Research on Prosti

8/18/2019 Research on Prosti

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%n nine countries$ we found that 7; per cent of women$ men and transgenderedpeople in prostitution had post$ a prevalence thatis comparable to that of battered or raped women seeking help$ and survivors of state


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&on


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@egal and decriminalised prostitution are similar in their eKects. imp reported what happened

after prostitution was decriminalised in &ew Lealand. !even years after the &L lawwas passed$ battles are still being waged about whose neighbourhood prostitutionwill be 2oned into. &o one wants prostitution next door. rostitution is 2oned into theneighbourhoods of people who cannot aKord the legal fees to prevent it.

The regulation of prostitution by 2oning is a physical manifestation of the samesocialNpsychological stigma that decriminalisation advocates allegedly want toavoid. Whether in Turkish genelevs =walled$ women in state


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3fter legalisation of prostitution in Dictoria$ 3ustralia$ the number of legal brothelsdoubled. ,ut the greatest expansion was in illegal prostitution. %n one year therewas a M88 per cent increase in illegal brothels.

!taK at a &L agency providing prostitution exit strategies observed that there weretwice as many -ohns in the street since decriminalisation. The -ohns were more

aggressive after prostitution was decriminalised$ soliciting the agencys women staK members. !imilar post


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There is no evidence for the theory that legalisation somehow < how is neverspeci1ed < decreases the harm of prostitution.

%n fact$ legalisation increases tra*cking$ increases prostitution of children$ andincreases sex buyers demands for cheaper or unrestricted sex acts =!ullivan$

H889$ 4#aking !ex Work+ 3 "ailed Experiment with @egali2ed rostitution5>. Whetherprostitution is legal or illegal$ research shows that the poorer she is$ and the longershes been in prostitution$ the more likely she is to experience violence. Theemotional conse0uences of prostitution are the same whether prostitution is legal orillegal$ and whether it happens in a brothel$ a strip club$ a massage parlour$ or onthe street.

3 decade ago$ !weden named prostitution as a form of violence against women thatfosters ine0uality. 3s a result !weden criminalised buyers and decriminalised theperson in prostitution. %celand$ &orway$ and !outh Forea have now passed similarlaws$ with the F passing legislation that moves in a similar direction and %sraelcurrently considering such a bill.

The !wedish government recently released an evaluation of the (III !wedish lawon prostitution much like the &ew Lealand @aw Reform Bommissions Report. Thenews is better from !weden.

%n a decade$ street prostitution in !weden has decreased by )8 per cent$ although ithas increased in neighbouring countries. There is no evidence that women havemoved from street to indoor prostitution in !weden.

The intimate relationship between prostitution and tra*cking is highlighted whenbuyers are criminali2ed. !weden now has the fewest tra*cked women in the E. The law interferes with the international business of pimping and the practice of buying sex.

While there was initial resistance to the !wedish law$ now more than 98 per cent of the public supports it. Women exiting prostitution use state


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ChildreFemale Ju+eile Prostitutio Problem ad

Res*ose+&

2. Prostitution & Free Choice

PRO: "We chose sex work after we did a lot ofthings we couldnt stand. -ex work is better. orme, sex work isnt my first choice of paying work.(t /ust happens to be the best alternati!ea!ailable. (ts better than being president ofsomeone elses corporation. (ts better than beinga secretary. (t is the most honest work ( know of."

eroica (oet Prostitute ad uthor

i /autlet (aga0ie

!112

CON: "$he (01 2(nternational 0abour1rganization3 report admits that most womenchoose prostitution for economic reasons.-urely no one can argue that this is free choiceany more than the cattle in the squeeze chutechoose to go to their death."

Diae Post, JD ttorey ad 3uma Rights cti+ist

4Legali0ig Prostitutio Systematic Rebuttal4 i the 5ouralo'' our backs

July !111

3. Morality o Prostitution

PRO: "Why is it illegal to charge for what can befreely dispensed4 -ex work is no more moral orimmoral than the chocolate or distillingindustries."

