Prostitution or sex work: Understanding the concepts
WE ARE BADLY ABLE TO TALK ABOUT SEX, What can we say about the correct language to describe the sex industry. In Russia, the women involved in this business are often joke, scornfully, condemned, or simply insulting. Last year, artist Peter Pavlensky attracted "prostitutes" - women who testified for money - as witnesses in court. And in January, President Vladimir Putin stood up for Donald Trump’s colleague, joking that the American president doesn’t need “girls with reduced social responsibility”, because he has beauty contests at his disposal.
According to the organization Fondation Scelles, fighting against sexual exploitation, in 2012 there were about 40-42 million sex workers in the world. 80% of them are women, three quarters of them are between the ages of 13 and 25. Sex business is a painful subject about which there is a lot of controversy in the world. Some believe that women who provide sex services choose this work voluntarily and voluntarily, that is, they are free. Others believe that sex work is a consequence of gender inequality (which is why sex workers are mostly women and their clients are men), and payment for sex services is always a sign of violence.
There are different ways to solve the problems of the sex industry in the world, but there is no ideally working legislative model. Somewhere, like in Russia, China and Japan, sex services are banned completely. In other countries, such as Sweden and Norway, only the client is punished by law. In Portugal, Italy and Poland intermediaries are punished. In Germany and Holland, sex work is legalized - and you can do it under a license. We tried to figure out why people even think differently about sex business in the world, and decide how to talk about it is definitely not worth it.
countries where the provision of sex services is legalized and controlled by the state. Proponents of the wording believe that it helps fight stigma and treat those involved in sex work more respectfully. This formulation, for example, is used by the unregistered Russian association of sex workers, Silver Rose. The association believes that the term "does not speak of us as a social problem and emphasizes that sex work is work that deserves respect for safety, protection of health and decriminalization."
Opponents of the wording say that it is too neutral and normalizes the industry, where the chances of facing violence are much higher than in any other field. "This name originated from the movie" Pretty Woman "and people who support and benefit from the trafficking of women," wrote in the essay "Sex Worker? I never met them! "Trisha Bapti. - I know prostituted women - I was one of them - they are involved in prostitution because of poverty, racism, classism, sexism and child abuse."
“Prostituted women” is another, although less common wording. It is used by those who want to emphasize that free choice in this area is impossible - and even if the decision of a woman seems to be independent, it is still subconsciously dictated by gender inequality in the society.
Work or slavery
Data on when, on average, people get into the sex business is contradictory - there is not enough large-scale research. The most frequently cited statistics say that the average age is 13 years, although it cannot be considered accurate. Data from other studies speak of 15, 17, or 19 years — but even here there is not a fairly wide sample.
There is much talk about the mechanisms of involvement in the sex business. One of the most frequent reasons why women start providing sex services is economic: often women are in a difficult financial situation or have to help the family with money. Many sex workers find it difficult to go out of business - they are held back with threats, violence or financially, when they cannot buy off the brothel owners.
In TV shows and movies, sex work is often presented as an instrument of emancipation. Some sex workers, who are ready to talk openly about their experience, adhere to this point of view: they say they are free to control their bodies and do not want to be considered victims by default. However, it cannot be denied that a huge part of sex work is exploitative. According to the UN in 52 countries, 79% of the victims of trafficking were also sexually exploited.
Most victims of trafficking are women who are sexually enslaved
Most victims of trafficking are women who are sexually enslaved. According to a study conducted at the request of the US Department of Justice, about a third of female sex workers say they have experienced cruelty and violence from clients. 15% of pimps confessed that they beat women working for them. Women often talk about the difficult psychological consequences of sex work. For example, former sex worker Bettany St. James said in the The Huffington Post column that she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder - although she believes that she was not forced to do anything, and before going to a psychotherapist she did not understand that her experience was traumatic.
There is still no consensus on how to cope with violence and exploitation in the sex business. The debate about what is best - to try to reform the sex business and how much the state intervenes in it, or to strive to completely eradicate it - is being conducted as actively today as it was ten years ago.
What is decriminalization
Supporters of decriminalization believe that sex work can be a voluntary choice of a person, and violence, exploitation of children and sexual slavery should be fought separately. They emphasize the difference between the free provision of sex services and slavery, and the industry itself is trying to make it as transparent and safe as possible - and for this they propose making sex services legal.
Such a model operates, for example, in New Zealand: since 2003, in the country, anyone who has reached the age of majority can offer their sex services; To manage a brothel is also legal. In 2008, a committee assembled by the Minister of Justice assessed the effect of the reform. Contrary to the concerns, sex workers have not become more (it is believed that this may occur due to the growing demand for sex services), but it also didn’t work to eradicate the existing problems - the country still has child exploitation and sex workers are victims of violence . True, it was not possible to assess whether there was less violence and exploitation in the industry since the moment of the reform.
Amnesty International also calls for the decriminalization of the industry: the organization published a report last summer, recommending that governments focus on measures that protect sex workers, and not prohibit buying sex and organizing sex work in principle: “Observations show that “Workers feel less secure, and job seekers feel unpunished because sex workers are often afraid to go to the police because they are fined."
How does legalization differ from decriminalization
Legalization of sex work differs from decriminalization (although these approaches are similar) by state control mechanisms. It is also legal to do sex work in this case, but the state controls the industry by issuing licenses and taxation, and the laws determine where, when and how sex services can be provided. Proponents of the model seek to make the industry safe for workers who voluntarily want to continue to provide sex services - to provide them with access to health insurance and pensions.
