Prostitution
The word prostitute derives from the Latin prostituta, which some sources define as a composition of pro meaning up front and statuere to cause to stand. A literal translation suggests to put up front for sale or to place forward. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the notion of sex for hire is not inherent in the etymology, which rather suggests one exposed to lust or sex indiscriminately offered. Most sex worker activist groups reject the word prostitute and since the late 1970s have used the term sex worker instead. However, sex worker can also mean anyone who works within the sex industry or whose work is of a sexual nature and is not limited solely to prostitutes. Common alternatives for prostitute include escort and whore, though not all professional escorts are prostitutes. The English word whore derives from the Old English word from the Proto-Germanic hōrōn meaning prostitute, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European root keh₂ meaning desire. Use of the word whore is widely considered pejorative, especially in its modern slang form of ho. In Germany, however, most prostitutes' organizations deliberately use the word whore since they feel that prostitute is a bureaucratic term. Those seeking to remove the social stigma associated with prostitution often promote terminology such as commercial sex worker or sex trade worker. Another commonly used word for a prostitute is hooker. Although a popular etymology connects hooker with Joseph Hooker, a Union general in the American Civil War, the word more likely comes from the concentration of prostitutes around the shipyards and ferry terminal of the Corlear's Hook area of Manhattan in the 1820s. A streetwalker solicits customers on the streets or in public places, while a call girl makes appointments by phone or other means of communication. Correctly or not, the use of the word prostitute without specifying a sex may commonly be assumed to be female.
Amongst the oldest reliable references to prostitution in ancient Greece comes from the Archaic era poet Anacreon circa 575 to 495 BC in his poem about Artemon, which references whores by choice. The record of prostitution in the classical period includes references to both free-born voluntary prostitutes including the high social status hetairai, as well as involuntary slave prostitutes. In ancient Rome, there was never a unified legal approach to prostitution, and under the reign of emperor Caligula, a taxation on prostitution was implemented. Throughout the Middle Ages the definition of a prostitute has been ambiguous, with various secular and canonical organizations defining prostitution in constantly evolving terms. The first known definition of prostitution was found in Marseille's thirteenth-century statutes, which included a chapter regarding prostitutes. The Marseillais designated prostitutes as public girls who day and night received two or more men in their house. A fourteenth-century English tract states that the term prostitute must be applied only to those women who give themselves to anyone and will refuse none for monetary gain. Medieval civilians accepted without question the fact of prostitution, it was a necessary part of medieval life. With the advent of the Protestant Reformation, numbers of Southern German towns closed their brothels in an attempt to eradicate prostitution. By the end of the 15th century attitudes seemed to have begun to harden against prostitution following an outbreak of syphilis in Naples 1494 which later swept across Europe. In the early 17th century, there was widespread male and female prostitution throughout the cities of Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka, Japan. Oiran were courtesans in Japan during the Edo period considered a type of woman of pleasure or prostitute. Among the oiran, the was considered the highest rank of courtesan available only to the wealthiest and highest ranking men. The last recorded oiran was in 1761. In Latin America and the Caribbean sex worker movements date back to the late 19th century in Havana, Cuba with a catalyst being a newspaper published by Havana sex workers named La Cebolla created by Las Horizontales.
The position of prostitution and the law varies widely worldwide reflecting differing opinions on victimhood and exploitation, inequality, gender roles, ethics and morality, freedom of choice, historical social norms, and social costs and benefits. Prostitution may be considered a form of exploitation as seen in Sweden Norway Iceland where it is illegal to buy sexual services but not to sell them. It can also be viewed as a legitimate occupation as in Netherlands Germany where prostitution is regulated as a profession. Some jurisdictions outlaw the act of prostitution while other countries do not prohibit prostitution itself but ban activities typically associated with it like soliciting in a public place operating a brothel or pimping. Decriminalization views prostitution as labor like any other and that the sex industry premises should not be subject to any special regulation or laws. This is the current situation in New Zealand where laws against operating a brothel pimping and street prostitution are struck down but prostitution is hardly regulated at all. Amnesty International is one of the notable groups calling for the decriminalization of prostitution. In 1999 after lobbying by a coalition of feminists and Christians Sweden criminalized the buying not the selling of sex and neo-abolitionism has come to also be known as the Nordic model. It has since become law in France Norway and Iceland. In 1949 the UN General Assembly adopted a convention stating that prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person requiring all signing parties to punish pimps and brothel owners and operators and to abolish all special treatment or registration of prostitutes. As of January 2009 the convention was ratified by 95 member nations including France Spain Italy Denmark and not ratified by another 97 member nations including Germany the Netherlands the United Kingdom and the United States.
