work? Which ones?
- What changes have you observed in the relationship with clients, in the profile of your clients?
- What changes have you observed in the relationship with the police (since the end of the penalisation of soliciting)?
- Do you feel that the relations with the neighbors, people in public services have changed? Do you
feel that you are less the target of stigmatisation?
- What do you think of the social aspect of the law (prostitution exit programme)?
- What kind of health problems or worries do you have? Did you observe some change since thevote of the new law?
- Have you been the target of violence since the vote of the new law? Which ones? Did you observe
some change before and after the new law?

1. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE LAW- What do you know about the new French Law on prostitution?
- As a sex workers have you been involved in the preparation of the law?
- Do you think that sex workers should have been more consulted?

2. IMPACTS ON THE ACTIVITY- After the law was voted, have you seen any changes in your work? Which ones?
Reminders:- How did you experience the end of the criminalisation of soliciting? Was it a relief for you?
- Has it improved your working conditions? How?
- Have you found new ways for meeting clients?
Changing schedules?
Preference for working on the phone, the Internet?
Third parties?
Other?
- Have intermediaries contacted you to put in touch with clients? Have you sought to get in touch withthird parties?
- Have you changed workplace?
Neighbourhood/city/country?
Indoor work: club, apartment, massage parlour, other?
- Do these changes in your work practices affect your contact with organisations or social services?

78

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

- What changes have you observed in the relationship with clients, in the profile of your clients?
Reminders:- Since clients are penalised, are there fewer of them? If so, much fewer or a little fewer?
- Have you noticed, since the law passed, a change in your clients’ ‘profile’?
- Do you feel that clients are more stressed, more worried?
- According to you, has clients’ attitude, behaviour changed?
- Have the negotiation conditions with clients changed? Easier? More difficult?
- Given that you can report clients to the police, do you feel in a better position to negoti-ate with them?
- Would you imagine reporting clients if they not respect the deal?
- Have the changes had an impact on your prices, the services you offer, your income?

3. IMPACT ON THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POLICE- What changes have you observed in the relationship with the police(since the end of the penalisation of soliciting)?
Reminders:- Have you observed a change in the attitude of the police towards you?
-How does the police intervene in your neighbourhood/workplace? (compare before/after)-Were you arrested by the police since the law passed?
If so, develop on:
reasons for arrest
conditions of arrest, custody: respectful or not, use of handcuffs, signing of untranslated documents,
humiliation, etc.
being sent to a detention centre? Conditions of detention.
-Were you witnessed or involved in the arrest of a client? What happened to you (police custody, police
attitude, information about your rights, etc.)?
- Since the law passed, do you have more confidence in the police?

79

APPENDICES

3. EXPECTED OR ANTICIPATED IMPACT ON STIGMA AND ACCESS TO RIGHTS- Do you feel that the relations with the neighbours, people in public services have changed? Do
you feel that you are less the target of stigmatisation?
- What do you think of the ‘social aspect’ of the law (support to stop prostitution)?
Reminders:- Do you hope that a prostitution exit programme will improve your living conditions?
- Do you want to apply for the programme? If yes or no, why?
- What would good conditions of support be for you to stop prostitution?
- What would the minimum conditions of support be for you to apply?

5. IMPACT ON HEATH- What kind of health problems or worries do you have? Did you observe some change since thevote of the new law?
Reminders:- Stress level? How did this manifest? (sleep disorder, eating disorder, other?)- Increase in alcohol consumption? tobacco? Other?
- Are there more requests not to use a condom? How do you react?
- Do you take health risks in your work?

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WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

6. VIOLENCE- Have you been the target of violence since the vote of the new law? Which ones? Did you observe
some change before and after the new law?
Reminders:- Have you been a victim of violence before/after the passing of the law:insults
theftsracketeering
physical violence (passers-by, clients, colleagues...)sexual violence, rape
- What have you put in place to prevent violence against you, to avoid violent ‘clients’?
Participation in online discussion groups
Exchanging phone numbers or plate numbers with other sex workers
Learning self-defense techniques
Other- If you have been a victim of violence, who did you ask for support to?
relatives, colleagues, organisations, the police- If you have been a victim of violence did you file a complaint, start legal proceedings?
- What are the difficulties that you encountered in starting a legal proceeding? Have you noticed anychanges since the new law?

