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Legalising prostitution is not the answer: The example of Victoria, Australia
... Legalization of prostitution in the State of Victoria, Australia, resulted in massive expansion of the sex industry. Along with legalization of prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography, have all developed in much more profitable ways than before legalization (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). Prostitution has become an integral part of the tourism and casino boom in Victoria with governmentsponsored casinos authorizing the redeeming of casino chips at local brothels (Sullivan &Jeffreys, 2001). ...
... Along with legalization of prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography, have all developed in much more profitable ways than before legalization (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). Prostitution has become an integral part of the tourism and casino boom in Victoria with governmentsponsored casinos authorizing the redeeming of casino chips at local brothels (Sullivan &Jeffreys, 2001). ...
... The real growth in prostitution in Australia since legalization took effect has been in the illegal sector. Over a period of 12 months from 1998-1999, unlicensed brothels in Victoria tripled in number and still operate with impunity (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). In New South Wales where brothels were decriminalized in 1995, the number of brothels in Sydney had tripled to 400-500 by 1999, with the vast majority having no license to advertise or operate. ...
Good afternoon, everyone. In 1 month, as we know, athletes and fans will be gathering for one of the premier worldwide sporting events of our day, the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Today the Subcommittee will hear testimony on reports that the World Cup will sadly be an impetus for exploitation of women. For most soccer fans like myself, this quadrennial spectacle is a showcase of world-class athleticism and teamwork, but looming in its shadow is the very real potential that the World Cup matches will be a catalyst and magnet for sex trafficking into Germany.
... Whereas there were 40 legal brothels in Victoria in 1989, in 1999 there were 94, along with 84 escort services. Other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography have all developed in much more profitable ways than before (Sullivan and Jeffreys: 2001). ...
... Prostitution has become an accepted sideline of the tourism and casino boom in Victoria with government-sponsored casinos authorizing the redeeming of casino chips and wheel of fortune bonuses at local brothels (Sullivan and Jeffreys: 2001). The commodification of women has vastly intensified and is much more visible. ...
... Since the onset of legalization in Victoria, brothels have tripled in number and expanded in size; the vast majority having no licenses but advertising and operating with impunity (Sullivan and Jeffreys: 2001). In New South Wales, brothels were decriminalized in 1995. ...
The following arguments apply to all state-sponsored forms of prostitution, including but not limited to full-scale legalization of brothels and pimping, decriminalization of the sex industry, regulating prostitution by laws such as registering or mandating health checks for women in prostitution, or any system in which prostitution is recognized as sex work or advocated as an employment choice. As countries are considering legalizing and decriminalizing the sex industry, we urge you to consider the ways in which legitimating prostitution as work does not empower the women in prostitution but does everything to strengthen the sex industry. 1. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution is a gift to pimps, traffickers and the sex industry. 2. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution and the sex industry promotes sex trafficking. 3. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not control the sex industry. It expands it. 4. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution increases clandestine, hidden, illegal and street prostitution. 5. Legalization of prostitution and decriminalization of the sex industry increases child prostitution. 6. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not protect the women in prostitution. 7. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution increases the demand for prostitution. It boosts the motivation of men to buy women for sex in a much wider and more permissible range of socially acceptable settings. 8. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not promote women's health. 9. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not enhance women's choice. 10. Women in systems of prostitution do not want the sex industry legalized or decriminalized.
... Alors qu'il y avait quarante maisons closes légales en 1989, on pouvait en compter quatrevingt quatorze en 1999, en plus de quatre-vingt quatre services d'hôtesses. D'autres formes d'exploitation sexuelle, comme la danse sur des tables, les centres sadomasochistes, les peep-shows, les services de téléphone rose, et la pornographie se sont toutes développées de façon beaucoup plus lucrative qu'auparavant (Sullivan et Jeffreys: 2001). ...
