Toulouse: sex workers against the penalization of clients
Sex workers have functions, Wednesday, April 13, at the Capitole metro in Toulouse, to denounce the “precarization” of their activity since the law of abolition of prostitution of 2016 which makes it possible to penalize customers.
Ephemeral gathering, choreographed performance, it is in an artistic form that disturbed, Wednesday, April 13 at the Capitole metro in Toulouse, sex workers who consider themselves victims of the law criminal deization of clients of prostitution, invalidated six years ago.
This law of April 13, 2016, known as the abolition of prostitution, has in fact repealed the crime of racism, and validated the verbalization of customers – with a fine of 1,500 euros which can go up to 3,750 euros in the event of recidivism – sometimes supplemented by an awareness stage. Except that on the ground, despite the municipal decrees, things have not changed much.
“On a left field…”
The tone is set on the national police side. “We left the field too much on this subject, regrets a Toulouse policeman. The judicial police manage prostitution but with four investigators, they are more interested in pimps, especially in cases with young minors, than in the turbulent life of street prostitution. »
On the departmental security side, it is explained, “the narcotics and underground economy unit deals with prostitution, after all the rest, which leaves little time. Street operations still take place regularly in collaboration with the municipal police.
However, this is not the feeling of sex workers who denounce the degradation and precariousness of their working conditions. According to June Charlot, health mediator and project manager at the Grisélidis association, organizer of the event, the verbalization of customers is one of the main causes.
“Customers are more afraid than before 2016”
“Since the 2016 law, it is very clear that customers are more afraid of being fined,” he notes. You should know that the fine is sent to their home. There are fewer customers in the street and that creates a precariousness of the activity. There are people who increase their working hours, day and night, and the customers who stay have more power to negotiate prices, condom use, practices, etc. The soups that we distributed during the maraudes, which were to share a moment of conviviality with the people who worked outside, became their real meal”.
If no figure is given by the municipal police in Toulouse in terms of verbalization of clients of prostitution, the operations “are regular”, confides a union source who completes:
“It is not exceptional to verbalize”
“It is not exceptional to verbalize customers, it is regular. The municipal police officers give them a summons to appear in court where the public prosecutor decides on the amount of the fine. The problem with these verbalizations is that it is necessary to note the flagrante delicto. There was certainly the Covid period when prostitutes lost customers and it is obvious that those we see in the boulevard areas in Toulouse did not choose to be there. »
The other dark face of prostitution, if we are to believe the pessimistic assessment of the High Council for Equality between Women and Men (HCE), published on Wednesday April 13.
“It is estimated today that between 30,000 and 50,000 people are victims of prostitution in France, among them at least 10,000 are minors”, indicates the HCE which advocates an “acceleration” of legislation to stem the scourge.