7. STATISTICAL DATA- Nationality- Age range- Number of years in sex work
- Place of work (or place of interview)- If migrant:
Year of arrival in France
Administrative status (residence permit: 6 months, 1 year, 10 years, asylum seeker, undocumented)

81

APPENDICESAPPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW GRID WITH ORGANISATIONSKEY QUESTIONS:- What do you think about the law that penalises clients?
- Overall, what do the people you receive in your work think about it?
- From your work, what can you say about the enforcement of this law?
- How has the relationship between clients and the people you receive changed since the law
passed?
- Since the application of the law, have you observed changes in the activity of the people you
receive? If so, which ones?
- What effects has the law had on the daily life, health, well-being, projects of people you receive?
- Do you feel that the law affects some sex workers more than others? (migrant people, street- orinternet-based sex workers, seniority in sex work, work sites, etc.)- Since the law passed, what changes have you observed in the relationships among sex workers?
(competition? mutual aid? solidarity?)- Since the law passed, what changes have you seen in situations of stigmatisation targeting sex
workers?
- What do you think and how are you (are you?) getting involved in the social aspect of the law?

1. INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS- What do you think about the law that penalises clients?
- Overall, what do the people you receive in your work think about it?

2. ENFORCEMENT + RELATIONSHIP WITH THE POLICE- From your work, what can you say about the enforcement of this law?
Reminders:- Do police control or verbalise clients?
- What do the people you receive tell you?
Do sex workers feel more or less controlled?
New and/or more police presence in some workplaces?
Change of attitude/behaviour on the part of the police?
- Dare to report an assault through the law?

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WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

3. LABOUR (EFFECTS ON THE WORKING CONDITIONS)- How has the relationship between clients and the people you receive changed since the law passed?
Reminders:- More anxious clients?
- More demanding clients (prices, places, risky practices, exchange of phone numbers, etc.)?
- Possibility/difficulty to choose a client; negotiating/imposing conditions- Increased violence?

- Since the application of the law, have you observed changes in the activity of the people you
receive? If so, which ones?
Reminders:- New work places? Need to hide?
- Earnings?
- Time at work?
- New ways of working (i.e. from the street to the internet? Indoor work?)

4. HEALTH (EFFECTS OF THE LAW ON HEALTH CONDITIONS)- What effects has the law had on the daily life, health, well-being, projects of the people you receive?
Reminders:- Health problems related to the consequences of the law (increase in working time, decrease inincome, etc.)- Deterioration of living and working conditions?
- Effect on stress levels (mood/sleep disorders, food, etc.)- Health prevention practices and relationships with clients (i.e. pressure from clients to negotiate
condom use)
- As an organisation, do you see more or fewer people? Do you see the same people? Are you more in
demand than before? Do you have difficulty staying in touch with some people? Why?

83

APPENDICES

5. INEQUALITIES/RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SEX WORKERS- Do you feel that the law affects some sex workers more than others? (migrants, street- orinternet-based sex workers, seniority in sex work, work sites, etc.)- Since the law passed, what changes have you observed in the relationships among sex workers?
(competition? mutual aid? solidarity?)

6. STIGMA- Since the law passed, what changes have you seen in situations of stigmatisation targeting sex
workers?
Reminders:- Have the relations with the neighbourhood, residents or passers-by changed since law?
- Do you notice changes in the way sex workers are received in health and social services?

7. EXIT PROGRAMME- What do you think and how are you (are you?) getting involved in the social aspect of the law?
Reminders:- Have you applied for accreditation? Why did you make that choice?
- How many people so you think would be interested in the exit programme?
- How many have expressed the desire to apply, to be supported with the application?
- Can you describe the programme steps – the time that it took to put it in place, the actors involved,
what works/what does not work:
1. Applying
2. Instruction by the committee
3. Inclusion in the exit programme: First contact with social workers?
- Can you say about the means that you have allocated for this?
- Have you received more financial support to implement it? From who?

84

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

85

APPENDICESAPPENDIX 3: INTERVIEWEES’ PROFILES(QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS)
Women

54

Men (including“travestis”)
Trans people

5
11

Age
18-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60 ou plus
Unknown

15
16
24
6
1
6

The 3 categories respect the way interviewees presented or named themselves. Amongthe category “women” are people who described themselves as women, they may
have precised that they were lesbians or asexual. Among the “men”, all of them said
they were gay, some said they were working as travestis (cross-dressers). Regarding
the “trans people”, they presented themselves either as trans women, transformista ortrans.

