Prostitution an international handbook

The analysis of the social phenomenon of prostitution differs greatly, according to the different ideological orientations of the protagonists. They focus on two essential points: the existence of a forced prostitution and a voluntary and unforced prostitution and the status that has to be accorded to this kind of prostitution. Three different juridical regimes are used by countries when dealing with the problem of prostitution: prohibition prostitution is illegal and is considered to be punishable by law , regulation prostitution has to be controlled and regulated by rules , abolition prostitution is neither lawfully controlled, nor abolished.

They have taken a stand on a subject with which they are closely or distantly associated. Academics in general have been reluctant to discuss prostitution.

Historians from western countries were the first to address the subject in the early 20th century. This could perhaps be explained by the fact that it was easier for them to have a distant point of view on an issue which was not considered very academic at the time. Studying prostitution became then the prerogative of genre and feminist studies whose aim was to discuss forgotten subjects that lie at the boundary lines of science.

Since that time, the number of taboos has reduced and academics now feel that they can discuss the subject freely, even though, in reality, their freedom is bounded by theoretical approaches and this specific area of study still suffers from doubts about scientific correctness. Southeast Asia is often seen as one of the biggest whorehouse in the world even though prostitution is illegal in every country of the area, including Thailand. As Louise Brown shows, prostitution in such places as Thailand:.

There is skewed economic development that leaves whole communities without access to the fruits of modern society, but at the same time, tempting them with its products. There is a socialisation process which conditions women to accept that they must help their families by any means possible.

There are men who demand the right to buy relationships of power with women and there is an industry ready to organise and benefit from this demand. Parents and communities are only small-time traders in a much larger pattern of commerce created by vast social, sexual, economic and political forces. Brown The context that surrounds prostitution must also be taken into consideration, and the fact that prostitution is both an ancient tradition and the result of rapid economic and social upheaval must not be discarded.

The development and expansion of prostitution can be easily linked with numerous economic developments; the development of land, the exploitation of natural resources, the instigation of building sites, mines, plantations, ports, military bases and large infrastructures, not forgetting an ever growing industrialization and urbanization.

The economy first started to take off in the 19th century, leading to the migration of many mainly male, often single workers. This had a direct consequence on the increase in the supply of and the demand for paid sex. Other factors that have stimulated the increase of commercial sex include poverty, unemployment and the necessity of plural activities. For prostitutes and those who make money from prostitution, the advantages of migration are clear see in this volume Hugo whose paper is entirely devoted to mobility.

Furthermore, marital instability, marriage failure and divorces have also had an impact on the increase of prostitution. This is a factor underlined by Evelyne Micollier in her introduction to a book dedicated to the subject, entitled Sexual Cultures in East Asia:.

There is a high turnover among sex workers; prostitution is not a fixed career. For a woman, involvement in sex work during a period of her life may generate a long-term stigma or an improvement in her living conditions, if she uses the money earned to develop other lucrative activities.

The agency of prostitutes is an important issue to be raised in the analysis of prostitution. Micollier xvi. We are therefore convinced of the urgent need for further and more detailed or specific research on prostitution if we want to fully understand its complexities and effects on the people and societies involved. They also have two essential questions in common: why is prostitution such a large market?

Why are the supply and demand so great? This impressive production should give an idea that the topic has been approached from many different angles and yet, in our view, there have not been fully satisfactory answers to these two questions. Unfortunately we have to admit that we, too, cannot close this gap and the present volume may raise more questions than it answers.

Prostitution is forever evolving, it has many different faces. It is difficult to get a clear picture of prostitution and to fully understand its many aspects. Some authors favor economic aspects Truong , Lim , others social or historical aspects Mueke , Law , Ingleson , Henriot , 1 Hershatter Feminist analyses have opened up the debate by considering notions such as gender, class, power or domination. It addresses commercial sex work world-wide in a somewhat activist way. AIDS research has also revealed the multiple forms of paid sexual relations that exist in Southeast Asia.

American student anthropologist, Cleo Odzer, conducted field research in Patpong for three years between and just before the AIDS epidemic was prevalent in Thailand. She rapidly succeeded in becoming very close to many figures of the Bangkok area famous to sex tourists.

