Icelandic Government presses ahead with legislation imposing potential prison sentence for purchase of sexual services, despite opposition from sex worker community.
In July 2026, the Icelandic government published a proposal for an amendment to its criminal code, seeking to introduce a potential prison sentence of up to one year for purchase of sexual services from consenting adults. In response, Red Umbrella Iceland, alongside the European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance (ESWA), put together a letter writing campaign urging the Government of Iceland to reject the proposed amendments to the penal code, and move towards a rights-based approach.
Despite opposition from Icelandic sex workers and their allies, the Icelandic Government is pressing ahead with legislation shown to be detrimental to sex workers’ health and human rights. The government has chosen to ignore both the Icelandic sex worker community, as well as the presentation of scientific evidence brought forth by ESWA, and endorsed by over 42 organisations across Europe and Central Asia, including Aids Action Europe, European Harm Reduction Network, European Centre for Human Rights, ILGA Europe, and La Strada International.
Furthermore, the Government provided a window of merely 14 days for the second stage of review (closing October 2nd 2026), a substantially shorter period than is common in such cases. This undermines the democratic decision making process and signals that the Government is uninterested in ensuring the voices of the Icelandic public are adequately heard. Instead, the Government has opted to expedite the process of passing legislation it is aware to be controversial, in order to avoid scrutiny.
By doing so, the Government has shown that its supposed commitment toward equality, as well as protecting victims of human trafficking (the alleged aim of the proposed legislation), are little more than a public spectacle. For example, as a result of our campaign efforts, the Ministry of Gender Equality invited the sex worker community to a meeting in mid-August, during which a representative assured that sex workers’ perspectives would be taken into account in consideration of the reform. Despite hearing directly from sex workers about their fears of the immense harm that would be brought about by the proposed penal reform, the Government has chosen to prioritise their own agenda.
This has left us with little choice than to name and shame the Icelandic government’s tactics. Should the Icelandic government press forward in imposing imprisonment associated with purchase of sexual services, it is sex workers,’ and particularly, those most marginalised who will suffer.
Stay tuned, for a petition for Icelandic residents put together by ESWA and Red Umbrella Iceland to express their support for sex workers’ rights, and demand the Icelandic government reject the draft bill.
| Read ESWA's full submission to the Icelandic government here. |