Catherie La Croi) Fouder o' Call 6'' 7our 6ld 8ired Ethics

9C6768E: cha*ter i Seattle

4Lo+e For Sale4 i the maga0ie ;teret orkers

!11A

CON: "( belie!e that we will ne!er succeed incombating trafficking in women if we do notsimultaneously work to abolish prostitution andthe sexual exploitation of women and children.Particularly in light of the fact that many womenin prostitution in countries that ha!e legalised

prostitution are originally !ictims of trafficking inwomen."

(argareta >iberg Former De*uty Prime (iister o' Swede

S*eech i Stockholm&o+. B-%, #$$#

%. Prostitution & Violence

http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=746http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=101http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=392http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=394http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=103http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=422http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=417http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=243http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=780http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=382http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=120http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=746http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=101http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=392http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=394http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=103http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=422http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=417http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=243http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=780http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=382http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=120


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PRO: "6ecriminalization would better protectpeople in the sex industry from !iolence andabuse.

...Police cannot and do not simultaneously seekto arrest prostitutes and protect them from!iolence.... (ndeed, women describe being told,What did you expect4 by police officers whorefused to in!estigate acts of !iolenceperpetrated against women whom they knewengaged in prostitution. $he consequences ofsuch attitudes are tragic: 7ary 8idgway said thathe killed prostitutes because he knew he wouldnot be held accountable. $he tragedy is that hewas right ' he confessed to the murders of 9women, committed o!er nearly twenty years.$hat is truly criminal."

(elissa Ditmore, PhDCoordiator o' the /lobal &etwork o' Se) >ork

Pro5ects>ashigto Post?s Post/lobal website

Feb. #A, #$$"

CON: "8egardless of prostitutions status ;legal,illegal or decriminalized< or its physical location;strip club, massage parlor, street,escort)home)hotelhat?s the swer=4 8heCeter 'or @ioethics ad 3uma Digity website

Se*. 1, #$$B

-. Pre,alence o Rae

http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=768http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=236http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=108http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=443http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=355http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=122http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=122http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=768http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=236http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=108http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=443http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=355http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=122


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PRO: "(t is estimated that if prostitution werelegalized in the ?nited -tates, the rape ratewould decrease by roughly &DE for a decreaseof approximately &D,CCC rapes per year...."

irby R. Cudi'', PhD ssociate Pro'essor o' Fiace at &ortheaster

State ome 9C8>:

4Freuetly sked uestios bout Prostitutio4 o the C8>-ustralia >ebsite

(ar. A, #$$"

/. Prostitution as a Legitimate 0usiness

PRO: "-ex work is legitimate work and problems

within the industry are not inherent in the workitself. (t is !ulnerability, not sex work, whichcreates !ictims. -ex workers should en/oy thesame labour rights as other workers and thesame human rights as other people."

a Lo*es, PhDPresidet o' @ritai?s /eeral orkers @rach4Stigmatisig Se) >orkers4 i the Chartist

(ar. #$$%

CON: "1ne needs to completely rid oneself of

the !oracity for cash to see that prostitution,although legalized, can ne!er be a legitimatebusiness because it will always be associatedwith crime, corruption, class, mass sexualexploitation and human trafficking."

irada Somswasdi, JDPresidet o' the Foudatio 'or >ome, Law

ad Rural De+elo*met 9F6R>RD:S*eech at Corell Law School

(ar. 1, #$$2

. Prostitution as a Career Otion

PRO: "Prostitution is not merely an exchange ofsexual fa!ors* it is a financial exchange. >t thispoint, indi!idualist feminists rise to defend thefree market as well as a womans self'ownership.$his is expressed by the question: Prostitution isa combination of sex and the free market. Whichone are you against4

eminists of all stripes should speak with one!oice to demand the safety of these women bygranting them the same protection as any other

woman can expect. 1nly decriminalization canpro!ide this."

>edy (cElroy Research Fellow at the ;de*edet ;stitute4?Solutios? to Prostitutio4 o ;'emiist.com

Feb. !, #$$!

