Prostitution in Finland (the exchange of sexual acts for money) is legal, but soliciting in a public place and organised prostitution (operating a brothel or a prostitution ring, and other forms of pimping) are illegal. According to a 2010 TAMPEP study, 69% of prostitutes working in Finland are migrants. As of 2009, there was little "visible" prostitution in Finland as it was mostly limited to private residences and nightclubs in larger metropolitan areas.

History

The socio-legal history of prostitution in Finland is similar to that of other European and Western countries, with various periods of tolerance, regulation and abolition.

18th century – early 20th century

The passing of the Civil Code of 1734 was the first nation-wide law for all of Sweden, as well as Finland, that prohibited prostitution.Venla Roth Human Trafficking and Identifying Its Victims: A Study on the Impact and Future Challenges of International, European and Finnish Legal Responses to Prostitution-Related Trafficking in Human Beings (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Boston, 2011). The historical position of sexual morality was based on the Christian standard of condemning both premarital and extramarital sexual relations. These religious values were reflected in the common law across Europe and most Western societies throughout this period. In 1847, the Regulation system was introduced in Finland and became the target of a campaign from the Finska Federationen until it was abolished in 1907. Sedligt, renligt, lagligt: prostitution i Norden 1880-1940. (2007). Sverige: Makadam. s.

The next major development came in the form of the 1889 Penal Code of Finland,"The Penal Code of Finland 1899". Retrieved 5 September 2017. which prohibited both pandering and prostitution. The code extended the prohibition to cover "any professional fornication", meaning the law would not tolerate prostitution no matter where it was taking place. International activism concerning prostitution at the end of the 19th century transformed the societal view of prostitution as an aspect of urban life to one which perceived the labour as a social problem.Greggor Mattson The Cultural Politics of European Prostitution Reform: Governing Loose Women (Palsgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, 2016). This evolution demanded the removal of prostitutes from the public eye through criminalisation of the female prostitutes as delinquents.

From 1937 to 1986 the Vagrancy Act was also in effect in Finland. In accordance with the legislation prostitutes could be taken under control and given orders by the police and social and health care authorities.Marjut Jyrkinen The Organisation of Policy Meets the Commercialisation of Sex: Global Linkages, Policies, Technologies (Helsingfors, Helsinki, 2005). This could include interrogations, sending to institutions, arrests, obligations to undergo health examinations and various other regulatory requests.Housing Rights Watch "Finland" (2012)

Activism after World War II and the gradual 20th century abandoning of the standard of absolute sexual morality again shifted social perceptions of prostitution. The economic depression, alongside other structural and political reasons, contributed to an increase in the sex trade after the Second World War. The universal human rights movement of the time pushed for the decriminalisation of prostitution so as not to punish women who were victims of poverty or exploitation.

Late 20th century – present

The geopolitical position of Finland, and its position in the European Union as of 1995, had a significant influence on the sex trade in the 1990s. Access to sex services became increasingly easier across most cities and rural areas in Finland during this time. The established political connection with Western Europe allowed people to move more freely across borders, and hence engage in the sex services market in Finland.Charlotta Holmstrom and May-Len Skilbrei "Prostitution in the Nordic Countries" (Nordic Gender Institute, Conference report, Stockholm, 16–17 October 2008). Authorities estimated that in the 1990s the number of prostitutes working in Finland was approximately 2000, with 200 of these being of foreign origin. The effects of economic depression, mass unemployment and the resulting economic position of women also contributed to the intensification in the volume and forms of national prostitution.Antti Häkkinen Rahasta - vaan ei rakkaudesta: prostituutio Helsingissä 1867-1939 (Otava, Helsinki, 1995). The increased trend of transnational organised crime in pandering and human trafficking operations shifted public concern from the protection of public morality to protection of public order and security.

The UN Trafficking Protocol, adopted in Finland in 2000, and the European Union Council Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings,T Pedersen “Council Framework Decision of 19 July 2002 on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings" (2002) 629 JHA 203. adopted in 2002, both obligated cooperating states to criminalise trafficking and increase border control to prevent transnational organised crime. These international obligations acted as the starting point for the restructuring of prostitution legislation in Finland. In 2003, both the purchasing and selling of sexual acts were prohibited under Finnish law where either occurred in a public place.

