Swedish report based on wrong Danish numbers for street prostitution

News also reported today in Ekstra Bladet: perhaps a press awakening is underway?

Press Statement from Danish sexworkers interest organisation SIO (Sexarbejdernes InteresseOrganisation) in response to the Swedish evaluation of their law against purchase of sexual services. Released 3 July 2010.

Swedish report based on wrong numbers for Denmark: Now Reden (Danish NGO) must tell the truth

It is on the basis of wrong numbers that the Swedish report concludes that there has been a high increase in the number of sexworkers in the streets in Denmark. The wrong numbers come from Reden in Copenhagen, who now must come forward and correct their misinformation, which they over a number of years have reported to the public.

In the official statistics the number of visitors to Reden has been made equal with the number of sexworkers working on the street. But Reden has misreported how many visitors they have in order to create a picture of Denmark as ‘The Brothel of The Nordic countries’ – next to the Swedish paradise. Reden’s misinformation is documented in a number of answers to Parliament from former Social Minister Karen Ellemann, and this is the background for, why SFI (a national social research institution) has now been asked to start over with a completely new counting.

Reden has claimed that there are more than 1200 sexworkers in the streets of Copenhagen. Estimates from the police and Reden International suggest that the number is only around 200. In Århus og Odense (2nd- and 3rd-largest cities in Denmark) there has been a continuous fall in the number of sexworkers in the streets over the latest decades and the same is most likely the case in Copenhagen (where Reden reports from).

Thus the Swedes cannot conclude their law has had any effect in limiting the number of sexworkers.

Reden in Copenhagen still refuses to inform how many visitors they really have. SIO demands that the organisation tell the truth. Reden every year receives millions in funding from the government and it is a scandal that they use their status to spread untruthful propaganda.

Contact:
Susanne Møller, Spokeswoman, Sexarbejdernes InteresseOrganisation
Phone: +45 501 501 60

For facts about the misinformation from Reden in Copenhagen, see answers from Social Minister Karen Ellemann here.

Reden has deceived in 3 different ways:

1) The number of visitors is accumulated over a number of years instead of only accounting for one year at the time.

2) Minimum 400 visitors are double registered (registered as several different users).

3) Reden claims all visitors are sexworkers, even though many of them are not.

Original Danish press release

9 thoughts on “Swedish report based on wrong Danish numbers for street prostitution

  1. Stephen Paterson

    Very interesting. I’ve been wondering occasionally about referral numbers to Eaves/Poppy in London, which have been related to Westminster on occasion to back up the UK anti-trafficking initiatives. Yet I do know they had very few referrals during our major anti-sex trafficking drives.

    I guess in all the spare time you have, Laura(!), you couldn’t summarise Karen Ellemann’s answers referred to in English for us?

    Reply
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  4. P. Hansen

    I can only say, there has never been som many streetprostitutes in Copenhagen as now. So who is talking the truth. SIO has a very big interst in keeping the ban away.

    Reply
  5. Steen Schapiro

    Re street prostitutes: It is now a proven fact, also confirmed by the Danish government, that the Danish NGO Reden have falsified and greatly excaggerated the numbers. You can read more about the scam here (in Danish, use a web translator):
    http://www.seksualpolitik.dk/tema-reden.html#talfusk

    But street prostitution only amounts to about 10 percent of prostitution in Denmark. The Swedish report also claims that all Danish prostitution has tripled over the last decade – this is completely (!) unfounded, and scientific valid numbers show a small decline – once the falsified numbers mentioned above have been corrected.

    Reply
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