Giametta, Calogero, and HÉLÈNE Le Bail. “The National and Moral Borders of the 2016 French Law on Sex Work: An Analysis of the

‘Prostitution Exit Programme.’” Critical Social Policy, 2022, p. 26101832211011., https://doi.org/10.1177/02610183221101167. 

This article analyzes what France’s prostitution exit programme fails to do for women in the industry and points out the flaws and damage these laws create. Following Sweden’s approach to regulating prostitution, France’s ultimate goal is to abolish sex work by punishing clients rather than the workers and utilizing an exit programme to encourage and support women only if they leave sex work entirely. This article includes interviews with sex workers between 2016 and 2018 where they discuss their thoughts on the exit programme. They believe that it connects back to the conventional idea that women in sex work are victims that need help from the law in order to stop prostituting themselves. It also fails to properly protect and support the rights of working women; it encourages the thought of sex work being immoral and disregards the autonomy and rights of these women as long as they choose to stay in sex work. This programme also has evidently refused immigrant and Nigerian women’s applications due to restrictive immigrant policy and racism. I can use this article to prove that simply legalizing sex work isn’t enough and emphasize the flaws that France specifically creates in their attempt to abolish prostitution. Aside from the racist and misogynistic issues rooted in France’s exit programme, I will also point out the true usefulness of it and if it really does benefit sex workers and those who are trafficked. Calogero Giametta, a professor in criminology, utilizes his Ph.D. in Sociology to specifically research anti-human trafficking policies and how they affect sex workers. Hélène Le Bail has a doctorate in political science and focuses her research on female routes of migration (marriage, sex work, etc.). Both authors are well-educated in sociology and political science and their research focusing on sex work make their article reliable.

1. “By analysing the exit programme through the prism of sexual humanitarianism reveals how such mechanism can contribute to crystallise gendered narratives of sexual predation and victimisation and deny sex workers’ diversity and agency.”
2. “By instituting a distinction between the deserving and non-deserving sex workers, the government’s plan to eliminate sex work strengthens the stigma around those who have decided to do this work.”