According to a 2011 report by Fondation Scelles there are about 42 million prostitutes in the world living all over the though most of Central Asia the Middle East and Africa lack data studied countries in that large region rank as top sex tourism destinations. Estimates place the annual revenue generated by prostitution worldwide to be over 100 billion dollars. According to the paper Estimating the prevalence and career longevity of prostitute women the number of full-time equivalent prostitutes in a typical area in the United States Colorado Springs CO during 1970, 1988 is estimated at 23 per 100,000 population which is 0.023 percent of which some 4 percent were under 18. The length of these prostitutes' working careers was estimated at a mean of 5 years. In 2003 it was estimated that in Amsterdam one woman in 35 was working as a prostitute compared to one in 300 in London. The number of men who have used a prostitute at least once varies widely from country to country from an estimated low of between 7 percent and 8.8 percent in the United Kingdom to a high of between 59 percent and 80 percent in Cambodia. A study conducted by ProCon a nonpartisan nonprofit organization estimated the percentage of men who had paid for sex at least once in their lives finding the highest rates in Cambodia between 59 and 80 percent of men had paid for sex at least once and Thailand an estimated 75 percent followed by Italy 16.7, 45 percent Spain 27, 39 percent Japan 37 percent the Netherlands 13.5, 21.6 percent the United States 15.0, 20.0 percent and China 6.4-20 percent. In Australia a survey conducted in the early 2000s showed that 15.6 percent of men aged 16, 59 reported paying for sex at least once in their life and 1.9 percent had done so in the past year.
Sex trafficking is defined as using coercion or force to transport an unwilling person into prostitution or other sexual exploitation. The United Nations stated in 2009 that sex trafficking is the most commonly identified form of human trafficking and estimates that about 79 percent of human trafficking reported is for prostitution although the study notes that this may be the result of statistical bias and that sex trafficking tends to receive the most attention and be the most visible. Annually according to U.S. Government-sponsored research completed in 2006 approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders which does not include millions trafficked within their own countries. Approximately 80 percent of transnational victims are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors estimated the US Department of State in a 2008 study in reference to the number of people estimated to be victims of all forms of human trafficking. Globally forced labour generates an estimated 31 billion dollars about half of it in the industrialized world and around one-tenth in transitional countries according to the International Labour Organization ILO in a report on forced labour A global alliance against forced labour ILO the 11th of May 2005. Major sources of trafficked persons include Thailand China Nigeria Albania Bulgaria Belarus Moldova and Ukraine. In India the federal police say that around 1.2 million children are believed to be involved in prostitution. A CBI statement said that studies and surveys sponsored by the ministry of women and child development estimated that about 40 percent of all India's prostitutes are children. Children are often medicated to make them appear more mature. In Bangladesh child prostitutes are known to take the drug Oradexon also known as dexamethasone. This over-the-counter steroid usually used by farmers to fatten cattle makes child prostitutes look larger and older. Charities say that 90 percent of prostitutes in the country's legalized brothels use the drug.
Common questions
What is the etymology of the word prostitute?
The word prostitute derives from the Latin prostituta, which some sources define as a composition of pro meaning up front and statuere to cause to stand. A literal translation suggests to put up front for sale or to place forward.
When did sex worker movements begin in Latin America and the Caribbean?
Sex worker movements in Latin America and the Caribbean date back to the late 19th century in Havana, Cuba with a catalyst being a newspaper published by Havana sex workers named La Cebolla created by Las Horizontales.
Which countries have criminalized the buying but not the selling of sex since 1999?
In 1999 after lobbying by a coalition of feminists and Christians Sweden criminalized the buying not the selling of sex and neo-abolitionism has come to also be known as the Nordic model. It has since become law in France Norway and Iceland.
How many prostitutes are estimated to exist worldwide according to a 2011 report?
According to a 2011 report by Fondation Scelles there are about 42 million prostitutes in the world living all over the though most of Central Asia the Middle East and Africa lack data studied countries in that large region rank as top sex tourism destinations.
What percentage of India's prostitutes are children according to ministry estimates?
A CBI statement said that studies and surveys sponsored by the ministry of women and child development estimated that about 40 percent of all India's prostitutes are children.