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Issue Paper: Who is Involved
in Systems of Prostitution?
Globally, millions of children, women, and some men are in
the sex industries in the role of “prostitute”—meaning
someone whose body is sold for profit or in some kind of material
exchange. The individuals in this area of the sex industries
may come from any class background, gender, age group, nation,
ethnic, racial or cultural group, religious background, and
may have a range of sexual histories or orientations. There
is no single category or stereotype that predicts with any
certainty whether a person might be in systems of prostitution.
Pimps, traffickers, “tricks”, or sexual perpetrators
can also be from any group or background.
However, there are some overarching patterns: The majority
of pimps, traffickers, and the vast majority of tricks and
customers are adult and male. People who are dealing with
poverty, displacement or unemployment, or who are refugees
or immigrants are more likely to be forced into prostitution
either through lack of economic options or through lack of
legal and social protections (or both). Girls, and women who
entered systems of prostitution as girls, make up the vast
majority. Runaway and homeless youth are particularly vulnerable.
People of color and “Third World” communities
are often the social and economic targets of pimps and traffickers,
and of “tricks” and “johns”—and
also make up the vast global majority of sexual exploitation
and trafficking survivors. Lesbian, bisexual, gay, and particularly
transgender youth are disproportionately recruited into systems
of prostitution as homeless runaways, often after family violence
or abandonment in response to sexual or gender identity.
Though individuals may be in varying physical or mental health
when first recruited into systems of prostitution, people
in the sex industries are disproportionately likely to develop
traumatic stress related illnesses and disorders, to contract
infectious diseases, and to develop disabilities as a consequence
of injury or violence within systems of prostitution. People
in systems of prostitution are also disproportionately likely
to be substance abusers, and to either be in the sex industries
to support a habit, or to have developed a pattern of substance
abuse in reaction to experiences in the sex industries. Individuals
who enter the sex industries as teenagers or adults are also
very likely to have had prior experiences with child sexual
abuse.
As mentioned above, there is no characteristic that is true
for every individual—not everyone is poor, has a child
sexual abuse history or a drug habit, or is female. However,
these patterns are very important; they let us know what kinds
of vulnerabilities, oppressions and circumstances create the
opportunity and context for sexual exploitation.
In addition to the people directly involved in systems of
prostitution, law enforcement and legislators, and in some
cases social services, play a role in the sex industries.
Although the “demand side” or the customers in
prostitution are a primary reason the sex industries exist,
the role of social institutions such as law enforcement is
often essential as well. If broader communities and institutions
do not address underlying causes of commercialized sex or
offer rights or refuge to victims of sexual exploitation,
systems of prostitution will flourish.
- In the U.S., the average age of entry
into prostitution is 14. The average age of entry into pornography
is 11. The vast majority of the “supply side”
of prostitution, meaning the people who are in the role
of “prostitute”—are either children or teens,
or adults who entered into systems of prostitution as children
or teens.
-
Approximately 80-90% of prostitution involves a pimp. Pimps
are often male, but may be male or female and of varying
ethnic and class backgrounds and social status. Some pimps
engage in trafficking. Others maintain control of people
in prostitution through coercion, force, drug addiction,
or the exploitation of economic, physical or emotional vulnerability.
- The vast
majority of the “demand side” of prostitution
is comprised of adult men. Of these, the majority have wives,
girlfriends, or other sex partners. Tricks and sex offenders
represent a range of ages and ethnic and class backgrounds.
Most of these men participate in more than one area of the
sex industries, often including both legal and illegal activities—for instance, using pornography, attending strip clubs,
and buying prostitution. “Tricks” and perpetrators
are more likely to come from a privileged class background
than the “prostitutes” they are buying.
- Globally, there
is a pattern in which the combination of poverty, gender,
age and international patterns of imperialism, racism and
exploitation result in the trafficking and exploitation
of vulnerable women and children within “Third World”
or non-industrial societies. In some countries, such as
Thailand, “sex tourism” has become a massive
industry, providing children, women, and in some cases men,
transgender people, or animals to a global market which
visits the country for the purpose of gaining access to
extremely cheap prostitution. In other cases, countries
such as the Phillipines are the targets of traffickers who
transport enslaved or coerced women and children into western
nations for use in brothels and massage parlors, or as mail
order brides.
- As a consequence
of discrimination and vulnerability to violence within families
and communities, a disproportionate percentage of runaway
or abandoned youth are transgender, lesbian, bisexual and
gay. Pimps who recruit runaways are able to take particular
advantage of teens dealing with homophobia or gender identity
discrimination (also known as transphobia.) In a number
of societies and regions, transgender individuals are particularly
excluded from so many areas of social and economic life,
that prostitution becomes one of very few options for economic
survival.
- In most parts of
the world, at least some areas of the sex industries are
criminalized. In practice, the majority of law enforcement
agencies tend to primarily target individuals in the role
of “prostitute” as criminals. Some also target
pimps, traffickers, child pornographers, or sex club or
parlor owners. Most law enforcement agencies do not target
customers, tricks or perpetrators, or tend to give them
comparatively lighter consequences or punishments. In the
worst cases—unfortunately not uncommon—law enforcement
may accept bribes or payoffs from organized crime or traffickers
in order to protect the interests of those who profit from
sexual exploitation.
Too many law enforcement agencies do not crack down on their
members who personally participate in the sex industries
as customers, or who sexually exploit or abuse people who
are arrested or incarcerated for prostitution. The problems
in broader criminal justice systems partly reflect the language
and rules put in place by legislators and local and national
governments. At this point, only a few regions and institutions
have legislation which serve to either protect the rights
on individuals in systems of prostitution, or to crack down
on sexual exploitation by targeting the perpetrators.
- : Social work and relief organizations,
religious and charitable organizations, healthcare institutions,
and in some cases various cultural and educational groups
are involved in the sex industries primarily by providing
services to people in the sex industries, and by dealing
with the corollary problems of addiction and sexually transmitted
diseases. Social service organizations and agencies may
have varying agendas and degrees of sensitivity to the conditions
of people in the sex industries. Unfortunately, due to negative
social stereotypes and discrimination directed against people
in the sex industries, some health care, social or relief
workers are hostile, abusive, or condescending in their
interactions with people they perceive as “whores”.
However, when functioning effectively and respectfully,
social services can play a crucial role in dealing with
the problems associated with the sex industries.
For more information about other SAGE programs
and services, use the links above, or contact us at SAGE.
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