There are especially many of them in border towns, and the Germans quickly realized that the opening of borders meant the opportunity to buy not only inexpensive goods, but also cheap sexual services. And where there is demand, supply appears: “priestesses of love” from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Macedonia flocked to the Czech Republic. Today, about 25,000 women, mostly from Eastern European countries, work in the Czech sex services market. In addition, human trafficking, forced and child prostitution flourish in the country.
In order to change the situation, the Czech government has drafted a bill regulating the practice of prostitution. According to it, women must undergo regular medical examinations, have social insurance and pay taxes. Municipal authorities will have the right to prohibit offering their services on the street, near schools and in busy places. Forced prostitution will become criminally punishable, and visa controls will be tightened. All this, according to politicians, will help reduce the number of prostitutes and protect women from the arbitrariness of clients and pimps.
In many Western countries, including Holland, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy, prostitution has long been a legal profession. In Germany, a law according to which prostitution is not an unlawful activity was adopted in 2002. Since then, about 400,000 German prostitutes have social insurance, have the right to appeal in court claims against clients regarding payment for their work, and also have the right to receive state subsidies for training in a new profession.
In Russia, repeated attempts to adopt a law on the legalization of prostitution have not succeeded. The last time such a bill was submitted for consideration to the Duma was in December 2003. The Committee on Women's Affairs sharply opposed its adoption: in the opinion of its members, legal prostitution could lead to young people viewing it as the easiest way to earn extra money. Moreover, Russian law enforcement agencies are not at all interested in legalizing prostitution, and some of their representatives collect considerable bribes from “priestesses of love.”
Overall, the Western experience in legalizing prostitution can be considered positive. Taxes from prostitutes have replenished the state treasury, and regular medical examinations have halted the spread of AIDS. According to some data, after the legalization of prostitution, the number of rapes in Denmark decreased by 70%.
However, this has not solved all problems. In Europe, such phenomena as illegal trade in bodies still exist; it has simply moved from the streets to private apartments. According to experts, about 120,000 women are brought into the EU every year and forced to work in underground brothels.
This is exactly what representatives of Czech organizations helping prostitutes fear. According to Petra Kutarkova, who works in the aid society La Strada, by legalizing prostitution, the state will turn into a pimp. In addition, she fears that if illegal prostitution becomes criminally punishable, “priestesses of love” will turn into criminals, and then there will be almost no hope that they can return to a normal life.