Tag Archives: sex trade

Prostitution and Technology: Does One Directly Affect Another?

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photo of prostitute leaning into a car pictures

Wired.com released an interesting article on modern technology’s affect on prostitutes in New York City. The article discussed the move of prostitution from the streets to an ‘indoor’ business model, where pimps are becoming less prevalent, and agencies and self starters are more common.

The author, Sudhir Venkatesh, explains further:

The economies of big cities have been reshaped by a demand for high-end entertainment, cuisine, and “wellness” goods. In the process, “dating,” “massage,” “escort,” and “dancing” have replaced hustling and streetwalking. A luxury brand has been born.

These changes have made sex for hire more expensive. But luxe pricing has in turn helped make prostitution, well… somewhat respectable. Whereas men once looked for a secretive tryst, now they seek a mistress with no strings attached, a “girlfriend experience,” and they are willing to pay top dollar for it.

As men with higher incomes and …

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Women For Sale in Israel: A Thought-Provoking Demonstration of Women in Israeli Society Today

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In a busy shopping center in Tel Aviv, women, posing like mannequins, were put on display featuring hefty price-tags.  Some were made up to look like they had suffered from a violent attack, all to stress the realness and effects of human trafficking and illegal prostitution in Israel.

It is estimated that more than 3,000 women residing in Israel have been smuggled into the country with the sole purpose of acting as sex slaves. Many of these women are perpetually raped and beaten, and not many discuss it for fear of repercussions.

The display put on by a non-profit organization and called “Women to Go” stopped shoppers in their tracks.  Campaigner Ori Keider explained:

“What we see here today is an example of what’s going on in houses and basements and yards in this city, but today we’re showing it in the center of this shopping mall so people can understand, they cannot look away.”

Shoppers were asked to sign a petition demanding that people who pay for sex be prosecuted.

Time and time again, the women, who are almost always the victims in these situations, are persecuted while the men paying for their services go unpunished.

The signatures collected during this protest will be submitted to the Minister of Justice in an effort to put together a bill that will criminalize those who solicit sexual services. Many believe that a law like this could eradicate the phenomenon of trafficking in women.

However, despite its warm-and-fuzziness, it’s hard to say if a law like this one will make even a small dent in the Israeli sex trade.   It’s possible that it could hurt more then it could help.  But however, I think public awareness is an excellent step in the right direction, even if some claim otherwise.  Awareness and education is a powerful tool, as we’ve seen them play out time after time in various instances of women’s history (suffrage, sexual revolution, etc).

I think that any activism that grabs the attention of a large group of people is, at times, more effective than the passing of laws that are continually broken.



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Ontario Superior Court Rules Against Prostitution Law

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photo of vintage prostitute standing in the street black and white picture retro

In a landmark decision, the Ontario Superior Court ruled against Ontario’s prostitution law, claiming that the law was putting at risk the very women it meant to protect.

From the Globe and Mail:

“By increasing the risk of harm to street prostitutes, the communicating law is simply too high a price to pay for the alleviation of social nuisance,” Judge Himel said in her 131-page ruling which took almost a year to produce.

“I find that the danger faced by prostitutes greatly outweighs any harm which may be faced by the public,” she later added.

Although the actual act of having sex for money is not illegal in Canada, the act of soliciting sex for money is, which essentially makes prostitution illegal for anyone who is not telepathic. Unless you run into a telepathic cop.

Although every heterosexual male I know is currently skipping about, clapping their hands in in delight, the Ontario Crown is expected wrap as much red tape around the Superior Court’s ruling as possible in order to permit Ontario police officers to continue to enforcing the prostitution law, so it’s unlikely we will see much change anytime soon.

However, I am quite pleased with the ruling and I am glad to live in a …

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Beth Holloway, Natalee Holloway’s Mother, Breaks in to Jail to Visit Joran van der Sloot

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photo of beth holloway author of loving natalee and mother of deceased natalee holloway at a book signing and conference pictures

Natalee Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, has been living a nightmare that few of us can even imagine for the past five years. Her vibrant daughter was suddenly gone, and she didn’t even have the closure of being able to bury Natalee—she technically doesn’t even know for sure that she’s dead, although that’s sadly a pretty clear conclusion.

Perhaps the worst thing for Twitty is that the authorities know who is responsible for Natalee’s disappearance (and assumed death) while on a vacation to Aruba.

Think about how horrible it must have been for Natalee Holloway’s family to see Joran van der Sloot all over the television screen (including a Lifetime original movie) for the past five years, usually in some state of alcohol-fueled and gambling-centered pursuit. It must have been like getting flipped a gigantic bird at every turn.

Like most sociopaths, though, van der Sloot finally pushed the envelope a little too far. He was essentially caught red-handed in the violent murder of Stephanie Flores and is currently in a Peruvian prison.

A Peruvian prison that Beth Holloway Twitty snuck into so she …

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