Prostitution: Encyclopedia II - Prostitution - Socio-economic and legal status of prostitution

Prostitution - Socio-economic and legal status of prostitution

There is a significant range in the socioeconomic status of prostitutes in Western countries. At the low end, a significant number of prostitutes are also drug addicts who use prostitution to pay for their habit, sometimes referred to as 'crack whores' because of the prevalence of this behavior among some communities of crack cocaine users. At the other end of the spectrum, 'high class' prostitutes may charge very high prices for their services and may be very selective about their clients.

In many countries, illegal immigrants work in prostitution, sometimes against their will and generally in circumstances where they feel they have no other choice. Often these prostitutes are kept in financial debt by the brothel owners, who charge them for their travel and other costs. The arrangement may be such that the prostitutes can never earn enough to pay off the debt. The term used for forcing people into prostitution is "sexual slavery".

In addition to the first world, this also takes place in countries of South Asia such as India and Thailand, where young girls are sometimes sold to brothel owners. In modern day Thailand and India this is becoming much rarer.

Thailand is a destination of sex tourists, travellers from rich countries in search of cheap sexual services. Other popular sex tourism destinations are Brazil, the Caribbean, and former eastern bloc countries.

Female prostitutes, especially street prostitutes, are commonly associated with a pimp, a man who lives off the proceeds of several prostitutes and may offer some protection in return. The relationship between pimp and prostitute is often abusive. In areas where legal restrictions on prostitution are greatest, the power of pimps over prostitutes is increased by the illegality of prostitution. For example, in Finland, immigration law allows the state to deport immigrants suspected of prostitution without a trial; thus in cases of physical abuse by the pimps, the prostitutes are unlikely to seek help from the police, because the prostitutes themselves are deemed criminals.

There are other commercial sexual activities that are generally not classified as prostitution. These include acting and modeling for pornographic materials, even if this involves engaging in sexual intercourse; exotic dancing, which is naked, sexually provocative acting (sometimes involving masturbation) without physical contact with the customer; lap dancing, where the dancer may come into contact with the customer in sexually provocative but strictly limited ways; and the services of professional dominants.

In the case California v. Freeman, the California Supreme Court ruled that adult film makers could not be prosecuted under state laws against prostitution.

Prostitution - Legality of selling sex

At one end of the legal spectrum, prostitution carries the death penalty in some Muslim countries; at the other end, prostitutes are tax-paying and unionised professionals in the Netherlands and brothels are legal and advertising businesses there (however, prostitutes must be at least 18 and the age of consent is 16 in other contexts). The legal situation in Germany, Switzerland and New Zealand is almost as liberal as in the Netherlands (see prostitution in the Netherlands, prostitution in Germany and prostitution in New Zealand). In some countries the legal status of prostitution may vary depending on the activity; in Japan, for example, vaginal prostitution is against the law and fellatio prostitution is legal (note that women who perform fellatio for money are not considered prostitutes in Japan).

In all but two U.S. states, the buying and selling of sexual services is illegal and usually classified as a misdemeanor. Regulated brothels are legal in a number of counties of Nevada (see prostitution in Nevada). In Rhode Island, the bare act of sex for money is not illegal, but street solicitation and operating a brothel are.

Rules vary as to which roles in prostitution are illegal: being a prostitute, being a client, or being a pimp. In Sweden it is legal to sell sex, but since 1999 it has been a crime to buy it. In the case of a prostitute under 18 in the Netherlands, being the client or pimp is illegal, but being the prostitute is not, except if the client is also underage (under 16). In most countries with criminalized prostitution, prostitutes are arrested and prosecuted at a far higher rate than their clients.

In Brazil prostitution per se is legal, but taking advantage or profit from others' prostitution is illegal.

In Spain prostitution is legal in buildings called puticlubs, but only Spanish citizens are allowed to be prostitutes.

Establishments engaged in sexual slavery or owned by organized crime are the highest priority targets of law enforcement actions against prostitution. Police also frequently intervene when prompted by local resident complaints, often directed against street prostitution. In most countries where prostitution is illegal, at least some forms of it are tolerated. This ambiguous status allows the police to extort money or services, particularly information on criminal activities that prostitutes are often well-placed to obtain, from prostitutes in exchange for "looking the other way".

Pimping is a sex crime in almost all jurisdictions. Some other countries retain the ill-defined offence of "living off the proceeds of others' prostitution", one of the Prima facie evidences of which is co-habiting with a prostitute.

In 1949, the United Nations adopted a convention stating that prostitution is incompatible with human dignity, requiring all signing parties to punish pimps and brothel owners and operators and to abolish all special treatment or registration of prostitutes. The convention was ratified by 89 countries but Germany, the Netherlands and the United States did not participate.

Some municipalities in the Netherlands would like a "zero tolerance policy" for brothels, i.e. not allow any, on moral grounds, but by law this is not possible. However, regulations, including restrictions in number and location are common. Whether a zero policy on urban planning grounds is allowed is still unclear.

In his stand up comedy routine "Doin' It Again," George Carlin wonders why prostitution is illegal. In his words, "'Selling' is legal. 'Fucking' is legal. Why isn't 'selling fucking' legal?" He goes on to ask ". . . why should it be illegal to sell something that's perfectly legal to give away?"

