PROSTITUTION

the practice of engaging in relatively indiscriminate sexual activity, in general with individuals other than a spouse or friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. The definition of prostitution is based on culturally determined values that differ in various societies and circumstances. Prostitutes may be of either sex and may hire their bodies for heterosexual or homosexual activity, but most prostitution has been among females, with males as clients. Through the ages prostitutes have been shunned and reviled by society in general, and punishments have included stoning, whipping, branding, imprisonment, and death. Their clients, on the other hand, have rarely been touched by the law, and in fact in many societies the frequenting of prostitutes may rouse some public indignation but is also considered a sign of virility. Among some peoples prostitution has been required of young girls as a puberty rite or as a means of acquiring a dowry, and some religions have required prostitution of a certain class of priestesses. The ancient Greeks and Romans required that prostitutes wear distinctive dress and pay severe taxes. Hebrew law did not forbid prostitution but confined the practice to foreign women. Among the ordinances laid down by Moses to regulate public health were several dealing with the transmission of venereal disease. In Europe during the Middle Ages there were some attempts by church leaders to rehabilitate penitent prostitutes and fund their dowries. In a society governed, however, by the cult of courtly love, where women even of the highest rank were chattel bound into marriages to fulfill political and financial arrangements, prostitution flourished. It was not merely tolerated but was protected, licensed, and regulated by law, and it constituted a considerable source of public revenue. Public brothels on a large scale were established in large cities throughout Europe: at Toulouse the profits were shared between the city and the university; in England the bordellos were originally licensed by the bishops of Winchester and subsequently by Parliament. Stricter controls were imposed with the outbreak of an epidemic of venereal disease in the 16th century and with the advent of new ideas of sexual morality brought in with the Protestant Reformation. Brothels were closed throughout Europe, and when disease continued to claim victims, regulations became even more stringent. Some cities passed laws requiring periodic medical inspection, but to little avail. International cooperation to end the traffic in women for the purpose of prostitution began in 1899. In 1921 the League of Nations established the Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children, and in 1949 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a convention for the suppression of prostitution. In the United States prostitution was virtually uncontrolled until the passage of the Mann Act (1910), which prohibited interstate transportation of women for immoral purposes. By 1915 nearly all states had passed laws banning brothels and regulating the profits of prostitution. In most large Western cities prostitution is tolerated: law enforcement agencies are more concerned with regulating the crimes associated with prostitution. A British parliamentary act of 1959 prohibits open solicitation by prostitutes but permits them to operate in their own homes and provides rehabilitative training to all who wish to change trades. Regulations in Scandinavian countries emphasize hygienic aspects, require frequent medical examination, and provide free mandatory hospitalization for anyone found to be infected with venereal disease. Chinese officials maintain that prostitution no longer exists in their country. Throughout Asia the trade continues to flourish openly. Until the mid-20th century it was almost the only occupation open to women responsible for their own support. In most Eastern countries prostitution is an urban problem, but in India a majority of prostitutes are in rural areas. Female prostitutes are very often economically disadvantaged and are usually unmarried and lack skills to support themselves. Many are drawn at an early age into the subculture of prostitution and associated crime. They frequently are associated with a male procuror, or pimp, or with a house of prostitution, or brothel, managed by a supervisor, or madam. In exchange for residence, appointments, and protection, the prostitute must share a large portion of her earnings with her pimp or madam. Health hazards to female prostitutes include venereal diseases, acquired through indiscriminate sexual contact, and, in some subcultures, drug abuse. Male prostitution has received less public attention in most cultures. Heterosexual male prostitutionmales hired by or for femalesis very rare. Homosexual male prostitution, however, has become increasingly common in the 20th century.