Prostitution in Portugal is legal, but it is illegal for a third party to profit from, promote, encourage or facilitate the prostitution of another. [1] Consequently, organized prostitution (brothels, prostitution rings or other forms of pimping) is prohibited. [2] [3]
Although the number of workers involved in the industry is notoriously difficult to estimate, in the mid-2000s, the number of female prostitutes was estimated at 28,000, of whom at least 50% were foreigners. [4] [5]
The legal status of prostitution in Portugal has changed several times. In 1949, a harsh law dealing with sexually transmitted diseases came into effect, placing further restrictions on the registration of workers and forbidding the opening of any new houses. Existing houses could be closed if thought to provide a threat to public health. An inquiry at the time estimated that there were 5,276 workers and 485 houses, and appeared confined to the major urban areas of Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Evora. However, it was recognised that registered workers represented only a portion of the total population. This law was intended to eradicate prostitution. [6]
In 1963, prostitution became illegal. [7] At that time, brothels and other premises were closed. This was an abolitionist position ending the prior era of regulation, including regular medical checks on sex workers. The law had little effect on the extent of prostitution, and on January 1, 1983, this law was partially repealed, making not sex work itself but merely its exploitation and facilitation illegal. Prosecution was still possible under offences against public decency and morals, but this was infrequent, although regulation was in the hands of local authorities and enforcement was variable. Thus, this could be considered as an example of 'toleration'. Male prostitution has never been recognized.
Further amendments occurred in 1995 and 1998. The Code was most recently amended in 2001, [8] specifically to deal with increasing concerns around child prostitution and human trafficking. According to a Portuguese Government spokesperson, "The Government's opinion was that prostitution was not a crime. Neither were the prostitutes' clients considered to be criminals, but those who exploited prostitutes and gained profits from their activities were considered criminals under the law." [9] In its 2005 review of European legislation, the European Parliament report categorised Portugal as 'abolitionist'. [10] That is to say that neither indoor nor outdoor work are either prohibited nor regulated, but nevertheless there are restrictions on working conditions which arise from custom, not law, but are enforced by police. There are areas in which outdoor sex workers cannot work, and restrictions on where they may work indoors. For instance, one cannot rent an apartment to a sex worker. The law technically only applies to third parties, not workers or clients, addressing pimping, procuring and facilitating.
Article 170 (Lenocínio, Living off Immoral Earnings) of the Penal Code reads:
1 - Who, professionally or for profit, promotes, encourages or facilitates the practice by another person of prostitution or sexual acts of relief shall be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years.
2 - If the agent uses violence, serious threat, deception, fraud, abuse of authority resulting from a hierarchical relationship of dependence, economic or work, or takes advantage of mental incapacity of the victim or any other situation of particular vulnerability, they shall be punished with imprisonment of 1 to 8 years.
Several other prostitution-related activities are widely disapproved of and prohibited, such as human trafficking, and child prostitution. [11]
In Portugal, prostitution occurs in various settings. In street prostitution, the prostitute solicits customers while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street. Prostitution occurs in some massage parlors, bars and pubs. There are "unofficial" brothels which are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution, but disguised as discos, hostels or restaurants. [12] There is a form of prostitution often sheltered under the umbrella of escort agencies, who supply attractive escorts for social occasions; these escorts provide additional sexual services for the clients. [4] Expensive and young prostitutes that advertise on the web and in the news stands can be easily found in the major cities and most crowded tourist resorts. Prostitution can also take place in the prostitute's apartment which may be located anywhere, from the suburban areas to expensive flats in the main town centers. Prostitution services' contacts are easily found in many magazines, newspapers and websites.
Both heterosexual and homosexual male prostitution also occurs in various settings, ranging from gay bars to discos and beach resorts. A large share of the males engaged in prostitution in Portugal are also foreigners, especially from Brazil and Africa. The concept of gigolo is used and is usually linked to male prostitutes with an exclusively female clientele. Most big cities have an area where homosexual male prostitutes regularly make themselves available to male potential clients cruising by in cars.
Lisbon's Eduardo VII Park [13] reached notability for all kinds of prostitution, including homosexual and underage prostitution, as well as the Monsanto Forest Park, usually by nighttime. [4]
Transsexual and transgender prostitution also exists, particularly of Brazilian travestis, namely at street level in certain designated areas (for example the Conde Redondo area in Lisbon), but also through web venues.
Increasingly one of the main venues for communication of prostitution in Portugal, as with other countries, is the Internet.
