Today there are 40 million prostitutes throughout the world and there are approximately 15,000 of them in France. Considered by some as being the oldest job in the world, this can also be considered a form of slavery, an exploitation of human bodies. With this in mind, Mme Danielle BOUSQUET and M. Guy GEOFFROY are proposing a law in France which will give responsibility to prostitutes’ clients. This is why this house would legally penalize the clients of prostitutes.
However there are lots of different situations in Europe nowadays. Some countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have chosen to legalize prostitution and to put prostitution under laws, making it a real and declared job whereas some other countries such as Norway and Sweden have totally forbidden it. The situation is less clear in Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria or Romania where corruption is everywhere. These countries are also sending prostitutes to lots of other countries in Europe such as France for instance. Indeed, 2 out of 3 prostitutes are from Eastern Europe. This traffic generates 58 billion dollars all over the world and is nearly comparable to cocaine traffic.
In France, 80 percent of prostitutes are foreigners. Sidewalk prostitutes are mostly from Romania, Bulgaria and Africa whereas discrete prostitution, in massage parlours or hostels, concerns girls from Eastern Europe. Finally the hidden prostitutes who work from private apartments are more often Asian or transsexuals.
The main problem with prostitution is the living conditions of the prostitutes. Are they really free to do what they want? Do they have good protection against STD? How do they deal with all the violence in their job? The question is to know if penalizing the clients will really protect the prostitutes or put them in even darker and more dangerous places. However the general policy in Europe seems to be to penalize more and more, and some countries such as the Netherlands are even going back on their former decisions about legalization. So prostitution is slowly disappearing from our sidewalks and is more hidden. Prostitutes are now more mobile and move from one country to another really quickly, and they are nowadays more localized at the borders.
There are two opposite sides in this debate. On one hand we have those who are for total legalization, arguing that in this case the prostitutes would be safer. They would have health insurance, be better protected by law and could choose where they work. They wouldn't have to work for pimps in really unhealthy conditions. We could reproach them that it is as we can't see the trees for the forest. On the other hand are those who would rather try to totally abolish prostitution as we abolished slavery and all exploitation of the human body. They say that we won't let anyone sell their organs because some would be push to do it to get some money, so it should be the same for prostitution. The goal would be to totally stop this prostitution. But the problem could be the same as with drugs; prostitutes would hide themselves and there would be a black market.
So it will be up to our debaters to decide and to convince us. Let's do it!
by PG
However there are lots of different situations in Europe nowadays. Some countries such as Germany and the Netherlands have chosen to legalize prostitution and to put prostitution under laws, making it a real and declared job whereas some other countries such as Norway and Sweden have totally forbidden it. The situation is less clear in Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria or Romania where corruption is everywhere. These countries are also sending prostitutes to lots of other countries in Europe such as France for instance. Indeed, 2 out of 3 prostitutes are from Eastern Europe. This traffic generates 58 billion dollars all over the world and is nearly comparable to cocaine traffic.
In France, 80 percent of prostitutes are foreigners. Sidewalk prostitutes are mostly from Romania, Bulgaria and Africa whereas discrete prostitution, in massage parlours or hostels, concerns girls from Eastern Europe. Finally the hidden prostitutes who work from private apartments are more often Asian or transsexuals.
The main problem with prostitution is the living conditions of the prostitutes. Are they really free to do what they want? Do they have good protection against STD? How do they deal with all the violence in their job? The question is to know if penalizing the clients will really protect the prostitutes or put them in even darker and more dangerous places. However the general policy in Europe seems to be to penalize more and more, and some countries such as the Netherlands are even going back on their former decisions about legalization. So prostitution is slowly disappearing from our sidewalks and is more hidden. Prostitutes are now more mobile and move from one country to another really quickly, and they are nowadays more localized at the borders.
There are two opposite sides in this debate. On one hand we have those who are for total legalization, arguing that in this case the prostitutes would be safer. They would have health insurance, be better protected by law and could choose where they work. They wouldn't have to work for pimps in really unhealthy conditions. We could reproach them that it is as we can't see the trees for the forest. On the other hand are those who would rather try to totally abolish prostitution as we abolished slavery and all exploitation of the human body. They say that we won't let anyone sell their organs because some would be push to do it to get some money, so it should be the same for prostitution. The goal would be to totally stop this prostitution. But the problem could be the same as with drugs; prostitutes would hide themselves and there would be a black market.
So it will be up to our debaters to decide and to convince us. Let's do it!
by PG
There are lots of detailed information on this website (FR)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.prostitutionetsociete.fr/