Introduction Prostitution is by its very nature a contentious sphere for debate.

Policy-makers all too often succumb to puritanical pressures to suppress this industry without fully understanding its dynamics. It is perplexing that, although it is regarded as the worlds oldest profession, little is actually understood and supported by concrete research. It is an area clouded in myth, extreme prejudice and pietist hypocrisy. Hobson (1990:3) asserts that prostitution presents a moral conundrum to liberal democracies in that it beckons regulation whilst invading intimate sexual relations: A societys response to prostitution goes to the core of how it chooses between the rights of some persons and the protection of others. This article attempts to provide an overview of the workings and nature of the sex market. It focuses on a particular case study, namely the mining industry of the Free State Goldfields in South Africa, and studies the attitudes and practices of prostitutes regarding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The STD issue is an important one as it is often used as a rationale for the criminalization of prostitution. We argue that the effect is, in fact, to make STDs more difficult to control. Lastly, the article examines the case for the decriminalization of prostitution in South Africa. The Economics of the Sex Market Conceptually, we can attempt to incorporate sex into conventional neoclassical demand and supply analysis. Fundamentally, sex is a commodity like any other and, as such, falls within the ambit of standard economic theory. It yields utility at a diminishing rate in a given time period and obeys the rules of utility maximization. As such, the quantity demanded of sex is an inverse function of price. A rational being will consume sex up to the point where the marginal benefit equals the marginal cost. If the price of sex raises vis--vis other goods then the rational being will choose to consume less sex. A prostitute needs to be aware of these basic economic fundamentals so as to maximize her revenue. Increasing her price for sex will reduce the quantity demanded and potentially also her revenue, depending on the elasticity of demand. For her business to remain viable, the prostitute needs to remain an astute business person. An example of the dynamics of the economics of commercial sex can be illustrated with reference to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. When the demand for prostitution rose as a result of visitors, the price of commercial sex rose by 50 per cent in one month (cited in Posel 1992:28). The prostitution market is a fairly competitive one: there are a large number of participants, the product is fairly homogeneous (although prostitutes may choose to specialize in niche markets), and although legal barriers to entry exist, they are largely ineffectual. As such, the prostitute has rather limited control over her price, which tends to be dictated by the market. Obviously prostitutes who deviate from the industry norm and thereby differentiate themselves will either charge more or less (for example, if they are more attractive or unattractive than average). Likewise, in the real world where pimps and syndicates exist, things become more complicated and the market starts resembling an oligopolistic or monopolistic one. McKenzie and Tullock (1975:57-60) attempt to model normal sexual behavior through economic analysis. They maintain that even though we have biological drives, we do as a rule have control over these drives and do not engage in sex to the extent of our biological capabilities. Using standard supply and demand analysis, if sex were determined solely by biological drives (and were equal for men and women) then the price of sex per se would be zero. Obviously this is not borne out in reality. Firstly, sex is not costless: there is the opportunity cost in terms of time and activities foregone, direct costs such as contraception and dolling up, possibly the cost of wining and dining, the risk cost of pregnancy and STD infection, the psychological cost of violating moral standards and damaging ones reputation, and the time spent in plotting and maneuvering ones strategy for sex. McKenzie and Tullock (1975:58) affirm that traditional societal pressures have resulted in a decrease in the females supply curve for sex by valuing abstinence in women. Men, however, achieve status through sexual conquests and this has raised the males demand for sex. Overall, the effect has been to raise the price of sex. More recently, it could be argued that the female supply curve for sex has shifted (from S1 to S0 in Figure 1), reflecting an increase in supply, as contraception and abortion have become more readily available, as societal norms

regarding virginity have changed, and as women have become active pursuers of sexual pleasure for its own sake. Assuming that demand remains unchanged, we can anticipate that the quantity of sexual activity will increase and price will fall. The point is that normal sexual activity entails a cost, and it is this fact which makes prostitution viable. Even though a prostitute may cost R150-R200, the cost of normal legal sex may yet be higher. By hiring a prostitute, a male does not have to spend time seducing her or buying flowers and gifts. He is guaranteed a sure thing and he does not have to become emotionally involved. He does not have to concern himself with her needs and desires and can enjoy pure, selfish pleasure. The quality of a prostitutes services may also be perceived as being higher than legal sex, given her experience and professionalism. The decriminalization of prostitution would probably lead to an increase in both the demand for and supply of prostitution given that the penalties associated with both soliciting buyers and buying sex would be removed. Transaction costs would be significantly reduced making the market more efficient. If a tax is imposed on prostitution, the effect would be to shift the supply curve backwards (decrease supply) by the tax amount. This can be illustrated in Figure 1, with the supply curve shifting from S0 to S1. The price paid by consumers would increase to Pc and the price received by suppliers would decrease to Ps. The quantity consumed would fall from Q0 to Q1, and the government would raise revenue equal to area PcA-BPs. This revenue could be used to make law enforcement more effective or to run a more effective education campaign on Aids. However, if the tax rate is too high then the illegal trade in prostitution will continue as prostitutes find it more attractive to operate outside the legal framework. This matter will be examined in greater detail in the section on public policy reforms. Figure 1: The economic dynamics of the sex market