Prostitution - Advertising prostitution

In countries where prostitution is legal, advertising it may be legal (as in the Netherlands) or illegal (as in Germany). In countries where prostitution is illegal, advertising it is usually also illegal.

Covert advertising for prostitution can take a number of forms:

• by cards in newsagents' windows
• by cards placed in public telephone enclosures: so-called tart cards
• by euphemistic advertisements in regular magazines and newspapers (for instance, talking of "massages" or "relaxation")
• in specialist contact magazines
• via the World Wide Web

Prostitution - Regulated prostitution

In some jurisdictions, such as Nevada (see prostitution in Nevada), Switzerland and all but one Australian states, prostitution is legal but heavily regulated.

Such approaches are taken with the stance that prostitution is impossible to eliminate and thus these societies have chosen to regulate it in ways that reduce the more undesirable consequences. Goals of such regulations include controlling sexually transmitted disease, reducing sexual slavery, controlling where brothels may operate and dissociating prostitution from crime syndicates.

The Dutch legalisation of prostitution has similar objectives, as well as improving health and working conditions for the women and weakening the link between prostitution and criminality.

Daily Planet was a brothel in Melbourne, Australia whose shares were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2003, before legal difficulties forced its closure. There are various regulatory regimes governing prostitution in Australia and a level of increasing professionalism is being seen in the industry with the establishment of business associations like the Queensland Adult Business Association [1]that ascribe to a strict ethical code which entrenches the independence of service providers.

Prostitution - Prostitution of children

Regarding the prostitution of children the laws on prostitution as well as those on sex with a child apply. If prostitution in general is legal there is usually a minimum age requirement for legal prostitution that is higher than the general age of consent (see above for some examples). Although some countries do not single out patronage of child prostitution as a separate crime, same act is punishable as sex with an underage.

Prostitution - Prostitution and illegal immigration

A difficulty in many developed countries is the situation where persons immigrate illegally and work in the sex trade. (This is not quite the same issue as kidnapping and sex slavery). These people face deportation, and so do not have recourse to the law. Hence there are brothels that do not adhere to the usual legal standards intended to safeguard public health and the safety of the workers.

Prostitution - Sex tourism

Sex tourism is tourism, partially or fully for the purpose of having sex, usually with prostitutes. Sex tourism destinations are typically poor countries, where poverty drives people into prostitution. Examples of these countries are: Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Philippines, Cuba and Brazil. Cambodia has become a notorious destination for pedophiles and Argentina is now home to a significant number of so called sexpatriates, who have emigrated there to avail of the cheap peso and the opportunities for sexual exploitation Argentina's depressed economy gives them.

Some pedophiles use sex tourism to have access to sex with children that is unavailable in their home country. These sex tourists organize themselves around a number of web sites where they boast about their conquests, share photos of their victims, discuss tips on how to have sex with men, women and children in foreign countries at the best possible rates and how to avoid detection both at home and abroad. Although most countries with a major sex tourism industry are working on attempting to reduce or eliminate sex tourism, the sex tourists have vested interests to promote their cause. Cities like Angeles in the Philippines and Pattaya in Thailand are given over almost entirely to foreigners who go there to buy sexual favors, both legal and illegal.

Several western countries have recently enacted laws with extraterritorial reach punishing citizens who, as sex tourists, engage in sex with minors in other countries. These laws are rarely enforced since the crime usually goes undiscovered. [2] [3] [4]

Prostitution - Violence against prostitutes

Prostitutes are often victims of violent crime. [5] Perpetrators include violent clients, pimps, and corrupt law-enforcement officers. Prostitutes (particularly those engaging in street prostitution) are also sometimes the targets of serial killers, who may consider them easy targets, or use the religious and social stigma associated with prostitutes as justification for their murder. Robert Pickton, a Canadian who lived near Vancouver, made headlines after the bodies of several prostitutes were found buried on his farm. He now stands charged with the murder of 27 Vancouver area women. Being criminals themselves, prostitutes are less likely than the law-abiding to be looked for by police if they disappear, making them favored targets of predators.

Prostitution - Human or sex trafficking

Due to the illegal nature of trafficking (in this context, the illegal forced transportation of people), the exact extent of women and children forced into prostitution is unknown. A US Government report published in 2003, estimates that 800,000-900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year. [6] Between 80% and 90% of victims trafficked across international borders are female and the majority of those are women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced into prostitution. In addition, internal passport controls in Russia and Ukraine have led to widespread internal sex trafficking.

The 1996 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography estimates that about one million children in Asia alone are victims of the sex trade. According to the International Labour Organization, the problem is especially alarming in Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia and Nepal. [7]

Human trafficking is so common now that it is the third most profitable criminal activity in the world after illegal drugs and arms trafficking. Globally, forced labour - which includes sexual exploitation - generates $31bn, half of it in the industrialised world, a tenth in transition countries, the International Labour Organization says in a report on forced labour ("A global alliance against forced labour", ILO, 11 May 2005).

Trafficking in people has been facilitated by porous borders and advanced communication technologies, it has become increasingly transnational in scope and highly lucrative. Unlike drugs or arms, women and children can be "sold" several times. The trafficking in human beings is not the same as people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; in people trafficking, the trafficking victim is kidnapped and enslaved.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Socio-economic and legal status of prostitution", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki