PROSTITUTION | The Problem of Legislation

The Problem of Legislation

The overall organization and differentiation of modern prostitution finds its roots in classical antiquity, with the exception that the close inter-relation between prostitution and sexually transmitted disease was then unknown. Thus, any attempts at regulating various aspects of prostitution and the resolution of conflicts connected to it were carried out in an atmosphere in which prostitution was widely tolerated by the rulers.

Later, attempts at legislation were prompted by the spread of infectious disease. In the majority of cases, countries sought to solve the problem of venereal disease by establishing control over prostitution. There were, however, so many "unprofessional" prostitutes as to render all attempts at legislation and control ineffective, even in Western Europe, where prostitutes were forced to register as early as the 19th century. In Britain and America, such controls were absent. In 1864, 1866, and 1869, in conjunction with laws mandating regular medical check-ups for women, British police began to register prostitutes, which lead to widespread protest. British women of high society came to the defense of prostitutes' constitutional rights, saying that men had no moral right to pass such laws against women. As a result, the laws were first nullified, and later stricken from the books completely. In 1885 amendments to the penal code made it illegal to operate brothels and outlawed pimping, though prostitution remained legal. Efforts at regulation in America were similarly unsuccessful.

In light of such mixed results in the civilian sphere, army and navy high commands everywhere took their own measures to preserve the fighting capacities of their forces (threatened by a catastrophically high rate of infection).

"In Germany during WW1 a sergeant from the medical corps stood at the entrance to the military bordello to check the soldiers' medical documents, record their name and rank, pass out creams and medicines, and collect money. During peak hours, each visitor was allowed only ten minutes, after which the sergeant on duty would yell "Next!"

Declaring prostitution to be unavoidable means admitting it as a constituent part of sexual morality. This is a one-sided, patriarchal point of view, the ramifications of which are well known.

The process for regulating prostitution always follows a distinct pattern. First the trade is localized within a specific area - a building, street, or district. Following this, we see the regulation of all aspects of the process - from fixed rates (price lists) to medical services and education for the women involved. Further measures lead to the organization of unions for prostitutes, through which they may assert and defend their rights. These unions also conduct a battle against secret and illegal prostitution, which is usually no less prevalent than its legally approved counterpart. In some cases this battle has taken the form of violent conflict - fights, window-smashing, and arson.

The social and ethical dangers inherent to the regulation and legalization of prostitution have been debated since ancient times. Government regulation not only fails to protect honest women from the advances of men, but also gradually degrades and demoralizes women in general. Open (de-criminalized) prostitution in no way infringes on the existence of its under-ground counterpart, but only contributes to the spread of prostitution to all the levels of a society. Social movements opposed to government regulation and legalization of prostitution have stressed all these factors: the ineffectiveness of most such programs, as well as the harmful impact of prostitution on women, and on the overall social life. During the Middle Ages government regulation and control over brothels evolved into a system regulated to the smallest details, a sort of accounting house which kept records on every brothel and every prostitute, recording such information as age, income, home, health status, and so on. The result of this system was to make it impossible for most prostitutes to ever return to the rank-and-file of society.

Individual opinions on prostitution vary widely, and are conditioned by the social environment. Tolerant attitudes towards prostitution are always accompanied by harsh protests against it. Prostitution is depicted as the root of all evils, and the "deepest pit of hell a man and woman can fall into". All these arguments, however, both for and against prostitution, are borne of a narrow-minded world view.

Conclusion

The most recent data have shown that the type of sexual culture, and the level of social instability have a major influence on the extent of prostitution in a society. This is supported by the following observation: "The Victorian age transformed middle class women into sickly-sweet, touchy, moralizing people, whose aversion to sex contributed to a meteoric rise in prostitution, an epidemic of venereal disease, and the emergence of masochism as a fashion." The social restraint of prostitution, then, is a cultural formation which supports sexuality, and developed systems of sexological education.