Prostitution [1] is the performance of sexual acts exclusively for profit. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to that person who participates in a transaction – economic – sexual, usually in exchange for an agreed remuneration.
The sale of sex is usually carried out by people with a low cultural level and an unfavorable economic situation, which encourages them to practice this activity and thus obtain material goods from it, not being aware of the harmful consequences that this act brings.
Characteristics
Traditionally, prostitution has been practiced in places dedicated exclusively to this purpose, called brothels . These have usually been houses run by one person, in which there are women or men, depending on the orientation of the place. The offer of sexual services is also made on the street, as well as in some bars and nightclubs.
The pimps are those who have facilitated the exercise of prostitution in exchange for parts or all of the prostitutes’ earnings, and in some cases they are the ones who force them to practice. Some of them are deceived under the pretense of emigrating to other countries in search of a better job and then being forced by organized crime to work as prostitutes under the guise of paying their emigration costs. This constitutes forced labor with deprivation of liberty and is considered slavery .
Types or classes of prostitution that have been established:
- Wild
- Hospital or Domestic
- Civil or Public Legal
- Private
History
Prostitution has been widespread since time immemorial and its forms depend on the economic, social and sexual values of each society . In some societies it was considered as a guarantee of the preservation of the family . Women have more often entered forced prostitution under economic pressure.
Prostitution will be in both sexes and services or homosexuals , although throughout history this activity has been carried out preferably by women (with male clients), which reflects the traditional socio-economic dependence of women and the tendency to exploit female sexuality.
Primitive peoples
In many primitive peoples the sexual act was practiced in festivals celebrated once or twice a year to bring fertility to the earth, which also became fertility in men.
Present
In recent times, researchers have tried the moral question of the reality of prostitution, maintaining its legality in many countries is based on three ideas: that prostitution is linked to organized crime, that it is responsible for a large part of minor crime , which is the cause of the increase in sexual diseases. Today these opinions are being highly criticized.
Prestigious experts have said that these activities are no longer a good investment for organized crime, as it is difficult to control, too visible and produces negligible income compared to the heavy penalties it carries. Prostitutes advocate the legalization of their activity with different arguments such as the constitutional issue of the violation of the right to equal protection, since the law penalizes prostitutes and not clients.
Statistics
Around the world around four million people are sexually exploited. In many cases, these women are subjected to two chains, one for drugs and the other for prostitution. She prostitutes herself to have money for drugs , and they take drugs and do not perceive that they offer themselves as slaves of human depravity.
The UN, in a report published in April 2000 , denounced the trafficking of dozens of thousands of women to practice prostitution, who are integrated together with minors, in international networks.
A minimum of 100,000 [2] immigrant prostitutes work in the United States . 40,000 to 50,000 [2] Thai women are prostitutes in Japan . More than 1,000,000 [3] people, mostly women and girls, fall into organized prostitution rings in Asia each year . There are more than 500,000 [3] imported women in Western Europe . In Italy alone there are more than 45,000 [3] women, two-thirds from Eastern Europe and almost a third from Africa . About 75,000 [3] Brazilian women live off prostitution in Europe.
The numbers of children who are prostituted are scandals. The EFE agency reported in April 2002 that some 100,000 [3] children were forced into prostitution in the world.