Street prostitution occurs in the streets around 'La Vie Funchal Shopping Centre' in Funchal. [14]
Like in other conservative countries where female premarital sex was frowned upon, it was a tradition in Portugal, before the 1970s, for a young man to initiate his sexual life with a prostitute, [15] sometimes with the father guiding that visit. [16] This was in spite of the fact that most Portuguese people are Roman Catholic Christians, for whom premarital sex is not permitted. Today most men initiate their sexual life at a younger age than in the past, and usually in the context of a relationship, rather than with a prostitute.
In the 19th century prostitution was largely contained in well known Bohemian neighbourhoods such as Bairro Alto, Alfama, and Mouraria. [17]
Prostitution become much more visible since the early 1990s, with a migratory wave from Brazil and Eastern European countries. However these claims have been disputed. [18] [19]
Press sources suggest that half of the women engaged in prostitution in Portugal are foreigners, especially from Brazil and Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria), but also from Africa and some Asian countries. [4] [5]
Human trafficking, including trafficking of underage persons, has also become a growing issue for the authorities. Under the Portuguese penal code, trafficking in women is a crime punishable by two to eight years' imprisonment.
Although the number of workers involved in the industry is notoriously difficult to estimate, in the mid-2000s, the number of female prostitutes was estimated at 28,000, of whom at least 50% were foreigners. [4] [5]
Resident groups continue to complain about what they see as an increase in visible prostitution. [20] [21]
As in most other European countries, opinions on sex work and its regulation are sharply divided. For instance a representative to the 2002 UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women stated that "there was no such thing as voluntary prostitution. About 90 per cent of prostitutes who had participated in a recent study had said that they wanted to change their lives. In many cases, the subject of prostitution was not a subject of women’s choice, but of violence and trafficking in people." [9] Ethnographical research on street prostitution, done by Alexandra Oliveira, of University of Porto [22] has led the researcher to argue that prostitution should be legalized to improve the situation of the women. [3] [23] [24] [25]
Some Portuguese prostitutes also married Chinese triad members from Macau before China took it back from Portugal, providing them with access to Portuguese citizenship. [26]
During the 19th century [27] Portuguese prostitutes have operated in Macau. [28]
Portugal is a destination and transit country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Trafficking victims primarily originate from West Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Authorities report traffickers bring women and children, many from West Africa, to Portugal to claim asylum and obtain false documents before bringing them to other European countries to be exploited in sex trafficking. Portugal is being used as a new route into the Schengen area by Sub-Saharan African criminal networks trafficking children for both sexual exploitation and forced labor. [29]
The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Portugal as a 'Tier 1' country. [29]
Prostitution in Thailand is not itself illegal, but public solicitation for prostitution is prohibited if it is carried out "openly and shamelessly" or "causes nuisance to the public". Due to police corruption and an economic reliance on prostitution dating back to the Vietnam War, it remains a significant presence in the country. It results from poverty, low levels of education and a lack of employment in rural areas. Prostitutes mostly come from the northeastern (Isan) region of Thailand, from ethnic minorities or from neighbouring countries, especially Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. In 2019, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated the total population of sex workers in Thailand to be 43,000.
After taking power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) embarked upon a series of campaigns with the aim of eradicating prostitution from mainland China by the early 1960s. Since the loosening of government controls over society in the early 1980s, prostitution in mainland China not only has become more visible, but can now be found throughout both urban and rural areas. In spite of government efforts, prostitution has now developed to the extent that it comprises an industry, one that involves a great number of people and produces a considerable economic output. Prostitution has also become associated with a number of issues, including organized crime, government corruption, hypocrisy, as well as sexually transmitted diseases. Notably, a CCP official who was a major provincial campaigner against corruption was removed from his post and expelled from the party after he was caught in a hotel room with a prostitute in 2007.
Prostitution in Hong Kong is itself legal, but organised prostitution is illegal, as there are laws against keeping a vice establishment, causing or procuring another to be a prostitute, living on the prostitution of others, or public solicitation.
In Great Britain, the act of engaging in sex or exchanging various sexual services for money is legal, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, and pimping, are illegal. In Northern Ireland, which previously had similar laws, paying for sex became illegal from 1 June 2015.
Prostitution in South Korea is illegal, but according to The Korea Women's Development Institute, the sex trade in Korea was estimated to amount to 14 trillion South Korean won in 2007, roughly 1.6% of the nation's GDP. According to a survey conducted by the Department of Urology at the Korea University College of Medicine in 2015, 23.1% of males and 2.6% of females, aged 18–69, had sexual experience with a prostitute.
The legality of prostitution in Asia varies by country. There is often a significant difference in Asia between prostitution laws and the practice of prostitution. In 2011, the Asian Commission on AIDS estimated there were 10 million sex workers in Asia and 75 million male customers.
Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appear in international and humanitarian conventions, such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, but have been inconsistently applied. "Forced prostitution" refers to conditions of control over a person who is coerced by another to engage in sexual activity.