Patpong Sisters. But, the intent of her research was to compare prostitution in Cebu City Philippines , Bangkok Thailand and Bali Indonesia , with a post-modernist theoretical approach giving much consideration to the place of desire, bodies, subjectivities, etc.

However, conclusions are well phrased and are interesting but hardly revolutionary: official institutions and NGOs should participate in creating a space for a speaking sex worker subject who may produce counter-hegemonic discourse, and new identities Law They add a qualitative dimension to a kind of research which has always been largely dominated by quantitative information i.

But the risks could now be to underestimate the fact that prostitution is fundamentally a commercial exchange. Even if relationships with prostitutes such as bar-girls or go-go girls sometimes do lead to lasting ties and even to marriage, it should not be considered as a completely natural issue.

Prostitution does remain the domain par excellence of the How much? How long? Prostitution is a highly debated term. Some add that to differentiate prostitution from other forms of nonmarital sexual activities, it must be devoid of emotional attachment between partners McGinn, Others, such as Edlund and Korn, argue that an element of promiscuity must also be involved. There is also difficulty in determining the number of partners one should have to be considered promiscuous.

For example, the following was noted:. A woman who had sex with more than 23, men should be classified as a prostitute, although 40 to 60 would also do. However, promiscuity itself does not turn a woman into a prostitute. Although a vast majority of prostitutes are promiscuous, most people would agree that sleeping around does not amount to prostitution. He argued that the key elements of prostitution are sexual contact and exchange for money.

Yet, sexual contact can be defined in myriad ways. For example, if it is defined as genital contact, then he contends that a massage therapist is not a prostitute and neither is a professional dominatrix who spanks and humiliates, but does not touch the genitals. If it is defined as genital contact for pleasure, then a urologist is not a prostitute but an erotic masseur qualifies as one.

However, if it is defined as genital contact for pleasure that includes penetration, then erotic masseurs are not prostitutes. These differing definitions are an offshoot of the ideological variations in how individuals and organizations view prostitution. One commonly held view is that prostitution is a form of social and moral deviance that individuals fall into. Individuals involved in prostitution are largely seen as lacking self-worth Ditmore, This has been the dominant view that, as will be described later, became the basis of the criminalization of the act.

Many believe that this view resulted in the stigmatization of people involved in prostitution and made them vulnerable to different kinds of risks. Beginning in the s, this dominant view came to be challenged by feminists and other social activists across two ideological variants Davidson, On the one hand, liberal feminists maintain that prostitution can be best understood as a form of legitimate work or profession.

This view holds that individuals who are involved in prostitution do so freely and it is within their civil rights to do so Jenness, Taken to its extreme, this view suggests that sex work is within the parameters of self-expression for individuals and an acceptable way of conveying sexual liberation.

This viewpoint holds that prostitution needs to be differentiated according to whether it is forced or voluntary. Advocates of this view, as will later be seen, propose that sex work conceived as voluntary prostitution should be legalized and decriminalized. These differing positions on prostitution are a recurring theme and are further examined in the subsequent discussions. The ideological views about prostitution inevitably dictate how its causes and effects are analyzed, as well as the policies recommended to address the issue.

Despite a wealth of literature, it is hard to estimate the prevalence of prostitution. This is because the definitional differences regarding what comprises prostitution make estimations highly variable. By limiting its definition to full-time equivalent prostitutes FTEP , Potterat, Woodhouse, Muth, and Muth found that the prevalence of prostitution is about 23 per , population. They concluded that by extending this statistic to the nation, an average of about 84, women, or about 59, FTEPs, worked as prostitutes in the United States annually during the s.

They also concluded that women prostitutes typically remain in prostitution for a relatively short time about 4 or 5 years for long-term prostitutes. In a systematic attempt to estimate the prevalence of female sex work FSW in different countries measured as female sex workers in an area over the number of adult women in that area , Vandepitte and colleagues found huge variations within world regions.

This was especially true for countries within Latin America between 0. There was comparably less variation within countries in the other regions of the world. For example, the national FSW estimates prevalence in Asia to range only between 0.