CON: "-ome prostitution defenders argue thatprostitution is an acceptable solution to po!erty....

What they mean, but do not say, is thatprostitution is an acceptable solution for womenli!ing in po!erty. -eldom do we see proposalsthat poor men should make their way out ofpo!erty by welcoming the insertion of penisesand other ob/ects into them on a regular basis ordance naked on a stage in front of ogling andmasturbating males.

$he prostitution industry exploits to its ad!antagethe fact that most women and children who are inprostitution come from the most oppressed and!ulnerable groups in society."

/uilla S. Ekberg S*ecial d+isor o *rostitutio ad tra''ickig i

wome at the Swedish Di+isio 'or /eder

http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=749http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=411http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=124http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=124http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=846http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=367http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=125http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=228http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=396http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=749http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=411http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=411http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=124http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=846http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=367http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=125http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=228http://prostitution.procon.org/viewsource.asp?ID=396


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Euality S*eech i Stockholm

&o+. #$$#

1. Former Prostitutes Vie4oints on Prostitution

PRO: "6ecriminalization is not at all a solution toe!ery in/ustice that exists in the sex industry* it isa starting point. (f prostitution were not anunderground acti!ity it would allow us to muchmore effecti!ely address the serious problems offorced prostitution and /u!enile prostitution andthe other abuses which are part of an industrythat operates completely in the shadows. ...2$3here are many who... want other options andthey should be gi!en alternati!es and assistance.

>nd then there are also those who organize fortheir rights and are not quitting at the moment

and they should be afforded options, their rights,and self'determination as well. Whate!er ills areattendant to prostitution, criminalization ofprostitutes exacerbates the abuse."

Carol LeighFouder o' @ay rea Se) >orkers d+ocacy

&etwork 9@7S>&: ad 'ormer *rostitute4Justice 8alkig4 o &atioal Public Radio 9&PR:

(ar. 2, #$$#

CON: ">s long as we point the finger away fromoursel!es, away from the institutions that blameand criminalize women and children for their ownrape, sexual abuse, trafficking and sla!ery, awayfrom the men who we normalize as ' Fohns, 'and as long as we disconnect adult prostitutionand the exploitation of children and disconnectprostitution and trafficking in human beings forthe purposes of rape and sex sla!ery* then weare to blame and we ha!e assisted in creatingwell'funded transnational criminal networks 'dollar by dollar."

&orma 3otalig E)ecuti+e Director o' the Stadig gaist

/lobal E)*loitatio 9S/E: Pro5ect ad 'ormer *rostitute

8estimoy to


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/e removes her self and those 0ualities that de1ne her as an individual$ and for himshe becomes sexuali2ed body parts. !he acts the part of the thing he wants her tobe.

3 -ohn who was guaranteed anonymity said prostitution was like renting an organfor ten minutes. 3nother man said$ % use them like % might use any other amenity$

a restaurant$ or a public convenience.

3s shocking as these men's observations may sound to those who think prostitutionis like the movie retty Woman$ their descriptions closely match women'sdescriptions of prostitution. The women explain to us how it feels to be treated likea rented organ. %t is internally damaging. 6ou become in your own mind what thesepeople do and say with you. 6ou wonder how could you let yourself do this and whydo these people want to do this to you?

Women who prostitute have described it as paid rape and voluntary slavery.rostitution is sexual harassment$ sexual exploitation$ often worse. /is paymentdoes not erase what we know about sexual violence$ domestic violence and rape.

This understanding of the realities of prostitution by the -ohn and the woman hebuys is at odds with the notion of prostitution as slightly unpleasant labour thatshould be legalised. Whether or not it is legal$ prostitution is extremely harmful forwomen. Women in prostitution have the highest rates of rape and homicide of anygroup of women ever studied. They are regularly physically assaulted and verballyabused$ whether they prostitute on the street or in massage parlours$ brothels orhotels.