The Nature of Prostitution Defining the nature of prostitution is not easy. Hobson (1990:3) questions whether it is a sexual relationship or work contract, a private act or public commerce. Ones definition, in turn, raises other issues such as whether prostitution represents a form of extreme exploitation and gender enslavement. If prostitution is decriminalized, should it be regulated? And if prostitutes pay taxes, should they be entitled to maternity benefits and the like? Generally speaking, prostitution entails the exchange of sex for money or goods relatively indiscriminately to strangers. This definition is fraught with obvious deficiencies but will suffice for our purposes. Hobson (1990:3-4) affirms that the study of prostitution becomes a two-way social and ideological mirror. The prostitution economy exposes social and sexual inequalities within society (women are overwhelmingly the sellers of sex and men the buyers, yet penalties are primarily aimed at the prostitutes). This reflects underlying sexual politics and class interests. Anthropologists have found that in sexually permissive societies prostitution is rare for the simple reason that it is unnecessary. There are many other societies in which prostitution is condoned or even fostered. However, to a large extent industrialized societies have suppressed it with little success. Many ancient religions incorporated a form of prostitution in their religious rites, whilst in certain early Mediterranean cultures young girls earned their dowries through prostitution and thus became eminently marriageable. In ancient Greece and Rome, prostitutes were required to dress in distinguishing apparel and live in a restricted area (though this was done primarily to facilitate the search pattern of clients). The early Christian church condemned prostitution as immoral but did not press for it to be outlawed because it was considered a necessary evil. St Augustine, in the fourth century AD, articulated this doctrine in a now famous passage (cited in Milton 1994:138): What can be called more sordid, voider of modesty, more full of shame than prostitutes, brothels, and every evil of this kind? Yet remove prostitution from human affairs, and you will pollute all things with lust ... Milton (1994:138-9) points out that the position in Europe during the Middle Ages and onward was that prostitution was tolerated though frowned upon. Regulation ensured that prostitutes were identified and localized in licensed brothels. This system of zoning and licensing had fiscal advantages as well as providing a measure of hygienic control. The Protestant Reformation adopted a much stricter view, not only condemning prostitution but also insisting upon its suppression by criminal sanction. The Industrial Revolution with its accompanying urbanization and increasing anonymity facilitated the growth of prostitution, as did the growing economic exploitation of large numbers of people. Nineteenth century reforms and the rise of Victorian conservatism saw a move away from regulation (such as localization) towards attempted eradication by prohibition (Encyclopedia Britannica 1981:75-81). The effect was to be driving the practice underground where it became even more disruptive to society. The enforcement of prohibitive laws (in Britain, beginning with the Vagrancy Act of 1824, and the Contagious Diseases Act of 1864) has been fraught with difficulties and has led to vice rackets and the exploitation of prostitutes and clients by third parties, very often the police. Forms of Female Prostitution Stinchcombe (1994:856) affirms that prostitutes are disproportionately recruited from families disorganized by death or desertion, or by abusive and alcohol- and drug-dependent parents, or parents themselves in grey world commerce. Prostitutes tend to come from poverty-stricken backgrounds and get into the business because there was no alternative. Stinchcombe (1994:856) argues that they start at very young ages as a result of finding it difficult to establish normal adult kinship and occupational roles. They often have to cut all ties with their previous life and develop a new self-image. Various forms of prostitution exist (Encyclopedia Britannica 1981:75-81). These include the following. (a) Brothels (in various guises) wherein prostitutes sometimes reside and are supervised by a madam with sufficient social contacts to make them viable. The supervisor takes a percentage of the prostitutes earnings (anything from 20 per cent to a staggering 80 per cent).