There also appears to be historical variation on the prevalence of prostitution. In documenting the social history of prostitution, Bullough, Bullough, and Bullough found that in Western societies, prostitution flourished when large numbers of men were concentrated away from wives and families for long periods, when there was a double standard that restricted the movement of women while giving men freedom, and when there were many socioeconomic obstacles to marriage.

They contended from this finding that the prevalence of prostitution will be reduced as women are permitted greater sexual freedom and as the socioeconomic conditions that provide fertile grounds for the recruitment of prostitutes are reduced.

The history of prostitution is intimately linked with the patterns of tolerance and prohibition leveled against prostitution as a society adapts appropriate policies to address the activity. The notion that prostitution is the oldest profession has some credence, as ancient societies viewed prostitution as an accepted component of religious, social, and cultural life. For example, as early as BC, documents of prostitution are found in temple services in Mesopotamia Lerner, There are also early documents that showed that prostitution was viewed as a legitimate economic activity.

In BC, Chinese emperors recognized commercial brothels as a means of increasing state income Bullough et al. Not until the Middle Ages were there considerable records of prohibition against the practice of prostitution. In AD, Justinian the Great banished brothel keepers from his capital and granted freedom to slaves sold into prostitution Ringdal, Throughout the centuries, prohibition of prostitution continued at varying intensities, although also interspersed with periods of tolerance and minimal regulation.

Prohibition appeared particularly pronounced during times of widespread diseases, such as in the spread of syphilis in the late s Bullough et al. In the period from the 15th to the 20th century, the moralistic approach to prostitution resulted in conflicting social policies.

In Europe, while religious institutions were vigorously opposed to prostitution, the elite male-dominated social classes discreetly supported its existence. As a consequence, women involved in prostitution were stigmatized and criminalized, yet their customers were not.

The moralistic view held sway throughout most of the 20th century as well. However, with the birth of the feminist movement in the s and s, this view was challenged and the alternative view that prostitution is a legitimate form of work was proposed.

Largely through these campaigns, some governments decriminalized prostitution, offered services to sex workers, and ensured a safer working atmosphere for those involved. However, with the advent of globalization, prostitution is caught in the nexus of sex tourism and human trafficking. There is a growing recognition that as an industry, prostitution had been economically and systematically exploited Leheny, Young girls and boys from poor rural areas of developing countries are also systematically deceived with offers of jobs and other opportunities, only to end up as prostitutes for local and international customers in the big cities Flowers, ; Lazaridis, As mentioned earlier, more radical feminists have thus articulated that prostitution is a modern form of sex slavery and it should be viewed as violence against women and a violation of human rights Farley et al.

Prostitution can be classified according to modus operandi and gender and age of providers. In their comprehensive review of studies on prostitution, Harcourt and Donovan identified 25 different modi operandi of commercial sex work in more than 15 countries. In their typology, they identified the name of the activity, how clients are solicited and where they are serviced, and in what world regions certain activities are prevalent.

Among the more prominent modi operandi for sex work are street, brothel, and escort prostitution. Street prostitution is the mode where clients are solicited on the street, in parks, or in other public places and are serviced in side streets, vehicles, or short-stay premises.

Street prostitution is widespread, particularly in societies where alternative work sites are unavailable e. Brothel prostitution is the mode where certain premises are explicitly dedicated to providing sex. Usually, brothel prostitution has better security provisions accorded to sex workers than street prostitution. Brothels are often licensed by authorities. Escort prostitution is the mode where clients contact sex workers by phone or via the hotel staff.

This is the most covert form of sex work. It is relatively expensive because of low client turnover i. This mode of prostitution is ubiquitous. Other modes documented by Harcourt and Donovan are culturally bound and unique to certain countries. Also, in some Japanese cities, a popular mode is the geisha. These are women engaged primarily to provide social company, but sex may ensue. Harcourt and Donovan also found that policing of sex work can change the modus operandi and location of prostitution, but rarely its prevalence.

They argued that it is necessary to develop complete understanding of the modus operandi of sex work in a particular area in order to come up with comprehensive sexual health promotion programs. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: or. Search WorldCat Find items in libraries near you. Advanced Search Find a Library. Search results for 'ti:"prostitution an international handbook on trends problems and policies"'.

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