!exual violence and physical assault are the norm for women in legal prostitution. %none utch study$ 78 per cent of women in legal prostitution were physicallyassaulted$ 98 per cent were threatened with physical assault$ :8 per centexperienced sexual violence and :8 per cent had been coerced into legalprostitution.

%n nine countries$ we found that 7; per cent of women$ men and transgenderedpeople in prostitution had post$ a prevalence thatis comparable to that of battered or raped women seeking help$ and survivors of state


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the social acceptability of buying sex while at the same time inviting men to spendlike suckers.

imps do not suddenly become nice guys because prostitution is legal. @egal3msterdam brothels have up to three panic buttons in every room. Why? ,ecauselegal -ohns are not nice guys looking for a normal date. They regularly attempt to

rape and strangle women.

3s 3msterdam began shutting down its legal brothels a few years ago$ #ayor AobBohen acknowledged that the utch had been wrong about legal prostitution. %t didnot make prostitution safer. %nstead$ he said$ legal prostitution increased organisedcrime. %t functioned like a magnet for pimps and punters. Tra*cking increased afterlegal prostitution ;8 per cent of women in utch prostitution have been tra*cked.

o not believe what you see on Bathouse. They are acting. 3 colleague was tellingthe truth about her experience of prostitution on a TD talk show. uring a break in1lming$ she was approached by a second woman who had been escorted in front of

the cameras by her legal &evada pimp. Whispering$ the frightened woman beggedfor help$ saying the pimp had coerced her to say on camera how much funprostitution was. @eaving behind her purse and coat so the pimp would assume shewas returning$ they both ran and the woman was helped to escape.

The dilemma is not that there is no legal redress for coercion$ physical assault andrape in illegal prostitution. There are laws against those forms of violence. Thedilemma is that once in prostitution$ there is no avoiding sexual harassment$ sexualexploitation$ rape and acts that are the e0uivalent of mental torture.

What do -ohns say about prostitution?

6ou get what you pay for without the no$ a sex buyer explained.

&on


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3lthough a ma-ority of F -ohns believe that most women have been lured$ tricked$or tra*cked into prostitution$ they buy them anyway. This 1nding is consistent withanother study showing that :9 per cent of ! -ohns who responded to an onlineescort advertisement were willing to buy a child despite three warnings.

3ccording to a -ohn interviewed for a research study$ 3ll prostitutes are exploited.

/owever$ they also have good incomes. =i &icola$ Buaduro$ @ombardi$ G Ruspini$H88I$ rostitution and human tra*cking+ "ocus on clients>

!ome people have made the decision that it is reasonable to expect certain womento turn ten tricks a day in order to survive. Those women most often are poor andmost often are racially marginalised. This neocolonial economic perspective isenshrined in a Banadian prostitution tourist's comment about women in Thaiprostitution+

These girls gotta eat$ don't they? %'m putting bread on their plate. %'m making acontribution. They'd starve to death unless they whored.

This -ohn


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The regulation of prostitution by 2oning is a physical manifestation of the samesocialNpsychological stigma that decriminalisation advocates allegedly want toavoid. Whether in Turkish genelevs =walled$ women in state


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3rguments for legalising prostitution depend on the strength of two arguments+ thatprostitution is a choice for those in it and that the harms of prostitution aredecreased if it is legalised. There is little evidence that either of these argumentsare true. ,ut 2ombie theories about prostitution never seem to die no matter howmany facts we beat them down with.

Only a tiny percentage all women in prostitution are there because they choose it."or most$ prostitution is not a freely


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illegal$ and whether it happens in a brothel$ a strip club$ a massage parlour$ or onthe street.

3 decade ago$ !weden named prostitution as a form of violence against women thatfosters ine0uality. 3s a result !weden criminalised buyers and decriminalised theperson in prostitution. %celand$ &orway$ and !outh Forea have now passed similar

laws$ with the F passing legislation that moves in a similar direction and %sraelcurrently considering such a bill.

The !wedish government recently released an evaluation of the (III !wedish lawon prostitution much like the &ew Lealand @aw Reform Bommission's Report. Thenews is better from !weden.

