Prostitution in Denmark was partly decriminalised in , based partly on the premise that it was easier to police a legal trade than an illegal one. Third-party activities, such as profiting from brothel administration and other forms of procuring , remain illegal activities in Denmark , as do pimping and prostitution of minors.
The Civil Code of , or Christian 5. Prostitution "professional fornication " was regulated in Denmark during the nineteenth century, with police playing an active part.
Nineteenth-century policies to prostitution were driven by the idea that it was a primary source for sexually transmitted diseases , with women being registered and subject to increasingly regular examinations. In , registration of prostitutes was introduced in Copenhagen , with women being registered as prostitutes in the police records, forced to register at a police surveilled 'tolerated' brothel and subjected to regular examinations, with forced hospitalisation during illness.
On 11 February , this policy was officially recognised and given some legal ground, and in , the system of regulated prostitution was officially introduced in Danish law, with legal grounds for forced examination and hospitalisation of suspected prostitutes. Brothels were eventually banned in , and in forceful examination was abandoned.
Decriminalisation occurred in Justice Minister Lene Espersen DFK announced an intensified police effort against traffickers while promising a more sympathetic approach to victims and witnesses, with new police reforms effective 1 January This would replace an earlier strategy due to expire at the end of Amongst their recommendations were;. In addition, the Council proposed adjusting the maximum penalties for the participation of a child under 18, for payment or promise of payment, having sexual relations with a client, or for being a spectator to a show with pornographic performances involving a child under 18, in order to meet the demands of the EU directive on combating the sexual abuse of children.
