PROSTITUTION

 PROSTITUTION

What is Prostitution

Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment either as money, goods, services, or some other benefit agreed upon by the transacting parties.

 

Prostitution, often referred to as the “oldest profession in the world,” is the act of exchanging money or other compensation for sexual services. Prostitution is illegal in all states except for Nevada, where it is regulated by very strict laws. Prostitution laws specify that offering, agreeing to, or engaging in a sexual act, in exchange for money or other consideration, is illegal.

 

For an individual to be charged with a prostitution-related crime, it is not necessary for money to actually change hands, or for offered sexual services to actually be provided. For a successful prosecution for prostitution charges, the prosecutor need only prove there was an intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

Prostitution is the exchange of some kind of sexual service for money.

Prostitution is a significant institution to study because it holds a distinct place in a wide variety of societies across the globe.

In the United States alone, prostitutes serve approximately 1.5 million customers a week (Pateman 53).

It is a historical profession that has lasted, with high demand, for hundreds of years. In the modern era, the issue of prostitution should be a pivotal conversation.

There is also differing opinions on whether prostitution is actually harmful. Some assert that prostitution is a victimless institution in which both parties involved mutually benefit from the transaction (Goldman 90).

Others argue for its harmlessness by saying prostitution is analogous to casual sex, and since causal sex is not viewed as harmful by society anymore, then neither should prostitution (Moen 73).

History of Prostitution in India     

The profession of prostitution in India is as old as in some of the other countries in the world. “The origin of this institution is shrouded in mystery, yet some of the authorities on the problems associate it with religious practices, which in the beginning were of a customary nature.

The cause of shame prevented it for a time from degenerating into license, but the string tide of circumstance forced it into a mercenary affair.” Various efforts were made in the past to arrest its growth by the state through legislation or by public opinion with little effect. There was segregation of prostitutes in a town and a list of them kept by the state. Kautilya laid down the rules for keeping the public women (prostitutes) under control.

The reference to prostitutes also comes in Mahabharata and jataka stories, and all Hindu Shastrakaras such as Manu, Gautam, and Brihaspati recommended for suppression of prostitution. During Mohammad King had their Harem. However, the rapid urbanization and industrialization during the British period increased this evil, and certain legislative measures were taken to stop it.

Effect of Postitution No doubt, prostitution cause personal, family and social disorganization. The prostitutes suffer from deterioration .The prostitute and the person who approaches her lead a sort of ‘double life’. They suffer from moral collapse and loose their status and position which other respectable men and women enjoy in society. Respectable people hate them, avoid their company and want to isolate them in society.

As a result, the pimp and the prostitute become ‘hated and isolated islands’. They lead a life with their own definition of promiscuous sex conduct and a life with their own definitions of promiscuous sex conduct and immoral principle. This will be quite different from the society’s conception of morality. The man who approaches a prostitute may be contaminated with venereal diseases. If married he may communicate the disease to his wife and children. The children born to the parents having venereal diseases are likely to be maintained for life and many a time are born blind. The illegitimate and adulterous sexual union, if known to the wives, brings tension in the family and ultimately to desertion to divorce. There are clinical and psychoanalytic evidence to show that many young men who had

By definition, prostitution involves the selling of sex.

This means that money is the key feature of prostitution.

As such, money is also the major motivation for women who become prostitutes, as most of them come from low-income backgrounds.

For indoor workers, and especially call girls, prostitution is a potentially well-paying occupation.

Streetwalkers hardly get rich from prostitution and suffer the many problems listed earlier, but prostitution still provides them a source of income that they are unlikely to receive through legal occupations because they have few marketable job skills.

Despite this financial motivation, most women do not become prostitutes, and scholars have tried to understand why some women do so. Because prostitutes are not eager to be studied, as noted earlier, we do not yet have studies of random samples of prostitutes, and probably never will have such studies. As also noted earlier, most studies of prostitutes involve streetwalkers, even though they compose only about 20 percent of all prostitutes. Several of these studies cite high rates of child abuse in the backgrounds of streetwalkers, but other studies find that their rates of child abuse are similar to those of women from similar sociodemographic backgrounds who are not prostitutes (Weitzer, 2009). Although some studies find certain psychological problems among streetwalkers, it is unclear whether these problems existed before they became streetwalkers or developed (as is very possible) after they became streetwalkers. Methodologically, the best way to clarify this causal question would be to randomly assign young women to become prostitutes or not to become prostitutes, and then to study what happens to their psychological health afterward. For many reasons, this type of study would be highly unethical and will never be done. In the absence of studies of this type, it is difficult to determine what exactly prompts some women to become prostitutes.

