Prostiution+Abroad

Catherine Ruschak

** Prostitution Abroad **

**Introduction** Prostitution (noun)- the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money ("Prostitution") Laws regarding prostitution vary across Europe. In eight countries- Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Turkey- prostitution is both legal and regulated by the government. (“100 countries and,” 2009) In others, prostitution is legal but not regulated; in such cases brothels are not legal. In many European nations, prostitution is illegal. The idea of prostitution is controversial, and is related to such issues as sex tourism, child prostitution, and human trafficking.

**Sex Tourism** The idea of travelling to another country for the purpose of partaking in sexual exploits can take many directions. Tourists flock to destinations like Amsterdam’s famed Red Light District, to indulge in activities that may be illegal in their own countries. The Red Light District boasts brothels, sex shops, and even sex museums for the entertainment and enjoyment of its tourists. (Amsterdam Guide, 2003) Sex tourism does not simply include the exciting nightlife of Amsterdam and other similar destination. Sex tourism can take on an ugly meaning, particularly in regards to the rising trend of child sex tourism; in such cases, these tourists engage in sexual acts with children. (Nair) Despite the popularity of sex tourism, in 1995 the World Tourism Organization adopted the WTO Declaration on the Prevention of Organized Sex Tourism. (United Nations)

**Child Prostitution** Though the prostitution of children is illegal throughout Europe, it still exists in large numbers. Worldwide, it is estimated that over two million children- in this case, defined as under age 18- work as prostitutes. (Shahbazi, 2003) Poverty is one of the key factors driving the child prostitution trend. High-poverty, developing countries with unstable economies typically have the highest rates of child prostitution. Children is poverty-stricken families are often targeted to become prostitutes; some are lured away with the promise of a job in a large city, and others go into the field at the hand of their own parents or other trusted adults. (Nair) In still other cases, the children are kidnapped and then forced into prostitution rings. (Shahbazi, 2003) In many such prostitution rings, the children are controlled by brothel owners, forced to partake in sexually explicit acts while giving their owners a vast sum of their income. In some cases, child prostitutes may see as many as thirty clients each week. (Nair) This is detrimental to both their physical and mental health. Many contact sexually transmitted diseases, which are left untreated, and drug abuse is a common coping mechanism among child prostitutes. Suicide is also prevalent. (Nair) The existence of countless online sources helps to perpetuate child sex tourism; such websites offer tips on how and where to find child prostitutes, personal accounts and “reviews”, and brothel information, including location and price. Some agencies even go as far as to help sex tourists plan their trips, arranging their visits to child prostitutes. (Nair)

**Human Trafficking** Many prostitutes in Europe, as well as other countries including Mexico, Costa Rica, and African nations, were sold or kidnapped into sexual slavery. It is most common to abduct individuals, mostly young women, from developing countries and smuggle them across borders to wealthier countries in Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe, and North America. (U.S. Department of Justice) If not kidnapped, many are tricked into traveling to Europe. Pimps and madams, posing as “sponsors” offer to help families send their daughters to industrialized Europe, claiming they will help the girls find work or schooling. It is understood that the girls must repay the debt to their “sponsors”; however once in Europe they find themselves thrust into the world of prostitution, unable to escape. (Sapa) A vast percentage of trafficked women come into the European Union from Africa, Latin America, South East Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. (Hughes) Trafficking rings are largely territorial, and prostitution rings in many countries are controlled by outside foreigners; for example, Russian groups have heavy control on rings in Italy, Poland, and Germany. (Hughes) Violence in prominent within the trafficking community, the brothel owners going as far as to attack rival brothels. They also use as a control tool, threatening and blackmailing the children’s prostitute mothers. (Hughes) Women trafficked from other nations and into Europe may travel either legally or illegally across the borders. Some traffickers lure women into the country with the promise of jobs, marriages, and schooling. (Hughes) Methods of illegal entry include fake passports or intense travel situations; many Nigerian-born prostitutes are smuggled into Europe via an eight-month process that includes travel across the seas in packed dinghies. (Sapa)

**Depictions in Media** Prostitution and human trafficking has been the subject of several media projects. A 2005 Lifetime Television miniseries called //Human Trafficking// starred Mira Sorvino as a U.S. Immigration agent who goes undercover in an attempt to stop a trafficking and prostitution ring. The program depicts three women- a single mother from the Czech Republic, a sixteen-year-old Ukranian girl, and twelve-year-old American girl travelling in the Philippines with her family. The three women are thrown into the same international sex slavery network. (Duguay 2005) //Sex Traffic//, a 2004 British-Canadian drama that aired on Granada Television, Big Motion Pictures, and CBC Channel 4, tells the story of two young women from a developing European country who fall victim to an international trafficking ring. (Yates 2004) A 2007 German film titled //Trade// follows the story of a thirteen-year-old Mexican girl and a Polish woman kidnapped en route to Los Angeles. The young girl, Adriana, is also kidnapped, taken to the same place as the Polish woman, Veronica. Adriana’s older brother investigates her disappearance and learns that his sister, along with Veronica and other women, will soon be sold into a global prostitution ring. The film depicts such issues as government corruption (in one scene policemen allow the truck full of kidnapped women across the border in exchange for sex) and the use of children as a threat, as Veronica’s young son has also been taken by her captors. Later in the film, Veronica commits suicide rather than enter the prostitution ring. (Kreuzpaintner 2007)

The most widely known film depicting human trafficking is //Taken//, a 2008 story which stars Liam Neeson as a former CIA officer who’s daughter, Kim, and her friend are abducted upon arrival in France and thrown into a prostitution ring run by an Albanian group. Neeson’s character travels to the country in an effort to save them, utilizing his skills learned in the CIA to eventually find and free Kim.Many of the prostitutes in the film are shown with IVs in their arms, implicating that their new owners have drugged them in order to force them to cooperate. Kim’s friend is shown to have died of a drug overdose, either intentional (suicide) or accidental. Neeson’s character eventually tracks down his daughter and finds her being auctioned off as a virgin, a lucrative prize in the eyes of the sex trafficking world. (Morel 2008)

Resources // 100 countries and their prostitution policies //. (2009, November 4). Retrieved from http://www.prostitution.procon.org/view/resource.php?resourceID=000772

Amsterdam Guide. (2003). // Red light district in amsterdam //. Retrieved from http://www.amsterdam.info/red-light-district

Duguay, Christian (Director). (2005). // Human trafficking //. Lifetime Television.

Hughes, D.M., Sporcic, L.J., & Mendelsohn, N.Z. // Europe- facts on trafficking and prostitution //. Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/europe.htm

Kreuzpaintner, Marco (Director). (2007). // Trade //. United States: Roadside Attractions.

Morel, Pierre (Director). (2008). // Taken //. France: 20th Century Fox.

Nair, S. U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. // Child sex tourism //. Washington, D.C.: Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/sextour.html

Prostitution. 2011. In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prostitution

Sapa. (2004, June 3). // Nigerian prostitution rings flourish in europe //. Retrieved from http://www.amren.com/news/news04/06/03/nigerianrings.html

Shahbazi, R. (2003, October 23). Child prostitution crisis surges worldwide. // The Graphic //. Retrieved from http://www.graphic.pepperdine.edu/perspectives/2003/2003-10-23-prostitution.htm

United Nations, World Tourism Organization. // History //. Retrieved from http://www.unwto.org/en/about/history

U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. // Trafficking and sex tourism //. Washington, D.C.: Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/trafficking.html

Yates, David (Director). (2004). // Sex traffic. //Granada Television.