WUNRN
Czech
Republic Commissions Census Of Prostitutes
Prague - According to official estimates, there are approximately 10,000
prostitutes of both genders in the Czech Republic, but NGOs believe there may
be as many as 30,000. For the time being, precise statistics are lacking,
but research commissioned by the Czech Labor and Social Affairs
Ministry (MPSV) in collaboration with the Czech Interior Ministry may
soon change that. The data will be used to elaborate social strategies
and eventual legislative changes, according to Klára Holanová of MPSV.
The research will map the prostitution scene in the Czech Republic, focusing on
the number of people selling their bodies, the regional distribution
of prostitution and its forms. Staff of the organizations
awarded tenders by MPSV will also do field research. The
deadline for applying was July 23, but the ministry received no
applications. "It is highly probable that a new public tender
will be announced," said Holanová. Officials count on the
research being completed in October 2008.
For
the time being the authorities rely on data from the Czech Statistical
Office, information from NGO field workers, and information from the
police. Hana Malinová, Executive Director of the association Rozkoš bez
rizika (Pleasure Without Risk) estimates the number of prostitutes of
both genders at between 10 000 - 12 000. Approximately 3 000 are said to
be in Prague, the majority in clubs. The favorites are particularly
enormous businesses where a client can select from 150 women. There are
smaller clubs in almost every Czech town. According to Malinová,
Czech businessmen are often the primary clients. Only 8 % of female
prostitutes are said to offer their services on the street.
The Czech Catholic organization Charita also devotes itself to female
prostitutes in the field as part of its Magdala project, and considers the
typical visitor to the clubs to be an "average person", a man
with a family who gets what he wants for his money in the club. Project
coordinator Jindřiška Krpálková says these men are also often
divorced and disappointed by their previous relationships, or they are
aging men looking for excitement.
However, even young men visit the clubs, either those who are not interested in
permanent relationships, or those who end up there randomly after a night of
drinking with their friends. Sex tourists are a whole other story. These
either come to Prague for a weekend prior to getting married in order to
bid farewell to their freedom, or are simply seeking an extraordinary
experience while on vacation. The traditional clients are Austrian and
German men, who drive to the border areas of Bohemia and Moravia for sex.
According to the Catholic charity, at least 30 000 people in the
Czech Republic sell their bodies. Most often, approximately 60 % of these are
foreign women, the majority from Bulgaria, China, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam.
Many of them are victims of trafficking.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that annually
300 000 to half a million women and children are trafficked in Europe.
Prostitution is not defined by law in the Czech Republic, and only the
criminal acts connected with it can be prosecuted, such as trading in
human beings, pandering/pimping, disorderly conduct and endangering the
morals of a minor. The new draft Criminal Code would criminalize
prostitution, for example, in the neighborhood of a school. Those who
conduct or organize prostitution in the neighborhood of a school could face up
to two years in prison. Muncipalities are able to regulate street
prostitution through public notices.
Author:
ČTK
Translation:
Peacework
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