I. Introduction Prostitution, performance of sexual acts solely for the purpose
of material gain. Persons prostitute themselves when they grant sexual favors to
others in exchange for money, gifts, or other payment and in so doing use their
bodies as commodities. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to those
who engage overtly in such sexual-economic transactions, usually for a specified
sum of money. Prostitutes may be of either sex, but throughout history the
majority have been women, who have usually entered prostitution through coercion
or under economic stress. II. Preindustrial Societies Prostitution was
widespread in preindustrial societies. In the ancient Middle East and India,
sexual intercourse with prostitutes was believed to facilitate communion with
the gods. In ancient Greece, prostitution flourished on all levels of society.
In ancient Rome, prostitution also was common, despite severe legal
restrictions. In the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century), the Christian
church, which valued chastity, attempted to convert or rehabilitate individual
prostitutes but did not attack the institution itself. By the late Middle Ages,
licensed brothels flourished throughout Europe, yielding enormous revenues to
government officials and corrupt clergy members. During the 16th century
prostitution declined sharply in Europe, largely as a result of stern reprisals
by Protestants and Roman Catholics. They condemned its immorality but were also
motivated by a connection between prostitution and an outbreak of syphilis, a
disease that is often transmitted through sexual contact. III. Industrial
Societies In the 18th century most continental European governments controlled
prostitution through a system of compulsory registration, licensed brothels, and
medical inspection of prostitutes. In Britain and the United States,
prostitution flourished openly in urban so-called red-light districts. In time
the corruption of licensed prostitution stirred protests throughout Europe. Many
governments sought to check prostitution by trying to stop the international
traffic in women and children. IV. Prostitution in the United States
Prostitution in the United States today takes various forms. Some prostitutes,
so-called call girls, operate out of their own apartments and maintain a list of
regular customers. Some follow convention circuits or work in certain resort
areas. The majority are so-called streetwalkers, who find their customers on
city streets. Increasing numbers are young runaways to the city who turn to the
streets for survival. Many prostitutes are managed by men known as pimps, who
usually take much of the money earned by the women. V. Current U.S. Attitudes
The United States remains one of the few countries with laws against
prostitution. It is legal only in the state of Nevada. The rationale for its
continued illegal status in the United States rests on three assumptions:
prostitution is linked to organized crime, prostitution leads to increased crime
in general, and prostitution is the cause of an increase in sexually transmitted
diseases. These assumptions are now in question, as some experts have pointed
out that prostitution is no longer an attractive investment for organized crime,
and as public-health officials indicate that prostitutes account for only a
small percentage of the country's sexually transmitted disease cases. Polls have
shown that approximately half of the U.S. population would favor
decriminalization of prostitution throughout the country. Decriminalization
would free the courts and police to spend more time dealing with what are seen
as more serious and violent crimes. The constitutionality of laws against
prostitution is also in question, since they penalize prostitutes but not their
customers.