NATIONALITY
Europe and North Africa
Algeria3

Romania4

Bulgaria

1

France14

2 trans women and one travesti
Age group : 1 in her/his twenties, 1 in her/his thirties, 1 in her/his forties.
Type of work: street-based workers and phone

4 womenAge group: 2 in their twenties, 2 in their thirties.
Type of work: street-based workers

1 womanAge group: in her thirties.
Type of work: street-based workers

1 man, 1 trans woman, 12 women
Age group: 5 in their twenties, 2 in their thirties, 5 in their forties, 2 in their fifties.
Type of work: 5 on the Internet (escort, touring); 8 street-based workers or invans (one also working on the phone)

Asia
Chine

13

13 womenAge group: 2 in their thirties, 8 in their forties, 2 in their fifties, 1 over fifties.
Type of work: 7 street-based workers, 1 mixing street and phone, 1 only working

with phone contacts, 4 on the Internet (touring).

86

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina

BrazilEcuador

Peru
Dominican
Republic

2

1 man, 1 trans woman
Age group: 1 in her/his forties, 1 unknown.
Type of work: street-based worker

2

1 trans woman, 1 woman
Age group: 1 in her forties, 1 in her sixties.
Type of work: street-based workers with vans

5

1 travesti, 2 trans women, 2 women
Age group: 2 in their thirties, 2 in their forties, 1 her/his fifties
Type of work: 5 street-based workers with vans

3

1 man, 2 trans women
Age group: 1 in her/his thirties, 2 in their forties
Type of work: 2 street-based workers, 1 mixing street and Internet

1

1 womanAge group: in her forties
Type of work: street-based worker with a van

15

15 womenAge group: 8 in their twenties, 4 in their thirties, 1 in her forties, 2 unknown
Type of work: 15 street-based workers

5

5 womenAge group: 1 in her twenties, 3 in their forties, 1 unknown
Type of work: 5 street-based workers with vans

AfricaNigeria

Other African countries(Ghana, Ivory Coast,
Cameroon, Equatorial
Guinea)PLACE OF ACTIVITY
Street26

Internet

11

Venues1

Several interviewees work or have worked from time to time in venues abroad(Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Germany).

PLACE OF INTERVIEW
Chartes (3), Lille (5), Lyon (6), Nantes (9), Montpellier (3), Paris (29), Poitiers (3), Rouen (10), Toulouse (1)87APPENDICESAPPENDIX 4: QUANTITATIVE SURVEY
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE LAW ENACTED ON 13 APRIL 2016
THE RESULTS OF A QUANTITATIVE SURVEY OF SEX WORKERS IN FRANCEINTRODUCTIONMÉTHODOLOGIEIn order to document the consequences of the law
enacted on the 13th of April 2016 on the health, security
and living conditions of sex workers in France, a quantitative survey was under-taken between the 11th ofJanuary and the 2nd of February 2018. The survey involved
sex workers encountered by support organisations indifferent cities and regions across France. The survey
was undertaken as complementary research to enricha qualitative survey on the same subject which wasundertaken between June 2016 and February 2018.

The survey is based on a short questionnaire (cf. annex)
divided into three subsections:

SUMMARY
The results of the survey show a clear deterioration ofliving and working conditions for sex workers in France
since the introduction, on the 13th of April 2016,of the law “Aiming to reinforce the fight against theprostitution system and support people in prostitution”.
Since this law was enacted, a majority of sex workers
surveyed have experienced a fall in their income anda deterioration of their quality of life. A large numberof respondents declare that they are more exposed toviolence and encounter greater difficulties negotiating condom use. Although the law aimed to “reverse
the burden of repression” by no longer considering sex
workers as criminals, the relationship with police services
has not improved for the majority of sex workers, andhas become worse for one in five of them. The survey
also shows that sex workers are overwhelmingly opposedto the criminalisation of clients and the abolition of
prostitution.
Finally, the prostitution exit programme created by thelaw remains largely unknown to sex workers. Amongst
sex workers who are aware of this programme, a majorityof them do not intend to apply.

