04/10/2007 Session
The Assembly has strongly condemned forced prostitution and trafficking in human beings and has called on all member states, which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. Parliamentarians recommended that all member states prohibit child prostitution (under the age of 18), since it can never be considered voluntary. Talking about voluntary prostitution, they said states should refrain from criminalising and penalising prostitutes, as double standards force prostitutes underground or into the arms of pimps. States, they added, should develop programmes to assist prostitutes to leave the profession should they wish to do so while ensuring those who remain are not abused by police, are given a say in policies regarding them and have enough independence to impose safe sexual practices on their clients.