A Friendly Reminder This is purely an academic discussion about prostitution and some terms which may offend some of us will be used. As much as possible, the audience is requested requ ested to see and view the topics being presented with an open mind. Prostitution It is the act or practice of engaging engagin g in sex acts for hire. ‡ It is said to be derived from a composition of two Latin words: (preposition) pro and (verb) statuere. A literal translation therefore would be: to expose , to place up front . In most cultures, prostitution is viewed as a deviant profession, either discouraged or illegal; however, motivations vary from the implications of those potentially exposed to that activity to whether it constitutes or not an ex ploitative practice. ‡ Contrary to the popular notion, prostitution is NOT the world s oldest profession profession that would be hunting, gathering and subsistence farming . Brief History As early as 1900 B.C., the ancient society of Mesopotamia recognized the need n eed to protect women's property rights which included female prostitutes. ‡ 6th Cen tury B.C.: Solon Establishes State-Funded Brothels in Greece ‡ 590 A.D.: The newly-converted Reccared I, Visigoth King of Spain, banned prostitution p rostitution as part of an effort to bring his country into alignment with Christian ideology. 1161: King Henry II regulates but does not ban prostitution ‡ 1358: Italy embraces prostitution declaring it as absolutely indispensible to the world. ‡ 1586: Pope Sixtus V mandates death penalty for prostitution ‡ 1802: France establishes bureau of morals ‡ 1932: Forced prostitution in Japan (comfort women) 1971: Nevada permits brothels ‡ 1988: Netherlands defines prostitution as a legal profession ‡ 1999: Sweden takes a feminist approach by classifying prostitution as violence against women ‡ Sex tourism has emerged in the late 20th century as a controversial aspect of Western tourism and globalization. Types of Prostitution Street prostitution Escort services Sex tourism Internet prostitution Prostitution in Japan While the Anti-Prostitution Law of 1956 states that "No person may either do prostitution or become the customer of it," various loopholes, loopho les, liberal interpretations of the law, and loose enforcement have allowed the sex industry to prosper and earn an estimated 2.5 2. 5 trillion yen a year. ‡ The definition of prostitution is strictly limited to coitus. This means sale of numerous acts such as oral sex, anal sex, intercrural sex, and other noncoital sex acts are all legal. Enjo-k sai Enjo-k sai ( ) (shortened form enk ( ) means "compensated dating" and is a practice which originated in Japan where older men give money and/or luxury gifts to attractive women
for their companionship, and possibly sexual favors. ‡ Generally in Japan, enjo-k sai is looked down upon as a large-scale social problem. Typically, it is perceived as an extension of Japan's growing focus on materialism, much of which is what critics claim is the cause of enjo-k sai Furthermore, in a 1998 survey by the Asian Women's Fund, researchers found that fewer than 10 percent of all high school girls engage in enjok sai and over 90 percent of the girls interviewed attested to feeling uncomfortable with the exchange or purchase of sexual services for money. ‡ This practice have spread over several countries such as Taiwan ang Hong Kong where "Some girls don't think compensated dating is a kind of prostitution. They think it is different because they could choose their clients. (Standard, HK)
Prostitution in Netherlands Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal and regulated. Operating a brothel is also legal. The majority of women working in this business are foreigners. ‡ Their parliament passed legislation to legalize and tax brothels giving the government a portion of the profits from the Dutch sex industry which, excluding the pornography sector, generates more than $500 million a year Some of their reasons for legalizing prostitution are: ‡ Protect prostitutes from abuse ‡ Give them access to health services by implementing mandatory check ups ‡ Curb organized crime syndicates involved in human trafficking ‡ Treat them as regular workers who is entitled to benefits such as loans, insurance and bonuses In the Philippines Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal. It is a serious crime with penalties ranging up t o life imprisonment for those involved in trafficking. It is covered by the AntiTrafficking in Persons Act. Prostitution is sometimes illegally available through brothels (also known as casa), bars, karaoke bars (also known as KTVs), massage parlors, street walkers and escort services. Prostitution caters to local customers and foreigners. Media attention tends to focus on those areas catering to sex tourism, primarily through bars staffed by bargirls. Cities where there is a high incidence of prostitution are Angeles, Olongapo, Subic Bay and Pasay City, with the customers usually foreign businessmen from East Asian and Western nations. MYTHS vs FACTS on PROSTITUTION MYTH: Legalizing prostitution gets rid of its criminal elements - pimps and traffickers. FACT: Legalizing prostitution benefits pimps and traffickers. It also benefits johns. MYTH: Men need sex therefore prostitution must exist. Prostitution is a natural form of human sexuality FACT: The sex of prostitution is not sex for women in it. Most men who use women in prostitution have other sexual partners. MYTH Women choose to enter prostitution. It s better to choose to make lots of money as a prostitute than to choose to work at a minimum wage job like McDonald s. FACT: It is profoundly unjust to declare that prostitution is an acceptable job for some women those who are mostly poor, mostly women of color, mostly young. Prostitution is an intrinsically abusive institution and women stay poor in prostitution. MYTH: Legalizing prostitution gets rid of its criminal elements - pimps and traffickers.
FACT: Legalizing prostitution benefits pimps and traffickers. It also benefits johns. MYTH: Men need sex therefore prostitution must exist. Prostitution is a natural form of human sexuality FACT: The sex of prostitution is not sex for women in it. Most men who use women in prostitution have other sexual partners. MYTH: Legalizing prostitution would protect sexually exploited children. When prostitution is legal, licensed brothel owners do not hire minors or trafficked women. FACT: Legal prostitution increases the sexual assaults of children in prostitution.
MYTH: Social stigma is the most harmful aspect of prostitution. FACT: The worst thing about prostitution is not social stigma, it is rape, strangulation, beatings, toxic verbal abuse, and other violence from johns and pimps. MYTH: Prostitution is sexual liberation FACT: Prostitution is sexual exploitation. MYTH: Prostitution is a deterrent to sex crimes. FACT: Research indicates that prostitution is associated with increased rates of rape. MYTH: Legalization of prostitution is an entirely separate issue from human trafficking. FACT: Prostitution is the destination point for trafficking. Legalization of prostitution promotes sex trafficking. MYTH: Even if it s not perfect, legalizing prostitution would at least make prostitution a little bit better. FACT: Legalization of prostitution increases illegal prostitution. It does not improve the lives of women in prostitution. SUMMARY PROSTITUTION is: A violation of human rights (sexual harassment, Human Trafficking, Rape, Domestic Violence, Child sexual abuse) ‡A means of maintaining male domination of women ‡Not anymore limited to poverty-stricken people ‡Evolving as time passes by SOURCES: http://civilliberty.about.com/od/gendersexuality/tp/Historyof-Prostitution.htm Wikipedia (for topics on Prostitution, Prostitution in Japan, Netherlands and Philippines, Enjo Kosai and Legality of Prostitution) http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/parker-how.html http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/faq-prostitutionnetherlands
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11& art_id=55133&sid=15810773&con_type=1&d_str=20071015&se ar_year=2007 http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/200 80721-149672/Legalizing prostitution
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