Whats more, the Act makes the purchase of sexual services a punishable offense, and the provisions concerning "Equality between Men and Women" regarding sexual harassment in the workplace have been strengthened.
The Swedish penalty is a fine or imprisonment for up to six months, and attempted purchase is also punishable. A progress report brought by Ms. Andersson says that monitors of the legislation, which is so new (having taken effect on Jan. 1, 1999), have had "difficulty of overseeing compliance with the prohibition with respect to hidden prostitution, and the need for clarification on the situations and relations that fall within the scope of the act. There are also difficulties concerning proof when the perpetrator denies having committed the act." It was also pointed out that "the legislation is so new that police detection methods can be expected to be developed and refined, and that the definition of the crime will be made clearer as increasing numbers of cases reach the courts." It also says that prosecutors have displayed "initial caution, and have chiefly pursued known cases in the courts in order to obtain clarification on the sanctions issues, and the Prosecutor-General has drawn attention to the difficulties in interpreting the new legislation concerning the meaning of "sexual relation" and "casual".
The law has had an effect on the activities of prostitution houses, but men who buy sex have had to go to the nearest countries to obtain it, said Ms. Andersson.
Her profile of Swedish society should be a source of envy for advocates of gender equality. She said Swedish women enjoy equal labor opportunities with men, and what makes it easy for women to enjoy economic productivity is the presence of day-care centers at their places of work even at the houses of legislature. Women who may have to stay home towards their child-delivery and post-delivery are aided by state benefits, including paternity and parental leaves for their husbands for several months, during which time they receive 80 percent of their office salaries. Fathers take care of their children as a matter of course. "It is no longer a shame for men to attend to their children," said Ms. Andersson.
Ambassador Ulf Hakansson had words of praise for Ms. Andersson, whom he described as having worked hard to make more women join Parliament (43.7 percent of parliamentary positions are held by women). But Ms. Andersson modestly ascribed gender gains to Ms. Birgitta Dahl, the first female Speaker of Parliament, who has formed a network of female speakers around the world; in 1999 there were 18 such speakers. It was also Ms. Dahl who introduced day care centers in Swede legislative houses, something that even the non-biased male legislators initially found curious.