The campaign in the United States against prostitution has grown so much that, at the end of last year, the House of Representatives unanimously amended a law directed at dramatically intensifying the fight against this social evil.
There are, of course, different attitudes towards prostitution. Some of our readers could possibly agree with the pimps’ opinion that prostitution provides a service to society by bringing their women out onto the pavement. Pimps assert that if it weren’t for prostitutes, sexually anxious citizens would be up to no good. Don’t get mad at us, people, but say “thank you.”
We'll hold off on the thanks. But then again, one can partially agree with the pimps’ conclusion that that they are saving society from sexual maniacs, if women sold their bodies voluntarily, without coercion. But as recent Congressional hearings have shown, a significant number of ladies of the night are forced to walk the streets under compulsion, fearing harsh punishment from their pimps and the criminal bosses above them.
Another important aspect of this problem is the coercion of minors into prostitution. Today thousands of adolescents in the United States are forced to sell their bodies. As activists from the organization Polaris Project warn on their web site, 200,000 American children and adolescents are at high risk of commercial sexual exploitation.
The problem of widespread prostitution in the United States is directly connected to the terrible and disgraceful phenomenon of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. According to the Department of Justice, every year 800,000 to 900,000 people worldwide become victims of human trafficking, with 20,000 of them − primarily women and children − ending up as slaves in the United States. A significant number of them are used in the sex industry.
Five years ago, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which stipulated strict punishment for human trafficking in U.S. territory – up to 20 years in prison.
But this law proved to be insufficient, mostly because during their raids, law enforcement officials focused primarily on women. In the new federal law, End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act − the addition to the 2000 bill − funds will be allotted to federal and local law enforcement officials for investigating and following brothel owners and pimps. The new law also allows for the arrest of their clients, who are known as “johns.”
“Clients of pimps use women and frequently insult them,” says Representative Deborah Pryce (R-OH), a co-author of the new law. “As far as the pimps are concerned, they are modern-day slaveholders who pitilessly exploit the girls and women who end up in their hands.”
Pimping is an extremely profitable “business.” According to Derek Ellerman, executive director of the Polaris Project, people in this business can earn over $600,000 per year. It's clearly worth the risk. In order to make this type of business more dangerous and less profitable (longer prison term, high fines, confiscation of property), Pryce, along with Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), proposed making amendments to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
Twelve states have passed laws against human trafficking in the last three years that include more sections on sexual slavery, and 15 more states are considering such laws.
Although prostitution is forbidden everywhere in the United States, except in certain counties in Nevada, state criminal codes are extremely liberal towards pimps and brothel owners. The new federal law allows for much harsher punishments, but few have greeted this with enthusiasm.
For example, the Department of Justice does not like the fact that women involved in illegal human trafficking qualify as victims of a crime. It believes that the fight against prostitution should be waged by local law enforcement and not by federal law enforcement. This seems strange considering the character of the slave trade that the United States has become involved in. But one could agree with the separate conclusions made by social organizations criticizing the new law.
“All of its attention is focused on punishments, while much less is focused on preventative measures which would turn women away from becoming prostitutes and discourage them from walking the streets,” says Ann Jordan, director of Initiative Against Trafficking in Persons at Global Rights (ARIAT), in an interview with The Washington Post. “Why not focus attention on poverty, for example, which is one of the reasons why women are forced to sell their bodies?”
In the opinion of Juhu Thukral of Sex Workers Project, the government should consider appropriating funds for classes that would give women a chance to master a profession and start supporting themselves with their hands and minds.
Planned federal subsidies to fight against prostitution show that the number of arrests among human traffickers, as well as among pimps, brothel owners and their clients, will increase substantially in the new year.
“I truly hope that the ‘conspiracy of men,’ where primarily women are arrested during round-ups while pimps and brothel owners get off lightly, will finally come to an end,” says Donna Hughes, a professor at the University of Rhode Island who is a well-known expert in the field of women’s issues.
There is already progress in this direction. For example, a program called “Losing Proposition” is being implemented in New York. Under this program, a john’s car can be seized. And in St. Louis, MO, pimps are now being investigated for financial crimes, the same method used to fight drug dealers.
Preventative measures include the fight against johns and brothel clients. It is effective to post pictures of “johns” on the Internet, require them to attend special lectures, force them to take AIDS tests, etc.
Is it a coincidence that on the same December day that the House of Representatives voted for the End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act of 2005. A native of the Azerbaijan capital city of Baku, Asgar (Oscar) Mamedov, who pleaded guilty to bringing women from Azerbaijan to the United States and forcing them into prostitution, was sentenced in Brooklyn Federal Court? In a plea for leniency, Mamedov claimed that he was forced into this occupation and that he did not beat the women, but rather came to their defense.
Mamedov's lawyer, Ernest Hammer, tried to repudiate the written testimony of three victims presented in court on the eve of the sentencing.
According to an agreement with the prosecutor's office, Mamedov faced with 121 months in prison, but the judge added an extra three months owing to the vulnerability of the victims. Altogether, the convicted man will spend 10 years and four months in prison, minus time already served and 15 percent of the prison term, which is shaved off for good behavior.
After serving his time, Mamedov will be deported, even though he is married to an American citizen.
Earlier, in the summer of 2005, the impresario Lev Trakhtenberg, well-known in Russian-speaking circles, was sentenced to five years in prison and given a hefty fine. He was also incriminated in colluding to organize prostitution and in violating his visa conditions.
Were Mamedov and Trakhtenberg truly involved in what they were accused of? It's hard to say with certainty. Is a confession the proof? Bear in mind, if they had not made a deal with the prosecutors, their sentences could have been longer.
Returning to Trakhtenberg's case, let's recall once again what he asserted after the trial in a statement to the BBC.
"Why did the 'victims of my crimes' come to the United States several times and why do they still continue to work in the very same strip clubs in which I allegedly forcibly placed them? Maybe it's all about green cards for themselves and their relatives, and about the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000?"
This could certainly be the case. Without doubting the fairness of Trakhtenberg's and Mamedov's verdicts, I can't help but notice that their trials were timely during the year in which the House of Representatives debated and passed an expanded version of the law from 2000.
I personally don't believe in coincidences.