Such a model is valid, for example, in the Netherlands and Germany. She has helped improve the working environment in the sex business, but she has several obvious drawbacks. Legalization of sexual services increases the demand for them - because of which more and more people are involved in the industry, and prices are falling. Due to the low cost of services and high costs (renting a shop window in the red light district, taxes, payment to a pimp), Dutch sex workers often have to work for many hours, and this is morally and physically hard. In addition, in the Netherlands, a new approach did not help to get rid of stigma: those who want to leave the sex business, it is difficult to find a new job.
Sex worker Molly Smith (this is her pseudonym) believes that legalization leaves without protection of the law those who do not want to solve bureaucratic issues - therefore many of the shortcomings of criminalization remain here. “The model is disproportionate: it excludes sex workers who are already in a difficult situation, for example those who use drugs or have no documents,” she says.
believe that the only way to remedy the situation is to try to eradicate the demand for sex services. In Sweden, it is legal to engage in sex work, but to pay for the services of sex workers is not.
For a decade and a half, the country has achieved great success: according to the Swedish Ministry of Justice, the level of sex work has declined by half, and, despite fears, violence against sex workers has not increased. In many respects, success is connected with the social policy of Sweden: in the country they help those who want it out of the industry, and also try to change the attitude of society and police towards those involved in the sex business. Criminalization of the client is recommended by the European Parliament: it advises not only to combat the demand for sex services and violence against women involved in the sex industry, but also to offer women ways to leave the industry and support - measures should be comprehensive.
At the same time, the Scandinavian model is not ideal: for example, because of a drop in demand, sex workers have less opportunity to choose clients and often they have to work at their home - and they take more risks. Pai Jakobsson, a former sex worker and coordinator of the rights-protecting sex workers group Rose Alliance, says that in Sweden, they only focus on sex workers who are looking for clients on the street, ignoring, for example, those who work online. Proving the purchase of sex is very difficult - so the police are monitoring the sex workers themselves to figure out their clients. “If you rent an apartment, your landlord can be arrested for organizing prostitution,” says Pie. “If you provide sex services in your own apartment, you lose ownership of it, according to the laws on renting and organizing prostitution.” Many sex workers are hesitant to report to the police that they are facing violence from clients and partners. Critics of the model say that there are more people who go to other countries for the sake of sex tourism.
What happens in Russia
Russian legislation does not define sex services - but there are several articles of the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses that regulate business. Articles 6.11 and 6.12 of the Administrative Code punish for providing sex services and for earning income from them: sex workers are punished with a fine of 1,500 to 2,000 rubles, and for pimps there is a fine of 2,000 to 2,500 rubles or arrest for up to fifteen days. Criminal punishment is provided only for organizing sex work, and clients are not punished for purchasing sex services.
How many sex workers in Russia, it is impossible to say for sure - the business is illegal. According to the Interior Ministry, in 2014, 10,538 people were detained for providing sex services. It is difficult to call this data accurate - many police detentions simply do not register. “It is easier for police officers to take bribes from girls than to draw up protocols on the Code of Administrative Offenses,” said Irina Maslova, leader of Silver Rose. “It’s very difficult to prove that a woman engages in prostitution when the law does not have a legal definition of this concept.” procurement ", which, according to lawyers and human rights defenders, are provocative and illegal."
According to Silver Rose itself, there are about 3 million sex workers in Russia. According to Irina Maslova, a typical Russian sex worker is a woman of 25-35 years old with a secondary specialized or incomplete higher education. In half the cases, sex services are provided by migrants who come from other Russian cities, countries of the former Soviet Union or Africa. In 80% of cases, a woman provides sex services to provide for children, a husband or parents.
It is hardly possible to expect serious changes in this area until the attitude of society towards the problem and towards women involved in the sex business changes
“The situation with prostitution in Europe is very different, but if we compare as a whole, the situation with gender equality and the social protection system is worse in Russia,” said Yulia Alimova, coordinator of the Rib of Eva project. “We have a wage gap of up to 40%, discrimination in employment, the colossal level of male irresponsibility in raising children and generally lower the standard of living. And these factors, in turn, contribute to the involvement of women in prostitution. In addition, we do not have programs to combat human trafficking and to protect victims govlie people. "
In Russia, they tried several times to change the laws relating to sex work, but each of these attempts was unsuccessful. In 2002, the Union of Right Forces Party proposed to abolish administrative and criminal responsibility for the provision of sex services and the organization of sex business, and to use the phrase “commercial sex worker” instead of the word “prostitute”. In 2005, the Liberal Democratic Party came up with a similar initiative (Vladimir Zhirinovsky said that legalization would make the business safer and help the economy), and in 2012, the Right Cause party, but not one of these bills was supported.
Now in Russia, more and more people are against the legalization of sex services: according to Levada Center, in 2015, 20% of Russians supported the idea of legalization - although in 1997, 47% adhered to this point of view. 56% of respondents were in favor of tougher penalties for providing sex services. It is hardly possible to expect serious changes in this area until the attitude of society towards the problem and towards women involved in the sex business changes.
"The legalization of prostitution in Holland and Germany failed. At the same time, the official position in a society where prostitution is legalized is respect for women and attempts to give them a choice. Actually legalization, which is now recognized as a mistake, was based, among other things, on the idea of giving those who want legal status, - Tatyana Nikonova, author of Sam Jones's Diary sex blog, notes. - But there is no such thing in Russia: prostitution as an idea is rejected, and prostitutes themselves turn out to be extreme, although most of them are young unsettled girls, often from agile families, migrant women and other women in difficult situations who would happily prefer something else, but they are fined, a third of Russians believe that prostitutes should be isolated from society, and clients do not consider them people and talk about them as about inanimate objects. I’m pretty sure that it’s time to shift the focus on prostitution into prostitution. "
Images: Dasha Chertanova
