ABSTRACT
Debates on prostitution policies in Norway have since the 1980s revolved around questions of whether the purchase of sex should be criminalized or not. Such a ban was introduced in 2009, with the Sex Purchase Act. In order to understand the development of Norwegian prostitution policies, it is necessary to take into consideration the existence of an expansive state and a strong support for gender equality. Norway's role in Europe and the world has changed dramatically during the twentieth century, as Norwegian society developed from one of Europe's most rural and impoverished societies under foreign rule, into an independent and modern welfare state that offers universal health-care services and a comprehensive social security system to its citizens. The supporters of the ban emphasized that the Sex Purchase Act, introduced in Sweden in 1999, was believed to have reduced the extent of prostitution, with the argument that criminalization would produce the same effect in Norway.