... La prostitution est devenue une activité qui suit la hausse du tourisme et l'expansion des casinos dans l'Etat de Victoria. Certains casinos sont financés en partie par le gouvernement qui autorise l'utilisation de jetons et de primes gagnés à la roulette dans les maison closes locales (Sullivan et Jeffreys: 2001). La marchandisation des femmes qui s'est intensifiée est de plus en plus visible. ...
... En Australie, la prostitution s'est véritablement développée dans le secteur illégal, depuis l'entrée en vigueur de la légalisation. Depuis le début de la légalisation dans l'Etat de Victoria, le nombre de maisons closes a triplé et leur taille a augmenté -l'immense majorité n'ayant pas d'autorisation mais faisant sa propre publicité et opérant en toute impunité (Sullivan et Jeffreys: 2001). Au Nouveau Pays de Galles du Sud, les maisons closes ont été dépénalisées en 1995. ...
... Legalization of prostitution in the State of Victoria, Australia, resulted in massive expansion of the sex industry. Along with legalization of prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography, have all developed in much more profitable ways than before legalization (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). Prostitution has become an integral part of the tourism and casino boom in Victoria with government-sponsored casinos authorizing the redeeming of casino chips at local brothels (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). ...
... Along with legalization of prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography, have all developed in much more profitable ways than before legalization (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). Prostitution has become an integral part of the tourism and casino boom in Victoria with government-sponsored casinos authorizing the redeeming of casino chips at local brothels (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). ...
... The real growth in prostitution in Australia since legalization took effect has been in the illegal sector. Over a period of 12 months from 1998-1999, unlicensed brothels in Victoria tripled in number and still operate with impunity (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). In New South Wales where brothels were decriminalized in 1995, the number of brothels in Sydney had tripled to 400-500 by 1999, with the vast majority having no license to advertise or operate. ...
Since the mid-1980s, the debate about how to address prostitution legally has become a subject of legislative action Some countries in Europe, most notably the Netherlands and Germany among others, have legalized and/or decriminalized systems of prostitution, which includes decriminalizing pimps, brothels and buyers, also known as "customers or johns." Other governments, such as Thailand, legally prohibit prostitution activities and enterprises but in reality tolerate brothels and the buying of women for commercial sexual exploitation, especially in its sex tourism industry. Sweden, has taken a different legal approach --penalizing the buyers while at the same time decriminalizing the women in prostitution. This article offers ten arguments for not legalizing prostitution. These arguments apply to all state-sponsored forms of prostitution, including but not limited to full-scale legalization of brothels and pimping, decriminalization of the sex industry, regulating prostitution by laws such as registering or mandating health checks for women in prostitution, or any system in which prostitution is recognized as "sex work" or advocated as an employment choice. This essay reviews the ways in which legitimating prostitution as work makes the harm of prostitution to women invisible, expands the sex industry, and does not empower the women in prostitution.
... Specialty brothels advertise services that cater to men with disabilities, and caretakers (mostly women) are now required to take disabled men to brothels and assist them in engaging in sex acts (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). In New Zealand, where prostitution was legalized in June 2003 by a one-vote majority, disability agencies are seeking money to train women in prostitution to provide "sexual services" to disabled men ("State-Funded Sex," 2003). ...
... Women who desire more egalitarian relationships with men find that often the men in their lives are visiting brothels and sex clubs. They have the choice to accept that their male partners are buying women in commercial sexual transactions, deny what their partners are doing, or leave the relationship (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). ...
Research, programs, and legislation related to sex trafficking are often premised on the invisibility of the male buyer and the failure to address men’s role in buying and abusing women in prostitution. Governments, UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and others act as if the male demand for sexual exploitation is insignificant, or that prostitution is so entrenched because, after all, “men will be men.” Little research on trafficking has focused on the so-called customer as a root cause of trafficking and sexual exploitation. And even less legislation has penalized the male customer whose right to buy women and children for prostitution activities remains unquestioned. This article looks at the demand—its meaning, the myths that rationalize why men buy women in prostitution, qualitative information on the buyers in two studies conducted by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)—as well as best practices that address the gender of demand.