88

1. A first section provides sociodemographic information concerning the survey respondents (age,nationality, gender, type and duration of sex work);
2. A second section is focused on sex workers’
knowledge of the law introduced on the 13th of April
2016 and its repercussions on their living conditions
and their working practices (exposure to violence,changes in income, working hours, condom use,
relationship with police services…);
3. A third and final section deals with sex workers’
knowledge of and interest in the newly created exit
programme.
The questionnaire was translated into 5 languages(French English, Spanish, Romanian & Chinese)
In total, 9 organisations participated in conducting
the survey (ARPS, Médecins du Monde (Doctors of theWorld), Cabiria, Grisélidis, ARCAT, the STRASS, Paloma,
Les Amis du Bus des Femmes and the Collectif desFemmes de Strasbourg St Denis).
The survey was conducted by each organisation over aone-week period of their choice, in all of the locations
where they intervene (except for the STRASS). Duringthat week every sex worker met by the organization
was invited to participate in the survey. Participants
were surveyed on an individual basis by a representativeof each organization.
In total 738 people were invited to participate in thesurvey. Amongst those people invited to participate
200 (27.1%) did not wish to participate and 45 were
not eligible to participate (because they were not sex
workers or because they had already replied). A totalof 493 people (or 71.1% of those eligible) participatedin the survey and 490 questionnaires were integrated
into the analysis (84,1% of all submitted questionnaires).

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

With regards to the STRASS (Sex workers Union), thequestionnaire was submitted via email to all of the
250 union members with a link to an online version of
the questionnaire. The online questionnaire was also
submitted to members of an online private chat forum
reserved exclusively for sex workers which has 350
members. A further 93 questionnaires were completed
through this method (or 15.9% of all questionnaires)
Altogether, 583 questionnaires were submitted foranalysis. The questions related to the impact ofcriminalisation of clients were only asked to people
engaged in sex work for at least two years or more (ie.
418 individuals or 71,6% of the sample). The question
related to kind of support that sex workers expected aspart of the exit programme was only asked to people
who knew about the exit programme and who intended
to apply to it (ie. 60 people).

THE PROFILE OF SURVEYRESPONDENTS
The majority (82.5%) of survey respondents were
cis-gender women. The average age at the time ofthe survey was 41 years. The average age at which
respondents had started sex work was 33 years. The
average duration of sex work was 6 and a half years(min.= 1 week, max.= 41 years, median: 3 years)
More than 78% of respondents were foreign nationals.
The most represented regions of origin were Asia
(32.8%), Africa (25,4%), Latin America (10.6%).
Roughly one out of five respondents were Frenchnationals.
The survey respondents worked in 26 different locations
in France (including Reunion Island – an extraterritorial French Department in the Indian Ocean). Some
respondents declared that they worked in multiple
locations. The most represented locations are Paris(47.2%) and Lyon (22.3%)
The most common methods of meeting clients are in
the street (61.7%) and via the internet (20.8%).

THE KEY RESULTS OF THE SURVEY
A CLEAR DETERIORATION OF SEX
WORKERS’ LIVING CONDITIONS
Almost 63% of respondents have encountered adeterioration of their living conditions over the past
two years. More than 78% of them have experienced
a decline in their income since April 2016. Furthermore,
42.3% of respondents have witnessed an increase inwork place violence over the past two years and, for
38% of respondents, it has become increasingly
difficult to negotiate condom use with clients.
To adapt to their declining client base 37.6% of respondents declare that they have had to increase their working
hours, whereas 33.6% of respondents have, on theother hand, decreased their working hours.
Roughly 50% of respondents have observed no improvement or deterioration of their relations with police
services during the last two years and 20.6% observethat their relations with the police have deteriorated.

A WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION TO THE
CRIMINALISATION OF CLIENTS AND
THE ABOLITION OF PROSTITUTION
A large majority of those surveyed (80.4%) where
aware of the criminalisation of clients introduced by
the law in April 2016. More than 87% of sex workers
surveyed were opposed to the criminalisation of clientsand only 3.4% of them were in favour of criminalisation.
These results are broadly consistent with the results ofprevious survey conducted in 2015 by the researcher
Nicola Mai in which 98% of sex workers were opposedto the criminalisation of clients.
More than 80% of survey respondents were opposedto the abolition of prostitution and only 8.2% were infavour.

1 http://www.lames.cnrs.fr/IMG/pdf/RESUME_ETUDE_PENALISATION-2.pdf.

