Response to interpellation 2025/26:208 on measures against the digital sex trade
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns measures against digital sex trafficking and sexualized violence online. L argues that the government prioritizes combating men's violence against women and prostitution 1, and that legislative changes from July 2025 criminalize the purchase of sexual acts at a distance 1. L considers the law to be normative 2 and emphasizes the link between sex trafficking and organized crime 3. L wants to push for technical solutions and regulatory frameworks that protect victims and children 3, and argues that the government has a constructive approach to the CSAM regulation 3 4. C argues that the internet has become a free zone for sex purchases 5 and that Sweden is decades behind 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)
Madam Speaker! Helena Vilhelmsson has asked me what measures I and the government intend to take in light of a report from the Gender Equality Authority to combat the extensive digital sex trade and protect the vulnerable.
Helena Vilhelmsson has also asked what measures I and the government intend to take to meet the documented negative attitude development towards equality among young men in order to reverse this development and strengthen the long-term violence prevention work.
I would like to begin by thanking the interpellor for the questions.
In the budget bill for 2026 (prop. 2025/26:1), the government states that it remains a high priority to prevent and combat men's violence against women, violence in close relationships and honor-related violence and oppression, as well as prostitution and human trafficking. The government also proposes increased funding for the government's upcoming action plan against prostitution and human trafficking, which aims to prevent and combat exploitation in prostitution and human trafficking for all purposes, to strengthen support and protection for vulnerable persons, and to have a special focus on children and young people.
The vulnerability in prostitution has changed in step with how society in general has changed. New contact routes have opened via the internet, and sexual exploitation can now also occur in digital channels.
On July 1, 2025, legislative amendments entered into force which mean that the person who pays for a sexual act performed at a distance, for example via the internet, can be punished for purchase of sexual act. The provision on pimping was also changed in a corresponding manner.
The legislative changes concerning the purchase of sexual acts performed remotely have now been in force for just over five months, and the government is, of course, following the developments.
Regarding the interpellant's question about meeting the negative attitude development towards equality among young men, I agree that equality policy needs to be developed to more clearly include boys and young men, especially when it comes to issues of gender-stereotypical norms and masculinity.
In June this year, the Agency for Youth and Civil Society Affairs was therefore tasked with producing a knowledge compilation on the equality challenges of boys and young men. Last week, the government decided to task the Gender Equality Authority with carrying out knowledge-raising measures on how girls' and young women's life choices and health are affected by the use of social media from an equality perspective. This assignment also includes investigating what expectations young men form regarding women based on the content they are exposed to in social media. Both of these assignments should provide synergy effects and also contribute to strengthening the long-term work on preventing violence.
It is important to work long-term so that violence does not occur at all. The Agency for Youth and Civil Society Issues has a mandate to develop and disseminate information initiatives and knowledge support in order to prevent young people from being exploited for sexual or pornographic purposes or being subjected to sexual violence, abuse, or violations digitally or physically. The support can be directed towards professionals and volunteers who meet young people and can concern both persons who are subjected to [abuse] and persons who subject someone else. The mandate shall be final-reported by March 31, 2028 (S2024/01109).
The Gender Equality Authority has had several government assignments focusing on preventing violence in young people's close relationships. The authority has, among other things, financed research studies to strengthen knowledge about violence in young people's close relationships and has also joined as a collaborative partner in the national violence prevention work "Jealousy is not romantic" together with the 1000 Möjligheter Foundation, the County Administrative Boards, and the Swedish Police Authority.
Helena Vilhelmsson (C)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for coming here so that we can discuss this.
First, I want to say that a completely decisive vote took place in the EU Parliament earlier today. It concerned whether women in Europe should have the right to safe and secure abortions. I am wearing pink today to celebrate that the outcome was good and to show my support.
To be honest, I did not think that I would have to experience this. I did not think that I would have to fight the same fight my mother fought 50 years ago for free abortion, either in Sweden or in Europe. But now we stand here and discuss how we should constitutionally protect abortion in the best way. We know – and have seen – how quickly women's rights can be dismantled, and we in Sweden are unfortunately not immune.
I have initiated today's debate because the Gender Equality Authority, in a new, alarming mapping, has shown how extensive the digital sex trade is. The report shows that websites that offer and organize sex purchases have hundreds of thousands of visitors every month. On these platforms, which in practice function as digital brothels, sex buyers leave reviews where they review and rate their own sexual assaults.
Let us for a moment ponder that there is a site where minors – or adults, for that matter – can be hired to commit criminal acts such as shootings and bombings. Children and young people can post that they are "looking for work." Hallicks organize the illegal activity, and the criminal gangs review the children.
We can also point out that there is a site where criminal networks describe where there are many elderly people who have home care and how often they receive visits – in short, how easy it is to knock on, trick them and steal things.
Furthermore, we can imagine a site where it is described when you can most easily visit the city's grocery store and steal food. Times, visitor pressure, opening hours, and security staffing are described.
