If this is the case, it is entirely possible that it has little or nothing to do with the law making purchasing sexual services a crime. During the same period that the law criminalizing the purchase of sexual services has been in place, the anti-trafficking laws in Sweden have also evolved, becoming stricter and more heavily enforced. This alone could result in a reduction in trafficking.
Many measures to reduce trafficking have been put in place, for example: foreign victims of trafficking are granted temporary residence permits for a 30-day or more period with health care and social assistance during which they are encouraged to cooperate with LE or else face deportation; the government in Sweden adopted a national action plan on child sexual exploitation, improved awareness on trafficking issues, and increased internal and international cooperation to combat sex tourism; they fund awareness programs both in Sweden and in trafficking "source" countries as well as organizations that provide rehabilitation, health care, job training, and legal assistance; and so on.
There may very well be some good aspects of some of the prostitution laws and policies and how they are implemented/enforced in countries like Sweden, but that does not mean all their prostitution laws are good. Unfortunately it is very easy for groups with an agenda to portray all the positive outcomes as being due specifically to the criminalization of clients.
There is some research showing negative outcomes in things like safety, health and working conditions. I think, as someone else mentioned, this may be what many people mean when they say the Nordic or Swedish model "doesn't work" - that it is not good for people, especially SPs.
If a group or government's main goal is to simply reduce the number of prostitutes and the measure of a legal model "working" is defined primarily by reduction in prostitution (in the number of prostitutes and/or clients) that is extremely misguided. In addition it is a very difficult thing to measure. It is totally unsurprising that the Swedish govt's research found that less men admit to purchasing sex now and fewer prostitutes are visible on the street. IMO it is nuts to automatically assume that means less prostitution is actually going on.
One can create a study that will conclude or imply almost anything, and the studies that are getting the most funding, publication and media attention are of course going to be ones that are make it look like the government are doing a great job with their relatively recent and unusual prostitution laws.
Another thing is that Sweden is very different from Canada, even if their legal system in Sweden was generally beneficial or effective that does not mean it would have the same effects in Canada. Consider, just as one example, that in Sweden at the time the anti-client law was enacted there were only an estimated ~2,500 prostitutes in Sweden - most estimates on the number of prostitutes just here in Vancouver are greater than that! Remember also that Sweden's official position on prostitution is that it is violence against women. To me, this is the opposite of feminism and denies agency to women, implying that those who are SPs by choice and fine with that as mentally ill victims. (Do non-female prostitutes have agency simply because they are not female?).
Comparisons of the "Nordic Model" to a number of other models (some exist but I haven't personally found a great one yet) might give a little bit better picture, as opposed to the most often cited comparison of Sweden pre 1999 and post 1999. Results considered positive in the latter simply mean that their current law may be better on those measures than the one they had previously. It does not show that it is better than our current or last laws in Canada.
By the way, does anyone even know exactly what the laws regarding prostitution even were in Sweden prior to "The Ban Against the Purchase of Sexual Services" enacted in 1999? I am having a tough time finding that out!
Sorry this is so long!
