Female prostitution

Prostitution exists because of the subordination of women in most societies. This subordination is reflected in the double standard of sexual behaviour for men and women, and is carried out in the discrepancy between women's and men's earning: women earn an average of 60% (and often less) of what men earn. The specific reasons that prostitutes themselves have given for choosing to work as prostitutes, have included money, excitement, independence, and flexibility. Studies have also revealed a high incidence of child sexual abuse in the life histories of prostitutes (sexual abuse in general: 50% for adult prostitutes, 75-80% for juvenile prostitutes; incest: 25% for adult prostitutes, 50-75% for juvenile prostitutes). The traditional psychoanalytic explanation for the relationship between the childhood sexual abuse and later involvement in prostitution is that the child has come to view sex as a commodity, and that she is masochistic. The connection prostitutes report, however, is that the involvement in prostitution is a way of taking back control of a situation in which, as children, they had no control.

Female prostitutes constitute the largest proportion of all prostitutes but, unlike male prostitutes, they are not usually independent agents, often being controlled, blackmailed, intimidated, and brutally treated by pimps or organized crime. Female prostitution gives rise to a trade in women and children who may be sold to brothels or as concubines. In certain countries prostitution is a crime and may depend on the corruption or the turning of a blind eye by the authorities. In other countries it may be legalized and prostitutes must be registered and submit to regular medical examinations for venereal disease; this registration may make it more difficult for them to return to normal life if they wish to do so.

Female prostitution is a worldwide phenomenon but is most notable in cities, where populations are mobile and where there is severe poverty and unemployment. A woman may then earn money for herself and even for her family through prostitution when her husband cannot get work. Female prostitution is also sometimes a feature of indigenous populations which have not adapted to a new way of life after cultural invasion. Female prostitutes may be the products of broken or deprived homes and may be coerced into prostitution if alone. Many are sold into prostitution by their parents. Although the forms vary somewhat from country to country - in part due to cultural differences, in part due to differences in the law - the institution itself is strikingly similar. In Thailand, a high class prostitute can earn up to £1,500 a month, more than the average rural Thai in a year. Some prostitutes work to help their parents, provide better education for siblings and to earn extra money for their own schooling. A few countries, including Cuba, the USSR and China, have undertaken enormous projects to 'rehabilitate' prostitutes, and thereby to eliminate prostitution. However, women in all of those countries continue to work as prostitutes, especially in the large urban centers, and especially since there has been an increase in tourism from other countries.

In West Germany, there are 2.5 million visits to female prostitutes per day. According to a 1992 report, an average of 20 Burmese girls a day are sold across the border for around 17,000 baht. There are over 1,500 female prostitutes in Ranong alone, with thousands more in Bangkok.