All these examples, some of which perhaps even exist in reality, would certainly garner great attention and lead to protest lists and actions from the government if they were as public as the digital brothels actually are. But when it comes to sex buying, all parts of human trafficking and exploitation can occur in digital environments. We are talking about serious crimes that can carry a sentence of ten years in prison. It concerns recruitment, advertising, and payment on websites that openly market sex buying. Images, films, and live-streamed abuses are spread. There is also a kind of rating system where men review women and girls as if it were a service or a commodity. We are talking here about a culture that truly normalizes crime.
If human trafficking is suspected, as is openly stated on these sites, it is primarily described as a negative experience for the men who pay for the abuse. It is about them not getting what they paid for. It can be compared with, to take one of my examples, that a boy would be recruited for criminal acts on a site and then be reviewed as bad because he was too scared and did not do a good job.
The Minister writes much in their response about how the government is working to counteract this, including through high priority in the budget to combat men's violence against women and increased funding for an upcoming action plan against prostitution and human trafficking. The government shall also follow the development of the new law that prohibits remote sex purchases, that is, the coercion to perform sexual acts in front of a camera.
Does the Minister think that this also hits the digital brothels in a purposeful way, which are actually mediation sites for crimes of the worst kind?
Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)
Madam Speaker! Helena Vilhelmsson points out several important things, but first and foremost that we can never take equality for granted. Therefore, the government continues to work, among other things, to constitutionally protect the right to abortion, and we also drive equality issues within the EU.
Helena Vilhelmsson's interpellation shows that the counterforces against equality and against democratic and fundamental human rights exist in various places both nationally and internationally. What we see is a backlash against equality when the counterforces move forward their positions. In that case, it is absolutely crucial that we do the same and are clear that increased efforts for equality are needed both in Sweden and in Europe. It is not just about fundamental human rights but also about growth potential, innovative power, and the opportunity for both boys and girls as well as men and women to reach their full potential.
Member Helena Vilhelmsson also brings up the appalling report that the Gender Equality Authority submitted just a few weeks ago. The fundamental problem is that for many years there has been a "let it go" attitude toward things that happen online and that we would never accept on the street or at the kitchen table in the physical world. Here we are on our way to catching up, but we still have a long way to go. That is also what the member testifies to in connection with the report.
I am, however, happy and proud that the government has taken important steps in the right direction. The law that criminalizes digital sex purchases also covers pimping and is extremely important. It came into effect on July 1 this year, and when the police and the prosecution service with several others catch up with their method development to be able to utilize this law, it will have an effect in individual cases. But the law is also important because it is normative and sends a clear signal that women's bodies are not for sale, whether online or in the physical world. The government is following this work, and if we notice that more knowledge or further toughening of penalties is needed, we will return.
Helena Vilhelmsson (C)
Madam Speaker! The Swedish sex purchase law is based on the principle that the person who sells sex is a crime victim and that the legal responsibility lies with the buyer. That this principle must be exactly the same and apply with the same force in the digital world as in the physical world, we agree. It is therefore completely unacceptable that the internet has become a free zone for sex buyers and pimps. Here, the exploitation is completely normalized, and women's and children's bodies are treated as commodities on a conveyor belt.
The serious aspect of the Gender Equality Authority's report is that it shows clear signs of organized crime. We must remember that this is a major source of income for the criminal gangs. In many of the women's advertisements, the same telephone number recurs, which means that a third party, a pimp, controls the women. In some reviews, the men write that they met a different woman than the one shown in the advertisement or that the woman appears pressured and scared. There are also reviews where the men suspect human trafficking, even though it is prohibited by law.
How can it be like this? Why don't we hear more protests? Why doesn't the government submit more propositions to address this problem? I cannot help but think that if it had concerned sites where children sell services to criminal networks, it would have looked different.
I understand that this is primarily a question for the Minister for Justice, but I hope that the Minister for Equality has the mandate to be a driving and unifying force since equality policy is a horizontal policy area.
So, as for the preventive work. It is invaluable because surveys show that equality is not a particularly important issue for boys and young men. This should be seen in light of the polarization we see in the world today. The Youth Barometer has shown the same thing. Equality is not a politically prioritized area for young voters, and it is extremely serious because harmful norms can then take hold and counteract the progress that has actually been made. Equality is not an issue for women, but an issue for men and women.
The Minister points out good things in her answer: knowledge synthesis, authorities that are to produce knowledge support, and the impact of social media on girls and boys, i.e., what messages social media sends and what expectations it creates. That it is significant is indisputable, not least when it comes to violent pornography. I remember so well when Ungarelationer.se wrote that the most common question to them was: "Do you have to agree to choking sex?" It really hurt in the stomach to read that. Let me therefore thank the Minister for having pointed out exactly choking sex, or strangulation violence, as a problem. It is brave; keep it up! Even if legislation is not a solution, stand your ground! Do not downplay the problem, because it exists!