%n a decade$ street prostitution in !weden has decreased by )8 per cent$ although ithas increased in neighbouring countries. There is no evidence that women havemoved from street to indoor prostitution in !weden.

The intimate relationship between prostitution and tra*cking is highlighted when

buyers are criminali2ed. !weden now has the fewest tra*cked women in the E. The law interferes with the international business of pimping and the practice of buying sex.

While there was initial resistance to the !wedish law$ now more than 98 per cent of the public supports it. Women exiting prostitution use state


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RO!T%TT%O& %& T/E /%@%%&E!

Even though it is widely practiced$ prostitution is illegal in the hilippines. There isan organi2ed movement to make prostitution a legal activity in the hilippines. ,yone estimate a half a million women prostitute themselves.

There are basically three kinds of prostitutes in the hilippines+ (> those that workout of 4casas$5 or brothels$ and are employed by pimps or brothel owners+ H> thosewho work in bars$ karaokes and hotels$ who are usually controlled by the owners of the establishment where they workV and M> freelancers$ who work the streets.,rothels are often disguised as restaurants.

#ost of the men who use prostitutes in the hilippines are locals not foreigners. 6ouwould not get this impression by visiting one of the better known red light districts.@ocal tend to use community


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have sex with them.5 &owadays$ 4kotong5 =bribe> ranges from M$888 to :$)88$and transactions begin even before they reach the precinct$ she said. NY

Transvestites also participate in prostitution$ especially with unwary foreigners.#ale homosexuals and child prostitutes who created 3sias reputation for sextourism are concentrated in ma-or metropolitan cities.

Early /istory of rostitution in the hilippines

r. Aose "lorante A. @eyson wrote in the Encyclopedia of !exuality+ Tribal warsbetween the aborigines in the hilippine islands turned the van0uished into slavesfor labor or cannibalism$ but not sexual slaves. When Bhinese merchants startedtrading with the inhabitants of the archipelago in I78 B.E.$ they intermarried withnative women$ but did not sexually exploit the women. With the advent of !panishcolonists in the late ()88s$ a Pourishing slave trade was established between thehilippines$ the Baribbean$ and !pain. 3necdotal reports revealed that some "ilipinaslaves were sold as 4exotic sex ob-ects5 or prostitutes to European brothels. When

ope Uregory [%D abolished slavery in the hilippines in ()I($ middle backing$these comfort girls were partially compensated for their humiliation and moralsuKerings. When the 3merican troops liberated the hilippines from Aapaneseimperialism in October (I:)$ many 3merican soldiers left illegitimate 3merasianchildren behind. The mothers of these children and their 3merasian children weresocial outcasts. %n order for these mothers to survive$ they became part


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with every variety of prostitution$ exotic bars$ pornography$ and sex tourismconceivable. X!ource+ Aose "lorante A. @eyson$ #..$ Encyclopedia of !exualitywwwH.hu


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establishment. /owever$ they cannot refuse clients who are produced by agenciesand their managers. They cannot set the prices for their services. !ome massageparlors are commercial fronts for prostitutes who oKer their services from oral sex toregular intercourse =^H) to ^7) !>. \]\

Ball girls comprise approximate about a third of the female sex. %f an !T is diagnosed$ the brothel pays for medical treatment. Thesex worker must show her sanitary notebook to any customer that asks to see it. The manager of the brothel cannot accept any 4prostitute


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%t is easy to imagine the rampant corruption that this naive attempt to protectcustomers and suppliers of contractual sex alike has produced. olice protection isbought$ violations are ignored$ and politicians and -udges are bribed$ often on thepretext of protecting the free practice of a fully consensual sex by the client and sexworker. %n reality$ this law and its application or lack thereof does little to protect the

health of the women and their clients. The women have no protection fromcustomers already infected. The prostitutes can re0uest that their clients wearcondoms$ but cannot demand the performance of safe sex practices. The clients arenot sub-ect to compulsory medical 4control$5 and many may be infected but notshow any symptoms while others suKer in silence and continue practicing unsafesex with other prostitutes$ lovers$ and even wives. \]\

#anila's Red @ight istrict

The heart of #anila's red light district is on the 3venue de ilar$ a street lined withkaraoke bars and slea2y night clubs catering primarily to Aapanese$ Forean$

3merican$ European and 3ustralian male sex tourists. The hookers and sidewalktouts are ferocious$ practically wrestling potential customers into their bars orhotels. %nside the bars$ girls in black and red negligees do bored and uninspireddances in front of an audience that looks like humanity's version of toxic waste.