(b) Escort agencies a variation of this theme, where the agency provides clients with an escort for a fee, with sex being a private matter between the escort and client. (c) Call girls prostitutes with their own residences and whose customers are provided by the operator of the calling system who screens prospective clients. Alternatively, these women operate independently and advertise their services through newspaper classifieds. They will normally meet their clients at their hotel rooms or at their own residences. (d) Street prostitutes, who share their revenue with either their pimps or others who facilitate their livelihood, such as hotel employees, bartenders or taxi drivers. In terms of the prostitution hierarchy, street prostitutes are at the bottom and always have the lowest status and lowest pay, whilst call girls enjoy the highest status and pay. Mobility between these forms of prostitution is perplexingly low. A study by Benson and Matthews (1995) conducted in Britain over a period of two years involved a survey of vice squads, prostitutes working in a range of settings, clients, residents groups and local authority representatives. The study yielded important insights, with 10 key facts emerging: (i) The majority of women who work on the streets became involved in prostitution at a relatively young age; (ii) Most women who work on the street do so on a sporadic and temporary basis; (iii) There is very little mobility between street prostitution and commercial and organized forms of prostitution; (iv) The majority of women working as prostitutes have economic, social and health-related problems; (v) Women who make contact with their clients on the streets are the repeated victims of both sexual and physical violent attacks; (vi) The majority of clients have regular partners or are married; (vii) Many kerb crawlers are middle-aged, and a large proportion of them are middle class; (viii) Clients who patronize saunas and massage parlours are not generally involved in kerb crawling; (ix) The regulation of prostitution is low-status police work; and (x) Despite growing inequalities over the last decade, the number of women working as prostitutes on the streets in the majority of areas has either remained constant or decreased. Barring the last point, our survey confirms these general patterns for South Africa.

LAWS RELATING TO PROSTITUTION IN INDIA There does not seem to be any specific law to regulate prostitution or ban it altogether. The major acts addressing the issue trafficking is as follows: 1. Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girl Act -1956 2. Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act-1956 3. Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act-1956

The Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1956 ("ITPA"), the main statute dealing with sex work in India, does not criminalize prostitution or prostitutes per se, but mostly punishes acts by third parties facilitating prostitution like brothel keeping, living off earnings and procuring, even where sex work is not coerced. However, the problem is that the torture that a prostitute in India goes through is quite appalling. Media often portrays images of the sex workers and clients being herded into police vehicles and kept behind bars. Ideally, as per the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, 1956 these people should be tried under common law, as opposed to criminal law, for offences like disturbing public order, peace etc. The rationale behind the said Act itself was that the Government of India in the year 1950 ratified an international convention for suppression of traffic in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution by others. Article 1 of the Convention says: The Parties to the present Convention agree to punish any person who, to gratify the passions of another: 1. Procures, entices or leads away, for purposes of prostitution, another person, even with the consent of that person. 2. Exploits the prostitution of another person, even with the consent of that person. Article 2 of the same convention mentions stipulates: The Parties to the present Convention further agree to punish any person who: 1. Keeps or manages, or knowingly finances or takes part in the financing of a brothel. 2. Knowingly lets or rents a building or other place or any part thereof for the purpose of the prostitution of others. Article 14 of Constitution of India provides for equality in general and Article 15(3) provides for special protective discrimination in favour of women and children. Article 16(1) covers equality of opportunity in matters of public employment and Article 23 prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labour and makes it punishable under Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Woman and Girls Act 1956 (which was renamed in 1986 as The Immoral Traffic Prevention Act. The name of the Act was changed to Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act in view of widening the scope of the Act to cover all persons, whether male or female, which are exploited sexually for commercial purposes. Article 39 provides that the state should direct its policy towards securing, among other things, a right to adequate means of livelihood for men and women equally and equal pay for equal work for their age or strength. Article 46 directs that state shall promote the educational and economic interests of the women and weaker sections of the people and that it shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

According to the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, prostitution means the sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purposes, and the expression prostitute shall be construed accordingly. This is a vast improvement on the earlier provision by which prostitution meant the act of a female offering her body for promiscuous sexual intercourse for hire, whether in money or in kind and whether offered immediately or otherwise and the expression prostitute will be construed accordingly. The objectives of the Act are: 1. Punish immoral trafficking 2. Punish traffickers 3. Punish persons living on earnings of the women 4. Welfare measures directed towards rehabilitation of sex workers

