The vote passed Feb 26, 2014 with a large majority of 343 to 139. Mary Honeyball, the Labour MEP for London who put forward the resolution, said it would target “men who treat women’s bodies as a commodity without criminalising women who are driven into sex work”. Read a letter of support for Honeyball’s resolution signed by more than 70 researchers and academics. France, Ireland and Canada are considering implementation of the Swedish law on prostitution which criminalizes sex buyers, decriminalizes the woman or man selling sex in prostitution, and provides funding for exit support services.

Comments and analysis on this vote by Meghan Murphy. Nicholas Kristof discusses U.S. focus on sex buyers.