Prostitution in Finland is legal, but soliciting in a public place and organised prostitution are illegal. According to a 2010 TAMPEP study, 69% of prostitutes working in Finland are migrants. As of 2009, there was little "visible" prostitution in Finland as it was mostly limited to private residences and nightclubs in larger metropolitan areas.
Prostitution in Turkey is legal and regulated. The secularization of Turkish society allowed prostitution to achieve legal status during the early 20th century. Known as "general houses" (genelevler) in the country, these are state run brothels which must receive permits from the government to operate. In turn, the regulatory agencies issue identity cards to sex workers that give them rights to some free medical care and other social services. However, many local governments now have a policy of not issuing new registrations, and in some cities, such as Ankara and Bursa, brothels have been demolished by court order. In 2012, it was estimated there are 100,000 unliscenced prostitutes in Turkey, half of whom are foreign born.
Prostitution in Brazil is legal, in terms of exchanging sex for money, as there are no laws forbidding adults from being professional sex workers, but it is illegal to operate a brothel or to employ sex workers in any other way. Public order and vagrancy laws are used against street prostitutes. The affordability of prostitutes is the most inquired-about term in word completion queries on purchases on Google in Brazil.
Prostitution in Uruguay was legislated in 2002 through the sex work law (17.515). Before that, prostitution was unlegislated but it was not illegal, since the constitution allows any activity that is not forbidden by law. Prostitution is currently not a subject of debate.
Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact with the customer. The requirement of physical contact also creates the risk of transferring infections. Prostitution is sometimes described as sexual services, commercial sex or, colloquially, hooking. It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. A person who works in the field is usually called a prostitute or sex worker, but other words, such as hooker and whore, are sometimes used pejoratively to refer to those who work in prostitution. The majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients.
Prostitution in Pakistan is a taboo culture of sex-trade that exists as an open secret but illegal. Prostitution is largely based in organisational setups like brothels or furthered by individual call girls.
Prostitution is illegal in Afghanistan, with punishments ranging from 5 to 15 years of imprisonment. The country is deeply religious and one of the most conservative countries in the world, where sex outside marriage is not only against the law but could lead to serious consequences, even capital punishment.
Prostitution in Nigeria is illegal in all Northern States that uses the penal code and sharia law also known as Islamic law. In Southern Nigeria, the activities of pimps or madams, underage prostitution and the operation or ownership of brothels are penalized under sections 223, 224, and 225 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. Even though the Nigerian constitution/Nigerian law does not legalize commercial sex work, it is vague if such work is performed by an independent individual who operates on his or her own accord without the use of pimps
The legality of prostitution in Europe varies by country.
Prostitution in Suriname is illegal but widespread and the laws are rarely enforced. Human trafficking and Child prostitution are problems in the country. Prostitutes are known locally as "motyo". UNAIDS estimate there to be 2,228 prostitutes in the country.
Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal in some places and regarded as a profession, while at the other extreme, it is considered a severe crime punishable by death in some other places. A variety of different legal models exist around the world, including total bans, bans that only target the customer, and laws permitting prostitution but prohibiting organized groups, an example being brothels.
Prostitution is illegal in Maldives, but occurs on a small scale. A 2014 survey by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) estimated there were 1,139 female prostitutes on the islands. Some women enter the country posing as tourists but then engage in sex work.
Prostitution is legal in Macau unlike in mainland China, because the city is a special administrative region of the country. However, operating a brothel and procuring are both illegal in Macau, with the latter punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 8 years. Street prostitution is illegal but sex work in a massage parlor is considered to be de facto legal. The city has a large sex trade despite there being no official red-light district. In addition to street prostitution, prostitutes work in low-rent buildings, massage parlours and illegal brothels, and the casinos, nightclubs, saunas and some of the larger hotels. Most hotels, however, have suspected prostitutes removed from the premises. Many of the city's sidewalks and underpasses are littered with prostitutes' calling cards.
Triads in Portugal. Sources in Lisbon say that Chinese triad gangs from the Portuguese colony of Macau are setting up in Portugal ahead of the handover of Macau to China in 1999. Security sources fear that as many as 1000 triad members could settle in Portugal. They are already involved in securing Portuguese citizenship for Macau residents by arranging marriages of convenience with Portuguese prostitutes.
By 1845, the total number of prostitutes increased, to 123. Most were Chinese, with a minority of them being Portuguese (the Portuguese colony of Macao was near), or other nationalities. At those times, prostitutes concentrated in the
The Central was Macao's glittering gambling casino, packed every night with Portuguese prostitutes, high rollers from Hong Kong, and hundreds of Chinese playing fan tan, their favorite card game.