It is critical to note that the emphasis here is not on the sex worker but on the pimps, brothel owners. The various provisions for punishment under the Act for an offence are as under: 1. Punishment for keeping a brothel or allowing premises to be used as a brothel (Section3): => Not less than one year rigorous, not more than three years, and also with fine up to two thousand rupees. (On first conviction) => Not less than two years rigorous but not more than five years, also with fine up to two thousand rupees. (Subsequent occasions) 2. Punishment for living on the earnings of Prostitution (Section 4): => Up to two year and fine of one thousand rupees. => If this earning is out of child or minor shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years and not more than ten years. 3. Procuring, inducing or taking person for the sake of prostitution (Section 5): => Punishment not les then 3 years, not more than seven years. => If the offence under the sub-section is committed against the will of the person imprisonment for a term of seven years shall extent to fourteen years. => If it is child not less than 7 years, but may extended to life. => If it is minor, not less than 7 years, and not more than 14 years. 4. Detaining a person in premises where prostitution is carried on (Section 6): => Not less than 7 years but may be for life (with or without consent) 5. Prostitution in or in the vicinity of public places (Section 7): => With the imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months. => Where the offence is committed is in respect of a child or minor the person committing the offence shall be not less than seven years but which may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine. 6. Seduction of a person in custody (Section 9): => Any person who having the custody, charge or care of, or a position of authority over any person causes aid or abets the seduction for prostitution of that person shall be punishable upon conviction for a term which shall be not less than seven years but which may be for life or a term which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to fine.

The Health Ministry and the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) officials argue that if clients were punished, it would encourage underground sex work and that would act as a major stumbling block in checking the spread of AIDS, it is a tacit acknowledgement that the existence of the institution of prostitution is a reality that no one can deny. And when they talk about possible underground sex work, are they acknowledging the presence and practice of prostitution. Technically it can be referred to as unofficially legal prostitution. Thus the natural question which comes to mind is that given that there is no specific law in place to punish the women practicing prostitution in private, uncommercialized manner and the fact that these women are often exploited and denied legal assistance, why dont we legalize and regulate prostitution? Interestingly, then, is prostitution legal under Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, if: A prostitute works for self and not for a pimp or a brothel and; Uses her/his own premises for entertaining clients. Such an arrangement would also not violate the provision under Section 7 of the Act regarding prostitution in or in the vicinity of public places. We cannot, however, expect a small-time sex worker to have her own premises and will the owner of the rented premises be liable to punishment, under Section 3 of the Act, in such a situation? This would probably depend on whether a lone sex worker working for self is considered as a brothel under law. Present legal status of Prostitution in India The Law governing prostitution in India is Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act which is a 1986 amendment to the primary law passed in 1950 {known as the Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act}. The law does not criminalize prostitution per se but only organized form of prostitution is against the law. If a woman uses attributes of her body voluntarily and individually she goes unpunished. But the law prohibits/criminalize1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Seduction/solicitation of customer Prostitution anywhere near a public place Publication of phone number of call girls Organized form of prostitution i.e. a brothel, pimps, Prostitution rings etc. A sex worker being below 18 years of age Procurement and trafficking of women

We can conclude that if a prostitute works for self and uses her own premises for entertaining clients she is conducting herself lawfully! But then why do we often see video footage on T.V. where a sex worker and her client are being herded into the police jeep? Here comes the shady picture of police who might not book the sex worker and her client under the above mentioned act, they do it under provisions like public indecency, public nuisance etc. of the Indian Penal Code.

Reasons to Legalize Prostitution In many communities throughout the U.S., the police investigate and arrest persons involved in prostitution. A careful examination of this practice shows that it reduces the quality of life in society.

1. Legalization improves neighborhoods and promotes safety By forcing prostitution out of places where it would more naturally be found, such as in brothels or near motels, the police drive that activity into the streets of neighborhoods where it otherwise would not exist. As a result, residents of the neighborhoods are exposed to the activity against their will. Also because of prostitution being forced into the streets, the dangers to many prostitutes greatly increase. Prostitutes whose jobs involve working at night and getting into cars with strangers can be, and often have been, easy pickings for serial killers and other sociopaths. James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University, says prostitutes are the most frequent targets for serial killers. A sensible solution to these problems would be to follow the example of some European cities, where prostitution is allowed in certain designated areas. People who are interested in the activity go to places where it's permitted, and they leave alone the neighborhoods that don't wish to be associated with it. And the prostitutes can work in environments where they are much safer. 2. Legalization reduces crime Another problem with prostitution arrests is that they cause long-term increases in crime and drug abuse in society. Margo St. James, a former social worker and a leading advocate of legalizing prostitution, writes: "When a woman is charged for a sex crime, it's a stigma that lasts her lifetime, and it makes her unemployable." St. James identifies this stigma as a major reason why a large percentage of women who are in jail were first arrested for prostitution. The arrest record forecloses normal employment possibilities, keeps the women working as prostitutes longer than they otherwise would, and sets them up for a lifetime of involvement with drugs and serious crime. Keeping prostitution illegal also contributes to crime because many criminals view prostitutes and their customers as attractive targets for robbery, fraud, rape, or other criminal acts. The criminals realize that such people are unlikely to report the crimes to police, because the victims would have to admit they were involved in the illegal activity of prostitution when the attacks took place. If prostitution were legal, these victims would be less reluctant to report to police any criminal acts that occurred while they were involved in it. This would significantly improve the probability of catching the criminals and preventing them from victimizing others. In many cases, it could deter them from committing the crimes in the first place. That view is consistent with the experience of the European countries where prostitution is legal. They have far lower crime rates than the U.S. A similar situation applies in the Nevada counties where prostitution is legal. According to Barb Brents and Kate Hausbeck, two professors of sociology at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas who have extensively studied the Nevada brothel industry, those counties are quite peaceable and have very low crime rates. No wonder that in November 2004 in Churchill County, Nevada, a ballot proposal to outlaw prostitution was rejected by a 2-to-1 margin. Although the county is mostly Republican and supported George W. Bush for president, the same voters saw no reason to stop brothels from operating there.