... Legalization in Victoria led to the expansion of licensed prostitution businesses by an estimated 100 businesses. However, the illegal sector continues to outrun the legal with 400 unlicensed businesses (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2016). ...
... Sex workers who choose to work in a brothel for its security, however, must trade off income and agency. Sex workers in brothels often pay around 50% of their fees to brothel management [43,46,51,52]. Further, brothel-based sex workers may have less freedom to come and go as they please or to choose their clients. ...
While many studies examine how different legal approaches to prostitution affect sex workers’ living and working conditions, few studies analyze how sex workers’ physical workspaces and the policies regulating these spaces influence sex work conditions. Based on interviews with 109 current or former sex workers, 13 civil society representatives, 12 government officials, and 5 other actors in Ecuador and Argentina, this study describes sex workers’ uses of urban space in the two countries and compares how they experience and respond to government regulation of locations of prostitution. Argentina and Ecuador took different approaches to regulating sex work space, which appear to reflect different political ideologies towards prostitution. Sex workers expressed different individual preferences for spaces, and government limitation of these spaces represented one of their major concerns. The results illuminate how sex workers’ workspaces influence their working conditions and suggest that governments should consider sex worker preferences in establishing policies that affect their workspaces.
... As Chris Corrin (2000) points out, legalisation only protects nationals, and can in fact make the position of trafficked women more marginal. The impacts of legalisation in Victoria, Australia witnessed an increase in both the legal and illegal sectors, and minimal counter-trafficking law enforcement (Sullivan and Jeffreys, 2001). From an evidential point of view, therefore, the case that legalisation will benefit trafficked women is still to be made. ...
... 18 While I do not want to elaborate on some of the well-researched critique of legalization, I would only like to point out some of the main arguments emerging from these debates. For an excellent critique of legalization otherwise, I refer readers to the following sources: Raymond (1998Raymond ( , 2003aRaymond ( , 2003bRaymond ( , 2004, Sullivan & Jeffreys (2001), Farley (2004), and Sullivan (2005). 19 To some extent, some social scientists define the predatory behaviors of men buying women in prostitution as normal, maintaining that prostitution is simply part of human nature (Ahmad, 2001;Fisher, 1992). ...
The discursive terrain of prostitution has undergone several changes with modernity/postmodernity. Various groups of feminists hold contentious, often conflicting, ideologies on this issue. Two broad groups emerge from these debates: One takes a clear abolitionist perspective, while the other takes a sex work position. Both these groups actively lobby and join forces with individuals and institutions to influence global and national policy-making. There is a great degree of variation and overlap within and across each camp. Among those taking a sex work position, some argue that selling sex is equal to using any other part of the body for making a living. This article examines the discursive terrain of prostitution in India, focusing on what it means to treat sex as any other use of the body in commerce. It concludes that prohibition is a prejudice that India must overcome to develop sound public health policies.
... An alternative declaration of sexual rights with sexual equality at its core is necessary (Oriel, 2004). Bailey, 2002Sullivan et al., 2001 ...
Sexual rights advocates recommend that sexual pleasure should be recognised as a human right. However, the construction of sexuality as gender-neutral in sexual rights literature conceals how men's demand for sexual pleasure often reinforces the subordination of women. In the context of HIV/AIDS, men's belief that they have a right to use women for sexual pleasure is a recognised and cross-cultural barrier to effective HIV prevention. Research on sexuality from the fields of feminism, political science, public health, and HIV/AIDS reveals that violence against women is fundamental to the construction of masculinity. This violence is manifested through rape, sexual coercion, sexual objectification, and prostitution. By challenging the forms of sexuality and sexual pleasure that reinforce masculinity, it may be possible to imagine sexual rights that are based on sexual equality. In this article, I suggest that a new model for sexual rights that simultaneously provides women with greater sexual pleasure and lessens the risk of HIV transmission is possible.