Prostitution is a way for an individual to maximize their monetary intake (benefit) by selling the thing that have readily, their bodies. Because this power that individuals have, the government had to come in and outlaw prostitution.

·         The conflict perspective highlights the relationship between power in society and sex work. The laws that make prostitution illegal are created by powerful dominant group members who seek to maintain cultural dominance by criminalizing sexual conduct that they consider immoral or in bad taste.

·         Conflict theorists argue that women become prostitutes because of structural factors such as economic inequality and patriarchy. Capitalism and patriarchy foster economic inequality between men and women and force women to view their bodies as commodities.

·         Conflict theorists suggest that criminalizing prostitution uniquely affects poor women, especially poor women of color, who are overrepresented among street prostitutes. The Functionalist Perspective

·         The functionalist perspective argues that the presence of a certain amount of deviance in society contributes to its overall stability. According to Emile Durkheim, deviance clarifies social norms and helps societies to maintain social control over people’s behavior. By punishing those who engage in deviant behavior such as prostitution, the society reaffirms its commitment to its sexual norms and creates loyalty to the society as people bind together to oppose this behavior.

According to Kingsley Davis, in societies that have restrictive norms governing sexual conduct—prostitution will always exist because it serves important functions:

1.      Prostitution provides quick, impersonal sexual gratification that does not require emotional attachment or a continuing relationship with another person

2.      Prostitution provides a sexual outlet for men who do not have ongoing sexual relationships because they are not married or have heavy work schedules

3.      It provides people with the opportunity to engage in sexual practices (e.g., multiple sex partners, fellatio, cunnilingus, anal intercourse, sadomasochism) that regular sex partners or spouses may view as distasteful or immoral

4.      Prostitution protects the family as a social institution by making a distinction between “bad girls” and “bad boys”—with whom one engages in promiscuous sexual behavior—and those “good girls” and “good boys” with whom one establishes a family

5.      Prostitution benefits the economy by providing jobs for people who have limited formal education and job skills Some ask why prostitution spreads like a wildfire through our cities and streets.

This is an easy question for functionalists, prostitution flourishes because it satisfies sexual needs that are not able to be met elsewhere (Henslin 51). Prostitutes almost seem to serve as an outlet for sexually frustrated men. When a man is unable to find a partner he always holds the option of paying for sexual pleasure.

A functionalist, Kingsley Davis, concluded that prostitutes provide a sexual outlet for men who: have difficulty in establishing sexual relationships, cannot find long-term partners, have a broken relationship, want sexual gratification that is defined as immoral, desire quick sexual gratification without attachment, are curious, and are sexually dissatisfied in marriage.

From this, it is shown that by meeting such needs prostitution functions as a form of social control over sexual behavior.

This is beneficial because it brings men with sexual desires away from unwilling partners to partners that are willing but for a certain price. This undoubtedly helps bring down the number of rapes and sexual assaults for any given society.

Also, it brings in trashy hookers or prostitutes that seem to degrade any given city or society.

The functionalist theory is the best way to view prostitution through a sociological perspective. Functionalists see prostitution as a means of controlling or channeling sexual behaviors (Henslin 53).

Prostitutes meet the needs of men who otherwise do not have women always available to them. Also it meets the needs of a man because it is inexpensive, non-emotional and a fleeting relationship. Through looking at prostitution we see that it persists because it serves social functions.

This works by servicing people who are sexually frustrated. Prostitutes relieve pressures that otherwise might be placed on people who are unwilling to participate.

Without aid from prostitutes stimulating the un-stimulated, there might be other social problems that become bigger issues such as, rape sexual assault, kidnap and many more. Functionalism allows seeing each function that prostitution serves in a society.