Types of Prostitution

Street prostitution Street prostitution consisted of both foreign and native prostitutes; however, a majority of the bunch are foreign prostitutes. This was made up of the female prostitutes and males referred to as "kerb-crawlers" that sought out the "services" of the female prostitutes. Street prostitution made its way to the center of the capital city of Helsinki where it became very popular with about 50 street prostitutes. Local residents of Helsinki were upset with the allowance of street prostitution in their neighborhoods, so in 1994 a female activist group formed in order to abolish street prostitution as a whole. They started the movement called "Prostitution Off the Streets" where they patrolled the streets at night for any potential street prostitution as well as initiated a petition against street prostitution. This type of prostitution was legal until 1999 when laws prohibited prostitution in public spaces. This new law pushed the business of street prostitution north to the city of Vantaa until a year later when Vantaa also began prohibiting prostitution in public spaces.

Online prostitution The Internet has become a popular place for advertising business; prostitution is no exception. Pictures of prostitutes and their services began being advertised online, with about 80%-90% of the industry utilising the internet in some capacity to advertise. In the early 2000s, Finland removed servers that advertised prostitution due to "procuring" that the Criminal Code has outlined since 2004. However, these operations are still being run remotely in countries such as Spain. This makes it difficult for police to take action against "procuring" online because, as behind the scenes operations are being taken care of remotely, they cannot trace any of the activity; they can only uncover the prostitute.

Erotic restaurants Restaurants became a location for a lot of foreign prostitutes in Finland to sell their services, particularly in the city center of Helsinki. Restaurants were willing to partake in this form of prostitution because they were able to make a profit off of the prostitutes by charging them a fee when entering the restaurant for business as well as when they leave with a client. In addition to the fees, the women in erotic restaurants also lures more traffic into the restaurants which allowed the restaurants to profit even further.

Newspaper adverts In Finland, newspaper publications promoted prostitution. This was a common form of advertising before the introduction of online prostitution in the early 2000s. However, the newspapers were not blatant in their advertising. They used phrases such as "company for daytime coffee" to suggest prostitution. Occasionally, the ads would reference a "massage", which was also a phrase that soon became synonymous with prostitution. In addition to these phrases, the newspaper ad included a phone number for the potential clients to call to obtain the desired services. Most of the newspaper ad clients, specifically, were men from Finland, rather than foreign clients. Newspaper ads for prostitution are no longer common due to the changing technological times.

Legal framework

Buying or attempting to buy sex from a minor is illegal. The Public Law and Order Act prohibits offering or buying sex in a public place. Although prostitution has become legal, procuring still remains illegal. Procuring includes anything that would be considered the organisation or facilitation of services for prostitutes. The criminalisation of the purchase of sex from adults has been a continuing topic of discussion in the Nordic countries. In June 2006, parliament voted by 158 to 15, with four abstentions, to approve a bill which outlaws the buying of sexual acts if it is linked to human trafficking. The issue was raised again in 2013 by the Justice Minister. The current legal position in Finland therefore allows for the private sale of sexual acts but any form of human trafficking is both against the law and in breach of international human rights obligations.

Venla Roth comments that the current Finnish penal position can be seen as a compromise between the two conflicting positions on the legality of prostitution.

Foreign prostitutes

A significant number of the prostitutes working in Finland are foreign. The proportion of the prostitutes that are migrants has increased over time, largely due to increased accessibility, political positions and economic factors.Jaana Kauppinen and Essi Thesslund Trafficking and Exploitation of Prostitution (Pro-tukipiste, Submission to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 31 January 2014). This increased accessibility may be attributed to the geographic location of Finland because of its proximity to other European countries as well as the fact that Finland is considered to be a transit country.

In 1999, a special section was enacted under the Aliens Act in Finland. It specifies that where there are reasonable grounds to suspect an alien may sell sexual acts, he or she may be refused entrance into the country. The provision was justified as an objective to protect Finnish citizens from the social disturbances caused by prostitutes coming in from the East.

Statistics

Following the enactment of the special provision, between 1999 and 2007, Border Guard authorities refused the entry of more than 1730 persons on the grounds of suspicion that they sold sexual acts or had earned their income though dishonest means. By 2006, this number had escalated to 3300 refusals. These figures continue to increase, with Finnish police reporting that during the years of 2011 and 2012, there were more persons than ever deported because of suspicions of the sale of sexual acts.