... Following legalization of prostitution in Victoria, Australia, although the number of legal brothels doubled, the greatest expansion was in illegal prostitution. In 1 year (1999), there was a 300% growth of illegal brothels (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). ...
With examples from a 2003 New Zealand prostitution law, this article discusses the logical inconsistencies in laws sponsoring prostitution and includes evidence for the physical, emotional, and social harms of prostitution. These harms are not decreased by legalization or decriminalization. The article addresses the confusion caused by organizations that oppose trafficking but at the same time promote prostitution as a justifiable form of labor for poor women. The failure of condom distribution/harm reduction programs to protect women in prostitution from rape, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV is discussed. The success of such programs in obtaining funding and in promoting prostitution as sex work is also discussed.
... Lastly, they found that management practices in humanitarian operations were another contributing factor, including the lack of retribution for staff who mis-use their positions of power (UNHCR, 2002, pp.11–12). Men are generally not prosecuted for buying or selling sex, and therefore equality requires that the state either not prosecute female prostitutes or apply similar sanctions to 'johns' and male prostitutes (Jaggar, 1993, p. 124; Raymond, 2003, p. 318; Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001, p. 10). One factor that can 'create an environment for sexual exploitation and abuse to occur' is, according to OIOS (2007 p.7) 'an informal interaction between peacekeepers and local populations'. ...
This article will question definitions used by researchers in their studies of “sexual exploitation” in UN peacekeeping operations. The article will suggest that there is confusion about the definition of “sexual exploitation” not only among scholars undertaking empirical studies and exploring “sexual exploitation” issues in several peacekeeping missions, but also among UN peacekeeping personnel and local people. I look closely at nine empirical studies and explore the language used, the definitions of “sexual exploitation”, the identified causes of “sexual exploitation” and the difficulties of gathering evidence in cases of “sexual exploitation”. My article will suggest that the term “sexual exploitation” is broadly defined and contentious, and might cover activity that is not necessarily “sexually exploitative”. The article concludes that researchers have not questioned the over inclusive and broad term of “sexual exploitation” defined in the Secretary General's 'zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and sexual abuse' [SGB (Secretary General's Bulletin) (2003) Special measures on protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. UN Doc ST/SGB/2003/13] and, consequently, conflate all forms of sexual relationships with forced prostitution, rape, human trafficking and other forms of sexual offences. Yes Yes
... What little evidence there is actually points in the opposite direction: more trafficked women are being detected in Western European countries where aspects of prostitution are legal. The impacts of legalization in the state of Victoria, Australia, witnessed the growth of both the legal and illegal sectors, together with minimal counter-trafficking law enforcement (Sullivan and Jeffreys, 2001 ). Furthermore, as Chris Corrin (2000) points out, legalization only protects nationals, and can in fact make the position of trafficked women more marginal. ...
The study of prostitution in the Philippines, through the long period of time, shows some cycles of development of this phenomenon based on the integration of the archipelago to international colonial capitalism, the militarization of the territory through garrisons and huge American military bases and finally on aggressive public policies for the touristic development and the promotion of work abroad since the Marcos years until the present administration. Facing this sector, the legislation has fluctuated but could not reduce this activity. The explosion of AIDS epidemics in the last four years could launch a new national debate on prostitution.
Despite continuing contests in Australian states over the validity of sex work as work,
Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) have been part of a global trend for states to
decriminalise and/or legalise the sex industry. This article argues that although Victoria
and NSW are united by their ambivalence toward the legal validity of sex work as work
for women, this ambivalence is expressed and organised in different ways in each state,
with consequent differences in regulatory schemas, practices of enforcement and
outcomes for workers and communities. In particular, this article focuses on the regulation
of sex services premises as a key indicator of how the sex industry is regarded and
embedded within broader business, social and regulatory contexts. The article examines
some specific regulations that affect women’s status as sex workers in each state. It
concludes by arguing that the failure to fully recognise sex work as work impacts most
sharply on the safety and inclusion of workers: those whom the legislative schemas of
both states purportedly seek to protect.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to articulate a theory which connects social stratification processes to the international problem of human trafficking for sex and labor purposes.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper develops a social politics theory to connect concepts from social stratification to the study of human trafficking. It draws on data provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services' Rescue and Restore program for trafficked victims to illustrate how traffickers move victims trans‐nationally. It cites sources from Australia and Sweden to show how national laws and policies regarding prostitution can contribute to or discourage human trafficking for sex and labor purposes.