#any of the girls are barely in =not of out> their teens. !ome paint their face withgarish make


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3 typical "ilipina prostitute begins working in her teens and usually retires beforeshe reaches her late H8s. %f she gets pregnant she has to 0uit or get an abortion.#ost do the latter. #any take antibiotics as a preventative measure against sexuallytransmitted diseases but take them so long their resistance is reduced and they getsick a lot.

The children of three "ilipina prostitutes were given ^M) million each because theywere fathered by /@ founder @arry /illblom$ who liked to hang out "ilipino bars anddied in plane crash and left behind a fortune of ^))8 million. One of the "ilipinaprostitutes claimed she met /illblom in a #anila


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business. 3s in many other countries$ the prostitutes are arrested$ but not theclients$ managers$ and others whose enormous pro1ts make this business soattractive. The punishment for committing prostitution is a !^)88 1ne or twelveyears in -ail. While this law$ in eKect for three decades$ applies to women dancing inthe nude or in scanty bikini tongs$ a ma-or element in the prostitution trade$ arrestsare seldom made because of corruption and bribery. \]\

4%n order to reduce the negative moral and economic eKects of prostitution$government and some non


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airmen stationed at Blark 3ir ,ase. The .!. base closed in (IIH$ and the often<randy airmen have gone with it. ,ut the girls$ the sex$ the round


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43 balding man pulls up on his motorcycle$ greeting several other men loudly inUerman. They already have their catch$ and girls -ump on the back as the cyclesroar oK. 3t the Tourist 3ssistance ,ooth$ Odysius Uarche says the older customersare better behaved than the .!. airmen were. % -ust tell them+ 'The girls are inside.Uo make your own deal.' &earby$ a chubby 3merican with glasses eats a hot dog.

/e says he's a bar manager$ but oKers no details. /e came to 3ngeles Bity fromBalifornia$ to follow up on a chat


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investigation found another labor o*cial in Fuwait who is accused of running asimilar operation using "ilipino workers seeking shelter. `

44These criminals parading as o*cials must be stripped of their positions$ recalledto the hilippines and prosecuted$5 #r. ,ello said during a Aune (; press conference.#r. del Rosario said that a hot line had been established for other victims to come

forward and that it was producing additional information$ he said. 4We will be ableto punish the guilty$ and we also will be able to review all the policies andprocedures governing our conduct pertaining to cases such as this$5 he said.5 `

); 3rrested in hilippines over Ulobal '!extortion'

%n #ay H8(:$ 1fty and )88$888 pesos =^(($888>. While hesaid elderly men were often targeted$ children were also victims. 3 !cottish policechief who also briefed reporters at the press conference said one boy in !cotlandhad committed suicide after being extorted. /e said the boy was (9 when he killedhimself.

%n the late (II8s$ countries like Uuyana$ the hilippines$ oland$ &etherlands3ntilles$ !ao Tome and the ominican Republic earned a large amounts foreignexchange from audiotext service =sex whorouted their calls through phone companies in these countries. The way the systemworked was that an 3merican paid his bill to his 3merican long


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call. The foreign phone companies in turn shared their revenues with the audiotextservices that used the exchange for the foreign phone company.