3. Legalization promotes liberty and privacy Laws against prostitution violate Americans' fundamental rights of individual liberty and personal privacy. Thomas Jefferson and other founders of the U.S. envisioned a society where people can live without interference from government, provided they don't harm others. As Jefferson said in his First Inaugural Address: "A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement." Or as Arthur Hoppe wrote about consensual acts in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1992: "The function of government is to protect me from others. It's up to me, thank you, to protect me from me." Similar to issues such as birth control, abortion, and the right to death with dignity, this issue involves people's fundamental rights to control their own bodies and decide the best way to conduct their lives. Alan Soble noted, "The freedom to choose one's reasons for engaging in sex is an important part of sexual freedom." In a free society, it makes no sense for the government to be telling persons - particularly the poor - they cannot charge a fee for harmless services they otherwise are at liberty to give away. To paraphrase George Carlin: Selling is legal, and sex is legal, so why isn't selling sex legal? 4. Legalization benefits sex workers and their clients Many people work in the sex industry because they see it as their only means of alleviating serious financial problems. Other sex workers aren't poor but simply enjoy that type of work and receive both income and personal satisfaction from it. As one sex worker wrote in an article for a national newspaper: "All in all prostitution has been good to me and I have been good to it. . . . I don't really have to work anymore, but I love the business, so I still see my regular clients." Likewise for the customers, there's no reason their freedom should not include the right to purchase the companionship and affection they may want but, for whatever reason, don't find in other aspects of their lives. For example, one disabled man told researchers he was lonely and visited prostitutes because "I'm ugly, no women will go out with me. . . . It's because of my disability. So prostitutes are a sexual outlet for me." Another man reported that he did the same for a number of years due to being "anorexic and very reclusive. There was no chance of forming a relationship." A physically unattractive man added, "I pay for sex because that is the only way I can get sex." Another person said his experiences with prostitutes and other sex workers helped him overcome an extreme aversion to physical intimacy, which had resulted from years of physical and emotional abuse while growing up. He explained: "I very likely would have died a virgin if I hadn't somehow gotten comfortable with physical intimacy, and sex workers enabled me to do that. At least for me, it's been a healing experience."

Dr. John Money, a leading sexologist and a professor at Johns Hopkins University, similarly notes that sex workers, with proper training, can assist clients in overcoming "erotic phobia" and various other sexual dysfunctions. He says that for the clients, "the relationship with a paid professional may be the equivalent of therapy." Can anyone, other than the ignorant or cruel, argue that sex workers should not be permitted to help such persons?

5. Legalization puts law-enforcement resources to better uses Numerous legal commentators point out that using law enforcement resource against prostitution reduces substantially the resources available to fight serious crimes committed against persons or property. This nation desperately needs more efforts applied to solving those crimes, because arrests are being made in connection with only about 20% of them. And according to the Multinational Monitor, massive amounts of white-collar crime are not being prosecuted. The magazine also says the damage inflicted on society by corporate crime and violence far exceeds the harm caused by all the street crime combined. The victims of the Enron and WorldCom scandals - many of whom lost their life savings - would probably support that claim. As Ralph Nader stated in 2000: "Law enforcement, which is supposed to protect the incomes of consumers from corporate crime, fraud and abuse is a farce, devoid of resources and the will to apply necessary law and order. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being looted from consumers yearly." Some researchers say a reason for the inordinate amount of police attention to prostitution is that certain officers prefer duties enabling them to be with attractive women in hotel rooms or massage parlors. The duties are more pleasant, far less dangerous, and less complex than assignments requiring them to be among violent criminals who may be carrying weapons. For instance, in 1999 at least one of the vice-squad officers in Columbus, Ohio, was regularly having sexual intercourse with prostitutes before arresting them. After receiving negative publicity about that practice, the police division issued new guidelines limiting officers to getting completely naked with prostitutes; touching their thigh, genitals, buttock, pubic region, breast, or other regions to the extent needed "to obtain the necessary elements of the offense"; being masturbated briefly; and "momentarily" having sexual intercourse if it's "in spite of all reasonable efforts of the officer to stop." (In practice, though, the officers apparently find it necessary to use those tactics only in arresting female - not male - prostitutes.) Because of these "requirements of their assignments," the policy directs that officers receive periodic training on sexually transmitted diseases. Despite the revised guidelines, in 2003 the Columbus Dispatch quoted one court clerk as describing the officers' arrest reports as sometimes being so steamy she "should have a cigarette after reading it." The head of the vice squad admitted to the newspaper that "it appears officers are engaging in sexual contact."