An equally important question regarding violent pornography is how the DSA Regulation shall be implemented in Sweden. The EU's Digital Services Act shall create a safer digital environment, and here Sweden should take the chance to be at the forefront. We have, however, not received the answers we desire from Minister for Digitalisation Erik Slottner. He evades the question and cannot answer whether protection against violent porn shall also be included in the new legislation when it is implemented. I believe that Nina Larsson has said that she assumes that violent pornography shall be covered by the law, but "assumes" is somewhat uncertain.
Therefore, I ask the question: Will the government include protection against violence pornography when this EU regulation is to be implemented?
Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank Member Helena Vilhelmsson for important questions and aspects on this. The Member highlights, not least, the connection to the criminal economy. I believe that it is something that we all need to raise much more.
That women, above all, are subjected to all these abuses in such an immense amount is due to the fact that there is a demand. Many studies show that this demand is widespread across all social classes. Men from all possible backgrounds and social classes choose to ignore the abuses that these women are subjected to.
They also choose not to see the strong connection to the serious organized crime, which exposes society and not just these women – which is a heinous crime in itself – to so much danger and harm. The connection to all shootings and other conceivable things that people are also affected by because of serious organized crime is very important to highlight and discuss more. I thank Member Helena Vilhelmsson for doing so.
The members of the committee also raise the important cross-border regulatory issues. They are extremely important and also highlight this problem. If there is anything that threatens equality in general, it is in many ways the normalization of sexualized violence and of sexual exploitation. In all respects, it is driven by different actors and different events and phenomena on the internet.
How do we regulate it, when we are to move from a completely free view of everything that happens online to now needing to protect crime victims, our democracy, and our fundamental human rights? It is important that we move forward there. I believe in DSA and in continuing so that we get a good implementation of it in Sweden. We shall find a good balance with both freedom of speech and privacy and ensure that we have accurate and effective regulations that also regulate activities online.
One such issue is the CSAM Regulation, which this government has tried to have a constructive approach toward. Together within the EU, we can find ways to protect children against the dissemination of child pornographic content. But there are several actors, also in this chamber, who are working in a completely different direction. They do not want to ensure that we get a regulatory framework to remove the type of horrific and vile crimes that child pornography crimes and the dissemination of the abuse against the crime victims actually are.
That is where we are in a shift in society today. But if there is something that we need to put more effort and time into, it is precisely to continue pushing forward to find technical solutions and good and accurate regulatory frameworks that also safeguard privacy and freedom of speech.
Helena Vilhelmsson (C)
Madam Speaker! I share the view that we must admit that we have been naive – absolutely. We are decades behind. We are in the process of losing an entire generation of children and young people, who are getting a very distorted picture of what sex, cohabitation, and relationships are. It is a major problem.
I would not say that it is due only to naivety and lack of awareness. I also believe it lies in the tradition and the worldview that we have carried with us for hundreds of years: that women are, to some extent, subordinate to men. We both surely still face questions about why it is permitted to sell sex but not to buy it. We both know that it is not about the world's oldest profession but about the world's oldest oppression. We must continue to be extremely clear about that.
The problem is how we are to reach the purely digital brothels, the purely digital sites. I believe it is to make it a bit easy for oneself to refer to the new law that prohibits remote sex purchases and which has been in place for half a year. I mean that what the Gender Equality Authority is reporting on is of a completely different dignity. It is a completely different thing. It concerns a site that, obviously completely openly and legally, turns women and children into a commodity, a product. We must move away from that.
I understand the connection the Minister refers to: the traditional conflict with freedom of speech. But it must be weighed against our health. Freedom of speech for whom? For the one who commits a crime or the one who is victimized?
These are discussions that we will have to return to. I thank you for a good discussion and wish the Minister, the Speaker, and everyone listening a Merry Christmas.
Jämställdhetsministern Nina Larsson (L)
Madam Speaker! Many thanks, Member Helena Vilhelmsson, for the commitment and for the Member raising this important issue! It is one of the worst challenges for equality in today's society. The normalization of sexualized violence and sexual exploitation occurs broadly, just as the Member describes, on several levels, at different levels and from different sides.
Grossly sexualized violence within pornography is an important part that the member also points out. We see abuses and other occurrences and influence operations that glorify various macho ideals. That type of influence operation can come from both a Russian influence actor as well as from a domestic actor.
This is a question that we will have to return to. The government has taken a number of different measures concerning national regulations, legislation, increased penalties, knowledge-raising initiatives, mandates for coordination, and reporting requirements in various ways. They will have an effect for individuals and in Sweden.
We also need to continue the extremely important global regulatory work, not least within the EU. This is an issue that hits globally. We are dealing with massive tech giants. But it is also a question of how we treat human dignity among ourselves, at the kitchen table or on the street. If there is one thing we must ensure, it is to counter the normalization we are now seeing.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.