Responsibilization by Criminal and Social Liability: New Governance Modes in European Prostitution Policy

Eva-Maria Euchner (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich) explores the strategy of responsibilization by liability in prostitution policy based on a novel dataset including 24 OECD countries. In a first part, the Paper illustrates how the tool of criminal liability developed in the last 50 years (1960-2010) and across the 24 countries. Hereby, the analysis distinguishes between four central actors: sex workers, brothel owners, pimps and clients. In a second part, the Paper selects one country ranking relatively low in terms of sanctions for the involved actors (e.g., Germany, Brasil), and explores alternative strategies of responsibilization. This includes in particular administrative and social liability of sex workers’ organizations and prostitutes (e.g., “train the trainer” programs for prostitutes, legal consulting by sex workers’ organizations). In a final part and in line with an inductive logic, expectations will be proposed that explain why a country might prioritize the governance strategy of administrative and social liability over a broadening of the criminal liability of regulatory intermediaries.