The sheer scale of prostitution throughout history has amazed many researchers. In Europe, during the Middle Ages, for example, there was approximately one prostitute for every 5-7 men. The Renaissance was also a time of extreme erotic tension.

"The imp of debauchery sat on every rooftop, day in and day out whispering the most extravagant desires to all who passed. This evil, clutching at every woman, called forth an overwhelming fear. An outlet was needed for these passions, which threatened to ignite at any second. In organizing and systematizing perversion, people not only said, but honestly believed that they were acting to further the holiest ideals, marriage and feminine chastity. This belief, however, was but a great, if well-intentioned, self-deception. The "defense of the family" was, surely, an important reason for this culture's tolerance of the prostitute, but it was not the most important. The central, unconscious, motive behind the attempt to escape the greater evil by embracing the lesser, was the desire of men to exert their property rights."*

"Endless, gigantic ranks of prostitutes have always been women's contribution to armies," and it was only with the appearance of syphilis that people were forced to undergo their first terrifying ordeal. "A truly paralyzing fear came over humanity when it felt the awful scourge of that disease." Supply and demand for prostitutes were cut in half. Morality assumed the upper-hand, and humanity became more narrow-minded - virtue and decorum were the order of the day. Necessity and syphilis were, thus, the weapons against prostitution.

Prostitution exists everywhere, in all countries and regions. In some communities it is more widespread than in others, and the outlooks of various communities on its appearance differ as well. With the emergence of sexology as a multi-disciplinary field of knowledge, scientific investigations into prostitution have correspondingly increased. There has been little progress, however, towards limiting or reducing the incidence of prostitution. It is important to note that the special evil of prostitution, its destructive side, on close inspection turns out to be simply a relic from ancient culture, which does not correspond to our culture at all, and acts on it as a foreign body which will disappear as soon as modern society frees itself from the influence of antiquity. We should not, therefore, assume that prostitution can be eliminated by conventional measures such as laws - it can be eliminated only through cultural change, a historical process. All this does not mean, however, that we cannot do anything.

The current task is to formulate a methodological conception for the study of prostitution: we must stop searching for new causes of a well-known phenomenon, but rather give more consideration to the significance of its continued existence in the face of constant attempts to eliminated it.

 

National Research Center on Addictions
Rehabilitation Dept.,
Moscow, Russia