Uroup of "ormer rostitutes /elps rostitutes in the hilippines

%n H8(($ the hilippines %n0uirer reported+ 43s the night grows older$ this part of thecity becomes more alive. Women in low


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bakeshop. ,ut they settled for a canteen because the girls found it di*cult to makebread$ Uon2ales said. With their personal savings and donations from B3TW


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and be their voice while they are still in the trade$5 Uon2ales said. !aid Uina+ 4% ammost ful1lled because % am no longer on the streets.5 NY

@egal prostitution won't stop /%D$ sayshilippines sex worker

%ssue surfaces as /%D


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!ex workers and clients in the hilippines' 3ngeles Bity. =hoto by Dincent Uo>

Aef Tupas$ avao Bity$ hilippines

Auly H)$ H8(:

Barla !oledad says she is not happy being a prostitute. Two years ago$ the high school

graduate was invited by a neighbor to work in a restaurant. !he thought it was her way

out of poverty in her village in avao Oriental province.

!he$ however$ ended up working in a bar where women oKered sex to clients. Barla$ HM$

says by the time she reali2ed she was prostituting herself$ there was no easy way out.

@eaving was too complicated.

% was there already$ Barla says. % could have simply walked out$ but % was scared that

% will never 1nd another -ob. % am a high school graduate and % have a family to feed.

/er 1rst client was a plump$ mild for sex.

http://www.ucanews.com/category/author/jef-tupashttp://www.ucanews.com/category/author/jef-tupashttp://www.ucanews.com/country/philippines/36http://www.ucanews.com/category/author/jef-tupashttp://www.ucanews.com/country/philippines/36


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%t was my 1rst time to do it for money$ and % was scared and confused. 3t the same

time$ something in me was telling me to do it anyway. % was already there and % badly

needed money$ she says. % didn't like it. % hated it.

3t the convention of /%D


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% am not sure how the world looks at us$ but the recommendation Xto legali2e

prostitutionZ is a blow to the women who have been forced into this trade$ she says.

@egal or illegal$ women in prostitution will always be disadvantaged in an industry that

is by nature abusive of women$ Barla says.

Barla says the thought of the government legali2ing prostitution to force people to use

condom is a Pimsy excuse of how governments fail to curb /%D.

Representative @u2 %lagan of the women's party Uabriela says prostitution is not the

cause of /%D and 3%!.

@egali2ing prostitution is not the solution to decreasing the infection$ she says. ,y

legali2ing prostitution$ governments will only legali2e exploitation of women$

exploitation of children$ sexual abuse$ sex tra*cking$ pimping$ and all other businesses

associated with prostitution.

%t is an issue of being poor$ being a woman or child with no access to basic services. %t

is an issue of treating women and children as commodities$ she says.

3re we sending the message to the future generation that selling your body for sex is

one viable -ob? %lagan says.

"or Barla$ the answer for future generations lies with viable work opportunities.

ltimately$ what we need is to get out and get away from this condition. @egali2ing

prostitution is not the answer$ she says.


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'nter)$syon.com

#he online ne4s ortal o #V%

> recently released ?nited Gations report, "-ex Work and the 0aw in >sia and the Pacific" raised the

recommendation to legalize prostitution in the Philippines. $he report claims that "the legal

recognition of sex work as an occupation enables workers to claim benefits, to form or /oin unions

and to access work related banking, insurance, transport and pension schemes."

$he report also comes amid reports of increasing cases of %(='>(6- in the Philippines, with claims

that regulated and legalized prostitution will help control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases

and infections.

7abriela WomenHs Party does not agree with this proposal.

Prostitution is a human rights !iolation. (t is among the recognized forms of !iolence committed

against women and children. (t is not work or occupation that women undertake by choice. =iewed in

the Philippine setting, it is a situation, most often characterized by physical abuse, exploitation and

discrimination which women and children endure when they are forced by circumstances to be

prostituted.

>rticle &C+ of the 8e!ised Penal 5ode of the Philippines prohibits prostitution. (t is this pro!ision that

has been repeatedly used to arrest women, children as well as men forced by po!erty into the flesh

trade. $he law treats them as criminals rather than !ictims, conducting humiliating arrests while often

failing to apprehend and prosecute pimps, club and sex den operators, recruiters and sex traffickers.