89

APPENDICESAN EXIT PROGRAMME
WHICH IS LITTLE KNOWNAND NOT ATTRACTIVE
Less than 40% of those surveyed were aware of theexistence of the exit programme and, of that minority,
only 4.8% have taken steps to apply, and a further
26.3% intend to apply in the future.
Amongst those who wish to change activity the support
that they would most appreciate is access to legal
residency (49.3%), financial support (16.9%) and housing
support (15.3%)

THE SURVEY’S LIMITATIONS
Although a large number of sex workers participated in
the survey it does have some methodological limitations.
As sex workers are an often hidden and misunderstood
population it is impossible to establish a survey sample
that is representative of all sex workers in France. The
recruitment of survey participants via support organisations is a further limitation. It is likely that sex workers in contact with support organisations have specificcharacteristics that differentiate them from those whoare not at all in contact with support services, for example,
they may be better informed about the new law. For
these reasons the results presented here cannot be
considered as fully representative of all sex workers inFrance.
A further potential limitation is that the questionnairerelies on respondents recalling the situation before andafter the introduction of the law.

90

CONCLUSIONSThe survey results show the negative impact of the lawof April 2016 on the health, security and living conditions of sex workers in France. They confirm the resultsof the qualitative survey conducted in 2016-2017. The
exit programme is still not well known and the support
offered is insufficient or tied to too many conditions for
it to be appealing to sex workers. The criminalisationof clients constitutes a grave threat to sex workers’
interests which aggravates risks to their health andincreases their exposure to violence.

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

SURVEY DATA

Woman

82,5%

481

Asia

CHART 3 – NATIONALITY(CLASSED BY REGION
32,8%
191

Man

4,5%

26

Africa25,4%148Transgender

12,3%

72

France10,6%117

No reply

0,7%4

Latin America

20,1%

62

Total

100%

583

Europe (outside France)

10,2%

59

No reply

0,9%

6

Total

100%

583

CHART 1 – GENDER IDENTITY

CHART 2 – RESPONDENTS’ AGE
< 20

1,0%

6

20-24

14,8%

86

25-29

11,7%

68

Paris

47,2%

275

30-34

8,4%

49

Lyon

22,3%

130

35-39

9,4%

55

Toulouse

7,7%

45

40-44

10,1%

59

La Réunion

6,2%

36

45-49

17,0%

99

Nantes

5,5%

32

50-54

14,2%

83

Other locations

7,9%

46

55-59

6,2%

36

Multiple locations

1,0%

6

> 60

4,8%

28

No reply

2,2%

6

No reply

2,4%

14

Total

100%

583

Total

100%

583

CHART 5 – WORKPLACE
LOCATION*Maximum 73 ; Minimum 16; Median 41 ; Average 39

91

APPENDICESCHART 6 – DURATION OF SEX WORK(IN YEARS)CHART 8 – KNOWLEDEGE OF THE
CRIMINALISATION OF CLIENTS

>2

28%

165

Oui

80,4%

469

2 to 4

30%

172

Non

18,7%

109

5 to 917%

102

No reply

0,9%

5

10 to 19

14%

80

Total

100%

583

20+

10%

59

No reply

1%

5

Total

100%

583

CHART 9 – OPINION ON THE
CRIMINALISATION OF CLIENTS
87,7%No, I do not support it511
I don’t know / No opinion

7,4%

43

CHART 7 – AGE WHEN STARTING
SEX WORK
< 20
10,5%
61

Yes, I am in favour

3,4%

20

No reply

1,5%

9

20-24

25,2%

147

Total

100%

583

25-29

10,5%

61

30-34

10,5%

61

35-39

6,7%

39

40-44

10,1%

55

45-49

15,1%

88

50-54

6,2%

36

55-59

2,7%

16

> 60

0,5%

3

No reply

2,7%

16

Total

100%

583

* Max. 65 ; Min. 10 ; Average 33 ; Median 30

92

CHART 10 – EXPOSURE TO
VIOLENCE SINCE APRIL 2016
45,5%
No observable change
190
More than before

