Knesset Subcommittee Tries to Fight "Prostitution Cards"

Jerusalem, 11 January, 2017 (TPS) -- The Knesset Subcommittee for the Trafficking in Women and Prostitution, held deliberations Tuesday about proposals to fight the phenomenon of so-called “prostitution cards” that commonly litter Tel Aviv streets and cars, within the framework of the illegality to publicize prostitution.

Prostitution is legal in Israel but pimping, sex trafficking and running a brothel are all illegal, as is advertising prostitution services. Still, according to a 2014 governmental survey there are approximately 12,000 sex workers in Israel, more than 95 percent of whom are female, and the industry’s total value is estimated to be approximately NIS 1.2 billion per year.

“This form of pimping has almost become part of the urban landscape of Tel Aviv,” stated subcommittee chairwoman and Yesh Atid MK Aliza Lavie.

“These flyers represent an ongoing plague and a pollution of public space, and are also illegal so why is not being enforced? We need to make clearer that those responsible for and facilitating publication of prostitution are criminals who are sabotaging our efforts to eradicate this phenomenon,” she argued.

Representatives of the Tel Aviv city hall claimed that municipal inspectors do not have the authority nor the resources to fight the sex trade within the existing penal code system. They claimed they are only allowed to fine people caught distributing the cards, and cannot take action against the printing presses that supply the advertisements.

Joint List MK and Chair of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality Aida Touma-Sliman also denounced the Justice Ministry’s efforts to block her proposal to fight printing presses that produce advertisements for prostitution service, saying her bill would arm police with an “essential [tool] for effective enforcement.”

The subcommittee meeting took place within the context of the Committee’s efforts, mainly spearheaded by Meretz MK Zehava Galon and Jewish Home MK Shuli Mualem-Refaeli, to also criminalize prostitutes’ customers with a similar model to one used in Scandinavia, the Nordic Model or Sex Buyer Law.

The Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution, a multi-faceted initiative that combines efforts by the government, law enforcement and the public to eradicate human trafficking, has said the criminalization of clients would be the best possible way to fight the phenomenon. They argue that countries that have legalized prostitution, such as Germany, have seen an increase in sex trafficking, while the Nordic model of prosecuting the clients has efficiently curtailed the flow of money that supports the whole system.

According to Zionist Union MK Merav Michaeli, the core of the problem rests in a severe lack of coordination between the ministries of Justice and Public Security, the state prosecutors office and the police regarding the interpretation of the law and its enforceability.

  “If there is one thing that was clear that this discussion has made clear is that it would be possible to enforce legislation already on the books. But dealing with this issue now is a top priority,” Lavie concluded.

The Public Security Ministry’s Legal Division is expected to present a proposal that would allow law enforcement authorities to disconnect the telephone lines written on the cards.