$he Philippine socio'economic setting breeds prostitution. $he dearth of employment opportunities,

widespread landlessness and worsening po!erty lea!e mothers, women and children ' seen in the

feudal patriarchal outlook as the weaker, lesser sex ascribed with the role to ser!e and entertain '

extremely !ulnerable to the flesh trade. Poor women ha!e limited access to basic social ser!ices

such as health, education and housing and conditions of economic want can push them to succumb

to the lure of prostitution.

$hrough the years, prostitution and sex trafficking in the Philippines ha!e flourished without decline.

Iillions of pesos are circulated annually among highly organized syndicates and operators, some of

whom en/oy a certain le!el of tolerance and protection from local police and go!ernment officials.

(t is in this social context that 7abriela Womens Party !iews and consequently re/ects

recommendations to legalize prostitution in the Philippines.

http://www.interaksyon.com/http://www.interaksyon.com/


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$he legalization of prostitution is tantamount to the legalization of exploitation and of the !iolence

that commonly exist within the system. 0egalization creates a situation where prostituted women and

children are legally sub/ected to sla!e'like conditions. $he notion that patrons or clients are legally

buying sexual ser!ices does not in anyway dignify or uplift how society looks at women and

children.

(n countries where prostitution has been legalized, reports say that the stigma and discrimination

remain, despite the change in the sex workers status. (n fact, this low regard for women and children

forced into the flesh trade makes them more !ulnerable to abuse, making clients do as they please

with their purchase. > study in &CC& conducted among !ictims of trafficking in fi!e @uropean

countries where prostitution has been legalized re!eal that C'percent of respondents had suffered

!iolence and abuse from pimps or buyers.

5ontrary to what the ?G report claims, the legalization of prostitution will not in any way ensure the

protection of women, children and men forced to engage in the flesh trade.

0egalization will not guarantee protection against sexually transmitted infection and %(=. Whilelegalization will sub/ect women and children to mandatory periodical testing for %(= and other

sexually transmitted infections, clients who make the purchase are not tested and health clearances

are issued not to protect women but to protect clients of prostitution. $he ob/ecti!e of protecting

prostituted women and children from %(= and other -$(s is best achie!ed by increasing womens

awareness and education and ensuring womenHs access to health ser!ices. (t must be noted,

though, that in the Philippines, the 6epartment of %ealth has documented the rapid increase of

%(=)>(6- incidence not among prostituted women but among - or men ha!ing sex with men.

0egalization means allowing the commodification of women and children to flourish, with pimps,

brothel owners and operators as well as sex traffickers as legit, licensed entrepreneurs. 0egalization

will make the sex trade a legitimate source of profit primarily for sex traffickers, brothel owners andpimps with women and children at the exploited end.

0egalization creates a climate where exploitation becomes permissible thus any ob/ecti!e to regulate

or control the flesh trade is defeated by the fact that the purchase of sexual ser!ices becomes a

socially acceptable and legally recognized practice.

$he ?G reports claims that legalization of prostitution will allow prostituted women and children to

ha!e workers benefits is impracticable in a country where workers rights to li!ing wages, benefits

and organization are threatened and practically unrecognized.

Prostitution is a highly organized exploitati!e system, bred and perpetuated by po!erty, socialin/ustice and inequalities. 0egalizing prostitution is a huge step backward into an era when sla!ery

was acceptable. 0egalization will not render women and children less susceptible to the degrading

and !iolent conditions that are inherent in prostitution. 0egalization will not eliminate the conditions of

po!erty and want that are the roots of womenHs oppression and exploitation.

7abriela Womens Party proposes instead to enact legislation that will remedy the situation where

women engaged in prostitution are penalized. Iy introducing amendments to the 8e!ised Penal


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5ode, 7abriela Womens Party seeks to address the problem by decriminalizing the prostituted

women and children and instead penalizing the pimps, operators and customers.

$he legalization of prostitution does not mean progress. (t is the elimination of the dire economic

conditions that allow prostitution to flourish that is the step forward to womens emancipation.

Documents

Research on Prosti