42,3%

177

Less than before

9,3%

39

No reply

2,9%

12

Total

100%

418

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

CHART 11 - EVOLUTION OF
INCOME SINCE APRIL 2016

CHART 14 – CHANGES IN LIVING
CONDITIONS SINCE APRIL 2016

Decrease

78,2%

327

Deterioration

62,9%

63

No change

15,6%

65

No change

28,9%

21

Increase

3,1%

13

Improvement

4,1%

17

No reply

3,1%

13

No reply

4,1%

17

Total

100%

418

Total

100%

418

CHART 12 – EVOLUTION OF WORKINGHOURS SINCE APRIL 2016
Increase

37,6%

157

Decrease

33,7%

141

No change

25,8%

108

No reply

2,9%

12

Total

100%

418

CHART 15 – CHANGES IN THE
RELATIONSHIP WITH POLICE SERVICES
SINCE APRIL 2016
Non observable change

49,5%

207

Deterioration

20,6%

86

Not concerned

19,1%

80

Improvement

8,9%

37

No reply

1,9%

8

Total

100%

418

CHART 13 – NEGOTIATION OF
CONDOM USE SINCE APRIL 2016
No change

50,0%

209

Harder38,3%160

CHART 16 – OPINION REGARDING THE
ABOLITION OF PROSTITUTION
468
Against80,3%

Easier6,0%

25

Don’t know / No Opinion

10,5%

61

Not concerned

3,3%

14

In favour

8,2%

48

No reply

2,4%

10

No reply

1%

6

Total

100%

418

Total

100%

583

93

APPENDICESCHART 17 – KNOWLEDGE OF THE
PROSTITUTION EXIT PROGRAMME
59,0%
No
344

CHART 19 - INTENTION TO APPLY TO
EXIT PROGRAMME IN THE FUTURE
31
Don’t know
13,6%

Yes

39,1%

228

No

58,3%

133

No reply

1,9%

11

Yes

26,3%

60

Total

100%

583

No reply

1,8%

4

Total

100%

228

CHART 18 – APPLICATION TO EXIT
PROGRAMME CURRENTLY UNDER WAY
No

94,3%

215

Yes

4,8%

11

No reply

0,9%

2

Total

100%

228

94

CHART 20 - TYPE OF SUPPORTREQUIRED IF THE PERSON INTENDSTO APPLY TO EXIT PROGRAMME
Residency papers

60,0%

36

Housing15,0%9Training

11,7%

7

Financial support

6,7%

4

Other answers

5,0%

3

No reply

1,7%

1

Total

100%

60

WHAT DO SEX WORKERS THINK ABOUT THE FRENCH PROSTITUTION ACT?

THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Survey with sex worker about the law from April 13th 2016d) Date : _ _ / _ _ / 2018a) City/Place : ____________________________________b) Sex/Gender :

Trans

1

Female2Male3e) Age : __________ years oldc) Nationality : __________________________________

1) How do you contact clients (multiple answers possible) :In the street 2Internet/Phone 3Venues (massage parlour, bar, club...)
1

Other

4

2) How long have you done sexwork / prostitution? ________ years
3) In April 2016, a law was passed that criminalises clients. Are you aware of this law?
4) Do you agree with the criminalisation of clients?

1

Agree

Disagree

2

Oui

1

Non

2

Don’t know

3

If you started sexwork after April 2016, pgo straight to question 115) Since April 2016 are you exposed to violence:
More than before
Less than before
12

3

No change

6) Since April 2016 your earnings have:
Increased
Decreased
No change
1237) Since April 2016 your working hours are:LongerShorter
No change
1238) Since April 2016, in your experience, negotiating condom use with clients has become:EasierMore difficult
No change
Not applicable12349) Since April 2016 your quality of life has:
Improved
Deteriorated 3No change
1210) Since April 2016 your relashionship with Police has:
Improved
Deteriorated
No change
12311) Do you think prostitution should be abolished ?

1

Not applicable

4

Yes

2

No

Don’t know

312) The law passed in April 2016 includes the creation of an «exit path» («parcours de sortie») to quit
prostitution. Are you aware of this?
Yes
No
1
2
13) Have you applied for the «exit path» ?
14) Do you intend to apply for the «exit path»?

Yes

1

2
1

Yes

No
2

No

Don’t know

3

If you answered yes to question 13 ou 14:15) If you wish to change your work what kind of support do you feel is most important?
Housing support
1
Residence permit
2
Financialsupport3
Training
4
Other, please specify ______________________________________________________________________
5
Pour la saisie : SaisiEnquête n°____________

95