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SEX INDUSTRY
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Comment Prostitution: they call it the oldest profession - so does that make it OK? Multiple voices join in the debate: Although it is difficult to estimate actual numbers, it would appear that the majority of the women and children who are trafficked are for the sex industry. Therefore, if there wasn’t the demand, there wouldn’t be the trade. Agencies such as CHASTE are working to tackle the demand and wish to see the purchase of sex made illegal. However there are others who maintain that the so-called ‘Swedish model’ won’t work here, but that it will force the trade to become more hidden and therefore more dangerous for the women, and men, who find themselves forced into this trade (by poverty and necessity, coercion or force). It is difficult to generalise about the background or conditions of prostitutes because so much of what is known about them derives from studies of poorer and less privileged individuals, people who are more likely to come into contact with courts and official agencies. Much more is known about streetwalkers, for example, than about the higher status women who can be more selective about their clients and work conditions. Based on available studies, though, it is reasonable to assert that female sex workers often are economically disadvantaged and lack skills and training to support themselves. Many are drawn at an early age into prostitution and associated crime, and drug dependency can be an aggravating factor. They are frequently managed by a male procurer, or pimp, or by a supervisor, or madam, in a house of prostitution. Health hazards to prostitutes include sexually transmitted diseases, some of which may be acquired through drug abuse. Male prostitution has received less public attention in most cultures. Heterosexual male prostitution - involving males hired by or for females - is rare. Homosexual male prostitution has probably existed in most societies, though only in the 20th century was it recognised as a major social phenomenon. Its prevalence increased during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Most of the projects working in the UK seek to help and support primarily those women who work on the street sex work scene. These women are generally:
It is hard to say which comes first: abuse, sex work or drug/ alcohol addictions. Some use drugs to block out the painful experiences, while others become addicted to drugs and then do sex work to finance the habit. It is impossible to make assumptions and, sometimes, even the woman herself will find it difficult to define the order of her slide into the lifestyle. Many women are groomed and coerced into the lifestyle by older men, drug pushers and even husbands and partners.
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