Norway to offer language courses to foreign prostitutes

Jul 20, 2008, 12:46 GMT

Oslo - Foreign prostitutes working in the Norwegian city of Bergen are to be offered language courses and information about their legal rights, reports said Sunday.

'With better knowledge of Norwegian it will be easer to cope in society and have a better life,' Red Cross official Lene Steimler told the online edition of the Bergens Tidende newspaper.

More than half the estimated 400 to 550 prostitutes in the city come from outside Norway, many from eastern Europe and Nigeria.

The courses are due to start in September. Steimler is coordinating them with city officials. One of the aims is to increase the sex workers' trust in the police and health services.

'Self-defence training is also being considered. When it becomes illegal to buy sexual favours, prostitutes will go underground and the risks will increase,' Steimler said.

Norway is also planning to introduce a bill making it illegal to pay for sex. It will apply inside the Scandinavian country and to Norwegian residents when they are outside Norway.

A ban has been debated for several years, and is likely to pass in parliament since it has the backing of the ruling coalition as well as the opposition Christian Democrats.

As in neighbouring Sweden, prostitutes who offer their services will not be punished.

Researcher May-Len Skilbrei, who has studied prostitution and trafficking, said knowledge of Norwegian might help the prostitutes seek other job opportunities.

It could also protect them, since they will be able to communicate with their neighbours and no longer feel isolated, she said.