Impacts to Individuals:

The impacts of prostitution on individuals are not only physical but also mental. Some of them are;

• Women are assaulted by men in the course of their prostitution activities.
• They suffer from moral collapse and lose their status and position which other respectable men and women enjoy in society.
• The prostitute and the pimps (male) are caught with fatal diseases like HIV AIDS, Herpes, etc.
• The person who is a prostitute is discriminated against by society.
• Many girls become drug users after engaging in prostitution.
• Girls (women) feel lonely, isolated and hatred as others in the society avoid their company.
• Some of them even commit suicide.

 

Impacts on Society:

As long as prostitutes live in society, there are some negative impacts to the society as follows;

• Since there is a relationship between prostitution and human trafficking, many girls are trafficked and forced into it or other illegal activities.
• It contributes to gender inequality where women meant to be used as objects of sexual satisfaction for men.
• It scatters marriage and ruins the family of many women and men in society.
• The pimps and prostitutes perpetrate criminality in society by trafficking girls.
• It also leads to a degradation of morality in society.

Causes of prostitution

Advantage of legalization of prostitution

Prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s)

Economic advantage

Ensure prostitutes’ workers’ rights

Reducing crime rate

Classify prostitution as a legal career

Overcome underground prostitutes

 

Advantage of legalization of prostitution

Prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s)

Economic advantage

Ensure prostitutes’ workers’ rights

Reducing crime rate

Classify prostitution as a legal career

Overcome underground prostitutes

   

 

Disadvantage of legalization of prostitution

Encourage the spread of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s)

Brings physical and emotional harm to prostitutes

Economics issues

Causes human trafficking problem

Against human rights

“At least 25 types of sex work were identified according to worksite, principal mode of soliciting clients, or sexual practices. These types of work are often grouped under the headings of ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ prostitution, with the latter group less likely to be perceived or to perceive themselves as sex workers…”

Direct Forms of Prostitution
Number	Type of Prostitution		Geographic Distribution
1	Street: Clients solicited on the street, park or other public places. Serviced in side streets, vehicles, or short stay premises		Widespread, particularly if alternative work sites are unavailable (United States, Europe, United Kingdom, Australasia) and/or there is socioeconomic breakdown (eastern Europe, parts of Africa, south and South East Asia, and Latin America)
2	Brothel: Premises explicitly dedicated to providing sex. Better security than street. Often licensed by authorities		Preferred where sex work is decriminalised or brothels are ‘tolerated.’ (Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, India, Europe, Latin America)
3	Escort: Client contacts sex worker by phone or via hotel staff. Most covert form of sex work. Relatively expensive because of low client turnover. Service provided at client’s home or hotel room		Ubiquitous. In the United States escorts and private workers contacted by phone and working from a ‘call book’ are known as ‘call girls’ or ‘call men’
4	Private: Client contacts sex worker by phone. Similar to escorts except services provided in sex worker’s premises. A variant in London and other big cities is ‘flat’ prostitution—high cost services in rented, serviced, inner city units		United Kingdom, Europe, United States, and Australia. Sometimes doorway (see below) and street sex workers bring clients home
5	Window or doorway: Brothels with sex workers on public display. Windows preferred in cold climates, doorways in warmer places		Window prostitution almost unique to Amsterdam and Hamburg. Doorway prostitution found in less affluent areas of European cities and in African and other developing countries
6	Club, pub, bar, karaoke bar, dance hall: Clients solicited in alcohol vending venues and serviced on site or elsewhere		Ubiquitous depending on types of male club available
7	Other all-male venues: Clients solicited in all-male venues such as barbershops, bathhouses, saunas, and mining camps. Serviced on site or elsewhere		Ubiquitous
8	Door knock or hotel: Unattached males are approached in their hotel rooms or boarding houses		Hotels worldwide and wherever large numbers of unaccompanied males reside
9	Transport (ship, truck, train): Sex workers may board vehicles to service the crew or passengers or pick up clients at stations and terminals		Ubiquitous
10	CB radio: Sex workers drive along highways using CB radio to exchange (jargon) messages with potential truck driver clients. Serviced at truck stops or parking areas		United States
11	Other methods of solicitation: Through various media including noticeboard and newspaper advertisements, ‘sex worker catalogues’ with mobile phone numbers, the internet via virtual brothels, etc. Services are delivered mostly in brothels and other indoor venues		Ubiquitous, but internet and mobile phone services are mostly confined to large cities in developed countries—particularly the United Kingdom and Sweden where legislation limits other forms of advertising
Indirect Forms of Prostitution
12	Bondage and discipline: sexual fantasy through role play. May involve the inflicting of pain, but genital contact is not routine		Apparently unique to wealthier countries
13	Lap dancing: A recent development involving erotic dancing at close quarters without sexual contact		Predominantly wealthier countries—often takes place in hotels and clubs
14	Massage parlour: Premises ostensibly dedicated to providing massage, but a range of sexual services may be provided. In South East Asia similar arrangements may apply in barbershops		Europe, South East Asia, and Australia
15	Travelling entertainers: Actors, dancers and others involved in entertainment may also provide sexual services		South East Asia
16	Beer girls: Young women hired by major companies to promote and sell products in bars and clubs. Sexual services sold to supplement income		Cambodia, Uganda, other developing countries
17	Street vendors and traders: Ostensibly marketing rural produce or other goods but supplementing income with sexual services		Widespread in developing countries
18	Opportunistic: A person approached in a social venue may occasionally choose to charge for sexual favours if the client appears wealthy enough		Ubiquitous
19	Femme libre: Women, usually single or divorced, who exchange sexual services for gifts. The gifts are then converted to cash		Central Africa
20	Individual arrangements: The single mother who may have sex with her landlord in place of rent. Older sex workers who only deal with a small number of regular clients, by appointment. ‘Kept’ women or men. Concubines. The number of possible arrangements is vast		Ubiquitous
21	Swingers clubs: Some swingers or couples sex clubs employ (undisclosed) sex workers if there is a shortage of female guests		Predominantly wealthier countries
22	Geisha: Women engaged primarily to provide social company, but sex may ensue		Japanese cities
23	‘Sex for drugs’: Women providing fellatio for crack cocaine in crack houses. Young homosexual men in Western countries may provide opportunistic sexual services paid with drugs		Crack houses are unique to the United States
24	Beachboys, bumsters, and gigolos: Men and boys engaged by women ostensibly for social purposes but sex is often involved. Some beachboys are under aged and many also service male clients		Resorts, particularly in developing countries
25	Survival sex: A matter of degree, where starvation or other serious deprivation is imminent, particularly for dependants. Food or security may be the currency, rather than money		Refugee camps anywhere

