Prostitution ("professional fornication") was regulated in Denmark during the nineteenth century, with police playing an active part.
Nineteenth-century policies to prostitution were driven by the idea that it was a primary source for sexually transmitted diseases, with women being registered and subject to increasingly regular examinations.
[4] In 2006, the government announced a campaign to combat prostitution and racketeers involved in organising the trade and human trafficking, following a commissioned police report entitled Strategi for en styrket politimæssig indsats mod prostitutionens bagmænd (Strategy for an enhanced police effort against the masterminds of prostitution).
[5] In February 2013, Justice Minister Morten Bødskov announced further measures and introduced a bill, arising from the 2012 report of the Criminal law Council, extending provisions against exploitation from brothels to escort services and street prostitution, increasing penalties and giving police more powers.
[6] In 2009, the Ministry of Justice ordered the Criminal Code Council (Straffelovrådet) to undertake a comprehensive review of Chapter 24, and they delivered their report in November 2012.
Amongst their recommendations were; In addition, the Council proposed adjusting the maximum penalties for the participation of a child under 18, for payment or promise of payment, having sexual relations with a client, or for being a spectator to a show with pornographic performances involving a child under 18, in order to meet the demands of the EU directive on combating the sexual abuse of children.
On the contrary, a ban on buying sex could have negative consequences for a number of prostitutes in terms of worsening economic conditions and in the form of increased stigma.
On receiving their report, the Minister of Justice (Justitsministeren) Morten Bødskov made these remarks: "The government has also decided to follow the Criminal Code Council recommendation not to impose a ban on buying sex (købesex).
§ 229 (1) Any person who, for the purpose of gain or in frequently repeated cases, promotes sexual immorality by acting as an intermediary, or who derives profit from the activities of any person engaging in sexual immorality as a profession, shall be liable to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three years or, in mitigating circumstances, to simple detention or a fine.
(2) Any person who lets a room in a hotel or an inn for the carrying on of prostitution as a profession shall be liable to simple detention or imprisonment for any term not exceeding one year or, in mitigating circumstances, to a fine.
The largest group, about 900, come from Thailand and, typically, these workers hold a residence permit or Danish citizenship.
The next largest group, totaling about 1,000, are from European Union (EU) countries in Central and Eastern Europe, but tend to commute between Denmark and their homeland; such individuals are therefore not entitled to receive assistance from Danish social services.
[14][15] The then-Social Democrat (S) government of Poul Nyrup Rasmussen reformed the penal code on 17 March 1999, coming into force on 1 July 1999 to decriminalise prostitution.
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[19] The report stressed that prostitution cannot be treated as a monolithic or homogeneous entity, in particular drawing a distinction between outdoor (street) and indoor work.
[20] In a tradition associated with Greenlandic Inuit, hosts have been reported to have offered their wives to guests in a form of "hospitable prostitution".