His officers give new meaning to being "in hot pursuit." Unfortunately for the public, this nonsense goes on at the same time that Columbus has over 400 unsolved murders since 1990, including several prostitutes brutally murdered by a possible serial killer. When a frightened group of senior citizens and disabled persons asked in 2004 for more protection from violent crime, the Columbus police chief turned them down, saying, "Seventy-eight times a day we are unable to fill a cruiser because of lack of personnel." And in 2008 he acknowledged that citizens criticizing the police for insufficient patrols and slow responses to complaints "have legitimate beefs." As for white-collar crime, the police undoubtedly know that their jobs and careers are safer by making prostitution arrests than by investigating criminals who cause serious harm but either wield political power or have strong connections to those who do. And when the corruption involves others in the police force, the notorious "Blue Wall of Silence" leads all too many officers to ignore and protect the wrongdoing of badge-wearing criminals too.

Why Not to Legalize Prostitution There is no evidence that legalization of prostitution makes things better for women in prostitution. It certainly makes things better for governments who legalize prostitution and of course, for the sex industry, both of which enjoy increased revenues. The popular fiction that all will be well in the world of prostitution once the sex industry is legalized or decriminalized is repudiated by evidence that the degradation and exploitation of women, as well as the harm, abuse, and violence to women still remain in state-sponsored prostitution. State-sponsored prostitution sanitizes the reality of prostitution. Suddenly, dirty money becomes clean. Illegal acts become legal. Overnight, pimps are transformed into legitimate businessmen and ordinary entrepreneurs, and men who would not formerly consider buying a woman in prostitution think. What happens when prostitution is treated as sex work rather than when it is treated as sexual exploitation and violence against women? What happens when a country such as Sweden rejects legalization and addresses the demand for prostitution? 1. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution is a gift to pimps, traffickers and the sex industry. Ordinary people believe that, in calling for legalization or decriminalization of prostitution, they are dignifying and professionalizing the women in prostitution. But dignifying prostitution as work doesn't dignify the women; it simply dignifies the sex industry. People often don't realize that decriminalization, for example, means decriminalization of the whole sex industry not just the women. And they haven't thought through the consequences of legalizing pimps as legitimate sex entrepreneurs or third party businessmen, or the fact that men who buy women for sexual activity are now accepted as legitimate consumers of sex. 2. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution and the sex industry promotes sex trafficking. Legalized or decriminalized prostitution industries are one of the root causes of sex trafficking. One argument for legalizing prostitution in the Netherlands was that legalization would help end the exploitation of desperate immigrant women trafficked for prostitution. A report done for the governmental Budapest Group stated that 80% of women in the brothels in the Netherlands are trafficked from other countries (Budapest Group, 1999: 11). As early as 1994, the International Organization of Migration (IOM) stated that in the Netherlands alone, "nearly 70 per cent of trafficked women were from CEEC Central and Eastern European Countries" (IOM, 1995: 4) and these are the relatively pauperized regions of Europe.

3. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not control the sex industry. It expands it. Contrary to claims that legalization and decriminalization would regulate the expansion of the sex industry and bring it under control, the sex industry now accounts for 5 percent of the Netherlands economy (Daley, 2001: 4). Over the last decade, as pimping became legalized and then brothels decriminalized in the Netherlands in 2000, the sex industry expanded 25 percent (Daley, 2001: 4). At any hour of the day, women of all ages and races, dressed in hardly anything, are put on display in the notorious windows of Dutch brothels and sex clubs and offered for sale -- for male consumption. Most of them are women from other countries (Daley, 2001: 4) who have in all likelihood been trafficked into the Netherlands. There are now officially recognized associations of sex businesses and prostitution "customers" in the Netherlands that consult and collaborate with the government to further their interests and promote prostitution. 4. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution increases clandestine, illegal and street prostitution. Australia since legalization took effect has been in the illegal sector. 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. In 1999, the numbers of brothels in Sydney had increased exponentially to 400-500. The vast majority have no license to operate. To end endemic police corruption, control of illegal prostitution was taken out of the hands of the police and placed in the hands of local councils and planning regulators. The council has neither the money nor the personnel to put investigators into brothels to flush out and prosecute illegal operators. 5. Legalization of prostitution and decriminalization of the sex industry increases child prostitution. Another argument for legalizing prostitution in the Netherlands was that it would help end child prostitution. In reality, however, child prostitution in the Netherlands has increased dramatically during the 1990s. The Amsterdam-based Child Right organization estimates that the number has gone from 4,000 children in 1996 to 15,000 in 2001. The group estimates that at least 5,000 of the children in prostitution are from other countries, with a large segment being Nigerian girls (Tiggeloven: 2001). Child prostitution has dramatically risen in Victoria compared to other Australian states where prostitution has not been legalized. Of all the states and territories in Australia, the highest number of reported incidences of child prostitution came from Victoria. In a 1998 study undertaken by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking) who conducted research for the Australian National Inquiry on Child Prostitution, there was increased evidence of organized commercial exploitation of children. 6. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not protect the women in prostitution. The violence that women were subjected to was an intrinsic part of the prostitution and sexual exploitation. Pimps used violence for many different reasons and purposes. Violence was used to initiate some women into prostitution and to break them down so that they would do the sexual acts. After initiation, at every step of the way, violence was used for sexual gratification of the pimps, as a form of punishment, to threaten and intimidate women, to exert the pimp's dominance, to exact compliance, to punish women for alleged "violations," to humiliate women, and to isolate and confine women. Of the women who did report that sex establishments gave some protection, they qualified it by pointing out that no "protector" was ever in the room with them, where anything could occur. One woman who was in out-call prostitution stated: "The driver functioned as a bodyguard. You're supposed to call when you get in, to ascertain that everything was OK. But they are not standing outside the door while you're in there, so anything could happen.

7. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution increases the demand for prostitution. It encourages men to buy women for sex in a wider and more permissible range of socially acceptable settings. With the advent of legalization in countries that have decriminalized the sex industry, many men who would not risk buying women for sex now see prostitution as acceptable. When the legal barriers disappear, so too do the social and ethical barriers to treating women as sexual commodities. Legalization of prostitution sends the message to new generations of men and boys that women are sexual commodities and that prostitution is harmless fun. As men have an excess of "sexual services" that are offered to them, women must compete to provide services by engaging in anal sex, sex without condoms, bondage and domination and other proclivities demanded by the clients. Once prostitution is legalized, all holds are barred. Women's reproductive capacities are sellable products, for example. A whole new group of clients find pregnancy a sexual turnon and demand breast milk in their sexual encounters with pregnant women. Specialty brothels are provided for disabled men, and State-employed caretakers who are mostly women must take these men to the brothels if they wish to go (Sullivan and Jeffreys: 2001). Advertisements line the highways of Victoria offering women as objects for sexual use and teaching new generations of men and boys to treat women as subordinates. Businessmen are encouraged to hold their corporate meetings in these clubs where owners supply naked women on the table at tea breaks and lunchtime. 8. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not promote womens health. In reality, the enforcement of condom policy was left to the individual women in prostitution, and the offer of extra money was an insistent pressure. One woman stated: "I'd be one of those liars if I said 'Oh I always used a condom.' If there was extra money coming in, then the condom would be out the window. I was looking for the extra money." Many factors militate against condom use: the need of women to make money; older women's decline in attractiveness to men; competition from places that do not require condoms; pimp pressure on women to have sex with no condom for more money; money needed for a drug habit or to pay off the pimp; and the general lack of control that prostituted women have over their bodies in prostitution venues. So called "safety policies" in brothels did not protect women from harm. Even where brothels supposedly monitored the "customers" and utilized "bouncers," women stated that they were injured by buyers and, at times, by brothel owners and their friends. Even when someone intervened to control buyers' abuse, women lived in a climate of fear. Although 60 percent of women reported that buyers had sometimes been prevented from abusing them, half of those women answered that, nonetheless, they thought that they might be killed by one of their "customers" (Raymond et al: 2002). 9. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not enhance womens choice. There is no doubt that a small number of women say they choose to be in prostitution, especially in public contexts orchestrated by the sex industry. In the same way, some people choose to take dangerous drugs such as heroin. However, even when some people choose to take dangerous drugs, we still recognize that this kind of drug use is harmful to them, and most people do not seek to legalize heroin. In this situation, it is harm to the person, not the consent of the person that is the governing standard. Even a 1998 ILO (UN International Labor Organization) report suggesting that the sex industry be treated as a legitimate economic sector, found that "prostitution is one of the most alienated forms of labour; the surveys [in 4 countries] show that women worked 'with a heavy heart,' 'felt forced,' or were 'conscience-stricken' and had negative self-identities. A significant proportion claimed they wanted to leave sex work [sic] if they could (Lim, 1998:213)." When a woman remains in an abusive relationship with a partner who batters her, or even when she defends his actions, concerned people don't say she is there voluntarily. They recognize the complexity of