Findings
– The social politics theory is a theoretical idea based on observations of how social, political, legal, and economic changes within “Weak” and “Failing” states create an environment conducive to human trafficking for sex and labor purposes as well as other forms of injustices.
Originality/value
– The social politics theory was created to acknowledge the influence of extraneous combined socio‐political and socio‐economic forces existing in modern societies.
The global trafficking in women and children (primarily girls) for prostitution and sex work has become a multi-billion dollar industry in recent decades, especially in parts of South and Southeast Asia. Despite their common goal to eliminate or diminish the sex trafficking industry and assist the victims, the various entities engaged in anti-sex trafficking efforts have sharply disagreed about a variety of issues, including a basic definition of sex trafficking and the appropriate strategies for combating it. In this article, I examine one central area of disagreement, which revolves around the issue of the morality of prostitution and other forms of commercial sex work. This issue brings with it divergent, even antithetical, views regarding women's gender roles, self-identity and moral agency in relation to sex work. I show how the religious dimensions of this issue have been inadequately attended to by demonstrating how anti-trafficking discourse is devoid of non-Western religious perspectives. Since Thailand has been the centre for sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry in the Asia-Pacific region, where the greatest percentage of sex trafficking takes place, this article will discuss Thai Buddhist perspectives to illustrate how the anti-sex trafficking discourse has ignored cultural differences in its analysis.
In 2003, the Minister for Justice constituted the Expert Group with the aim of considering the legal, policing, health and social justice issues surrounding prostitution in Scotland.
The new Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, is a wide-ranging international agreement to address the crime of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, on a transnational level. It creates a global language and legislation to define trafficking in persons, especially women and children; assist victims of trafficking; and prevent trafficking in persons. The trafficking in persons protocol also establishes parameters of judicial cooperation and exchanges of information among countries. Although the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children anticipates accomplishing what national legislation cannot do on its own, it is also intended to jumpstart national laws and to harmonize regional legislation against the trafficking in women and children.This article summarizes the key points of the new trafficking in persons protocol, the debate over the definition of trafficking, which was the most contentious part of the Protocol, how the Protocol is being interpreted, and its implications for regional and national policy against human trafficking. The article also addresses the connections between prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation, arguments of those who would dispute these connections, and policy and legislative trends in countries that are seeking to legalize/regulate prostitution as “sex work.”
This paper examines the ethical issues faced by health workers managing a fictional case of a female sex worker who is hepatitis B positive with a high level of virus but is asymptomatic. According to guidelines she does not require treatment herself, but is potentially highly infectious to others. Recent legal cases in the UK show it can be criminal to pass on HIV or hepatitis B infection sexually if the risk is known and the partner has not been informed. However, there is no statute or case law showing that health workers are required to intervene to prevent such a potential 'crime', particularly when the partners are unknown, as in this case. The health workers could respond in various ways. They could do nothing, thus making further infection probable. They could advise the sex worker to use condoms and to inform her clients. They could treat the sex worker to reduce her level of infectivity, although there is no benefit to her. They could disclose the sex worker's status, although breaking confidentiality is a serious matter ethically and may be of no benefit to the unknown client group. Regulating prostitution might help; but sex workers with infection may work off licence. This paper discusses the clinical, moral and ethical issues associated with such a scenario and concludes that the most beneficial course is to target clients, through health education, to recognise the potential risks of infection from a sex worker and to take suitable precautions including immunisation against hepatitis B.
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