Studies show that in countries where there are laws prohibiting prostitution, up to 90% of the women concerned have successfully managed to abandon this activity due to the aid provided by the authorities. This was revealed by a technical report prepared by experts belonging to the Project ‘Education of Human Affectivity and Sexuality' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) at the University of Navarra.

The work indicates that nations such as Sweden "criminalize those who pay for this ‘service', not the people who sell their ‘body'", as a part of the plan of action "to prevent violence against women," with the aim of helping more people to abandon the practice of prostitution. And compared to what it is sometimes argued, these measures "significantly reduce street prostitution and do not cause increases in rape and violence against women."

The document also refers to the situation in countries where prostitution has been legalized, such as in Germany, in 2002. Sex workers can receive a pension at the time of retirement because they have paid social security contributions. However, this has not succeeded in reducing cases of sexual exploitation and trafficking, and it has not improved labor or hygiene conditions of these ‘workers.'

"Laws prohibiting prostitution seek to ensure equality, protect women and minors and prevent serious abuses of human rights", the authors say. In many circumstances -they state- it is not reasonable to think that a ‘client' can have total safety when facing an adult or that the person in question is offering services without being coerced. In practice, the attempt to distinguish between the purchase of a sexual service free from violence, where the paying client respects the limits of a sexual transaction, and authentic sexual abuse is complicated."

Proposing measures to be taken in an international and global context.

Experts from the University of Navarra stress the need to "prohibit this practice through an international and global context of measures, covering all the complexities involved in solving the problem of human trafficking."

Among the measure proposed, the following stand out: addressing the demand made by clients and pimps, especially chasing those who traffic in criminal networks, and identifying those who facilitate all of this and the operating exploiters, in general; reducing the "supply", making sure that no one perceives the practice of prostitution as a necessity, and rehabilitating and reintegrating victims; strengthening communities, increasing economic opportunities, promoting equality between men and women, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration of professionals and improving the training of law enforcers; and strengthening the affective-sexual youth education,  emphasizing respect for a person's dignity and the centrality of human love.

Jokin de Irala, principal investigator and professor of the Faculty of Medicine, and three other members of the ICS project: Carlos Beltramo; Alfonso Osorio Rebellón-Yohn, professor of the Faculty of Education and Psychology; and Cristina Lopez del Burgo, professor of the Faculty of Medicine, have signed this work.

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