her compliance. Like battered women, women in prostitution often deny their abuse if provided with no meaningful alternatives. 10. Women in systems of prostitution do not want the sex industry legalized or decriminalized. In a 5-country study on sex trafficking done by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and funded by the Ford Foundation, most of the 146 women interviewed strongly stated that prostitution should not be legalized and considered legitimate work, warning that legalization would create more risks and harm for women from already violent customer and pimps (Raymond et al, 2002). " no way. It's not a profession. It is humiliating and violence from the men's side." Not one woman interviewed wanted her children, family or friends to have to earn money by entering the sex industry. One stated: "Prostitution stripped me of my life, my health, everything."

Conclusion Nobody chooses to be born poor, nobody chooses to be born a girl and nobody chooses to be born lowcaste. Even among the valuable human beings born into such unfairness, no one wishes for an occupation that depends on multiple body invasions a day, the constant threat of violence, a shortened life expectancy, and use as an object rather than an equal human being. Prostitution for most women is about the absence of choice. On the other hand, men who create the industry of prostitution choose to pay for sex. Not all men go to prostitutes probably only a minority are so addicted to the drug of dominance that they buy and sell females as objects but they are numerous enough in their pathology to create a worldwide network of brothels and trafficking, with the wealthier areas and countries usually supplying the customers, while the poorer areas and countries supply women and children as merchandise. Many men consciously choose to visit a brothel, and not a few of them beat, wound and even kill prostituted women or children. Violence experienced every day by prostituted women is mostly unreported and undocumented. In fact, male customers, pimps and traffickers consider it inherent and normal to the sex trade, thus many prostituted women believe this too. A random Google search on the murder of prostituted women in India reveals there were at least five reported and documented murder cases annually in different brothel districts across the country for the last ten years, and those are rare only in that they were reported. The government should on the other hand open shelter homes for kids belonging to these areas and provide them education. It should try and spread awareness of protected sex in these areas. Taking a step towards eradication would resolve this problem. Showing these women a ray of hope and giving them a chance to relive a life of dignity would create a culturally sustainable society. These women can be helped by providing them some vocational training, girls of tender age can be sent to schools and women can be employed in small scale working units or trained for self employment and brought back to mainstream life. A number of NGOS are running in the entire country these organizations can be oriented and deputed to look after shelter homes and rehabilitation of these women and girls. Thus I conclude that to curb prostitution there should be major rehabilitation projects to absolve women and minor girls who have little sense of judgment, from this trade so as to reduce their inordinate misery.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Prostitution - An illustrated history and timeline by Tom Head 2. Robert I. Freidman, "Indias Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to An AIDS Catastrophe," The Nation, 8 April 1996 3. Times of India article dated 16th December 2009 regarding growth in brothels in Victoria, Australia 4. Indian Express article dated may 8, 2008 on number of sex workers in India and proportion of children below 18 of age 5. Documentary-Born into Brothels: Calcuttas Red Light Kids 6. Altink, Sietske. (1995). Stolen Lives: Trading Women into Sex and Slavery (London: Scarlet Press) 7. Daley, Suzanne. (2001, August 12). "New Rights for Dutch Prostitutes, but No Gain." New York Times, pp. A1 and 4. Dutting, Giseling. (2000, November). "Legalized Prostitution in the Netherlands - Recent Debates. Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights 8. Budapest Group. (1999, June). The Relationship Between Organized Crime and Trafficking in Aliens. Austria: International Centre for Migration Policy Development 9. Lim, Lin Lean (1998). The Sex Sector. International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland 10. Raymond, Janice G., Jean d'Cunha, Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, H. Patricia Hynes, Zoraida Ramirez Rodriguez and Aida Santos (2002). A Comparative Study of Women Trafficked in the Migration Process: Patterns, Profiles and Health Consequences of Sexual Exploitation in Five Countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Venezuela and the United States). (2002). Funded by the Ford Foundation. N. Amherst, MA: Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) 11. Sullivan, Mary and Jeffreys, Sheila. (2001). Legalising Prostitution is Not the Answer: the Example of Victoria, Australia. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Australia and USA. Available at http://www.catwinternational.org 12. Tiggeloven, Carin. (2001, December 18). "Child Prostitution in the Netherlands