Little about social problems:-

Definition of Social Problem

Social problems change with the passage of time. Let us highlight some of the eminent thinkers who have put forth in defining social problems but it is difficult to arrive at a commonly accepted definition.

1.                  According to Fuller and Myers, a social problem is “a condition which is defined by a considerable number of persons as a deviation from some social norms which they cherish”.

2.                  According to Merton and Nisbet define social problem as “a way of behaviour that is regarded by a substantial part of society as being in violation of one or more generally accepted or approved norms”.

3.                  According to Carr, “a social problem exists whenever we become conscious of a difficulty, a gap between our preference and the reality”.

4.                  According to Goddard, “Poverty is insufficient supply of those things which are requisite for an individual to maintain himself and those dependent upon him in his health and vigour”.

 

Nature of social problems

The social problem is connected to the majority of the members of society. According to Bernad, the repressive and tense condition consequent of social problems may be involving three types of elements: (i) Tension factors which challenge some values of society, (ii) Social values which are being challenged and (iii) intense reaction of individuals and groups to challenge.

The following characteristics exhibit the nature of social problems:

 (i)       Disintegrative: Social problems, directly or indirectly disintegrate the social system. Social problems cause dissatisfaction, suffering and misery. It seriously affects the values of the society. It is always disintegrating and disorganizing. It is pathological. It is harmful for society.

(ii)       Multiple Causes: The social problems have no single or simple cause. Each problem has a complex history and is usually not due to one but to many causes. War, poverty, unemployment or crimes do not offer a single or simple explanation of their occurrence. Sometimes one problem is so interwoven with other problems that it cannot be solved apart from them.

(iii)     Inter-Connected: Social problems are inter-connected due to which these become serious. For example, unemployment, poverty and crime are inter-connected.

(iv)     Many Remedies: Hence the solution of the complex social problem requires various multi-sided remedies.

(v)       Relative Concept: Social problem is a relative concept. What we call a social problem in our society may not be a problem in other societies. Similarly, a social problem today may not be a problem tomorrow.

(vi)     Functional Value: Social problem, though disintegrative, has functional value since its cure leads to social problem and social development.