Appendix No. 2
PROSTITUTION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
In connection with the process of drafting the national strategy for combating trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the Czech Republic, and the close tie this issue has to prostitution and growth of prostitution in the Czech Republic, the police have conducted an investigation to establish the dynamics of prostitution growth and its accompanying phenomena. This analysis is based on data provided by the Regional Headquarters of the Police of the Czech Republic Police and the Municipality of Prague Headquarters of the Police of the Czech Republic. Attention is focused particularly on the street prostitution, prostitution in night clubs, and in sex establishments. All other forms of prostitution are more difficult to map out. Note: The distinction between the regional and county data goes back to the old territorial division of the Republic which has been preserved to this day in the police hierarchy of regional and county headquarters of the Police of the Czech Republic.
Prostitution is an everyday reality in the Czech Republic. In some cities and communities, local citizens are constantly confronted with its most visible aspects. Because it has not actively challenged this problem, the Czech Republic has come under criticism as a region of sex tourism where human rights and the dignity of women, children, local residents, and visitors are being trampled. Recently, the Ministry of Interior drafted several analyses of prostitution in the Czech Republic and is therefore competent to evaluate development of this sector.
Prostitution evolves continually. The findings of the Police of the Czech Republic show that the number of street prostitutes has decreased a little and that their activities are moving into night clubs and sex establishments (especially in the region of Northern Bohemia). A brand new gimmick are "windows" - shop windows where scantily clad women try to attract prospective customers. The windows open primarily onto main streets and highway ramps.
Sexual services are advertised in the national media and in advertising space. On the market there are freely available scores of periodicals on the themes of erotica and sex, including offers of sexual services. The best known and most widely used advertising periodical is called Annonce.
Other journals advertise mainly sexual encounters and services. It is alarming that these magazines are displayed on the counters of vendors of daily newspapers, gas station stores, and grocery stores.
Internet ads for sexual services are growing steadily. There are 11 specialized web magazines and 20 regional publications. Under 'erotica',
www.vyhledávač comes up with 190 sites and tens more links to erotica magazines and galleries, complete sexual list of options, etc. Each homepage has departments containing hundreds of ads. Private ads tender paid sexual services by individuals or groups in private apartments, the client's apartment (escort), and sex establishments. Next, we find job offers in sexual services that include questionnaires. The Internet also brings images of erotica and pornography of different types, including child pornography. Anyone can respond to these offers. As long as he/she has the money, imagination, need and desire, he/she can buy sex in any combination and setting. Since 1997 when the analysis of this market was made, the growth in number of sexual services has been vast.
A. Street prostitution
Street prostitution in the Czech Republic is non-homogenous and ever changing. It is found practically in every region of the Czech Republic. The highest incidence is in the regions of Western Bohemia (except for Tachov and Plzeň-South counties), Southern Moravia, and Northern Bohemia, and in the Municipality of Prague. In other regions, prostitution is limited to certain counties, and in the Eastern Bohemia it is largely nonexistent.
The number of streetwalkers doubles during summer months and during sport or social events (races, trade fairs, etc.). The ethnic make-up of women prostitutes varies regions from region. In the region of Western Bohemia, it concerns mainly Czech and Slovak women (a majority of them are Roma) aged 15 to 50. These women come from socially weakest classes. They're unskilled, single, divorced, or married, with or without children, often on the run from home or an institution. Most have pimps. Especially in the Sokolov and Cheb counties, there are women from the former Soviet Union (Ukraine, Moldavia, etc.), some of whom are high school graduates.
The age of prostitutes in the region of Northern Bohemia ranges from 20 through 55. They are mainly of the Czech (from the entire Republic) and Slovak origin. Approximately 50% of them are Roma, and 95% of them are single. Most prostitutes in Prague are of legal age, aged 18 to 45, and they are of the Czech, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Asian origin. This segment includes college graduates and every type of marital status. In the region of Southern Bohemia, we find Roma and foreign women aged 13 to 50, as well as women in a late stage of pregnancy. While the region of Northern Moravia sees Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian and Polish women, the regions of Central Bohemia and Southern Moravia are worked mainly by Czech and Slovak (including Roma) women. Many prostitutes use drugs supplied by their pimps. Streetwalkers often suffer from sexually transmitted diseases. However, with the exception of the regions of Western and Northern Bohemia, their health hasn't been researched.
Street prostitution is linked with criminal activity, namely burglary, muggings, car theft and car burglary, exposing others to STDs, disorderly conduct, blackmail and murder (rare), rape, procuring, sexual abuse, sexual endangerment of minors, etc. A particular category of prostitutes sell their clients sleep inducing substances and rob them (of cash, electronic devices, antiques, jewellery, cell phones, credit and debit cards, car keys, and cars). Sudden death of clients during sex is not uncommon.
Streetwalking is also accompanied by misdemeanours such as disturbing public order, littering, jaywalking and endangering traffic, disturbing nighttime peace and other loud behaviour induced by drugs and alcohol, verbal abuse of passers by, breaking local laws such as the ban on unregulated prostitution (200 offences in one year in Sokolov), illegal parking, etc.
The streetwalkers' clients are both Czechs and foreigners. In the region of Western Bohemia it's mainly German tourists - random clients from all walks of society, ages 18 through 60, mostly married. In the region of Northern Bohemia, the traditional clients are Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, former Yugoslavia nationals, Bulgarians, Albanians, Turks, Italians, and Vietnamese (except for Germans, these are random tourists or truck drivers). The region of Central Bohemia sees Germans, Turks, Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, and Hungarians. The numbers here are generally decreasing. They come in all ages and from all paths of life, coming to the prostitutes in their own or company vehicles, sometimes rental cars. More than half sees the same prostitute each time. Every prostitute has at least one steady client. German men prefer Roma women. Most clients in the region of Northern Bohemia are truck drivers and Poles. In Přerov County it is chiefly respected fathers of families, and at Vsetín County random visitors of low cost restaurants. In the region of Southern Moravia, streetwalkers are hired mainly by Czechs, Austrians, Ukrainians, and Russians of all ages and social classes.
In border regions streetwalking is common on highways leading towards border crossings (the region of Western Bohemia: highways from Jáchymov to Boží Dar, Ostrov - Boží Dar, Karlsbad - Cheb, etc; the region of Northern Bohemia: Varnsdorf - border crossing, Chomutov - St. Sebastian Mountain, Teplice - Dubí-Cínovec, Teplice - Most; the region of Southern Bohemia: highways leading to the state border; the region of Northern Bohemia: near border crossings and highways leading to Český Těšín and Chotěbuz; the region of Southern Moravia: highway to Znojmo - state border, parking lots and motels near gas stations, parking lot by the Znojmo Hypernova, etc.. In all regions, streetwalking is common at bus stops, city parks, parking lots, poor Roma neighbourhoods, underpasses, yards, small alleyways, and lately more often on unregistered land (in Sokolov County). Particularly in the region of Northern Moravia, prostitution is seen in cheap restaurants. In Prague this business takes place all over the city, but the main spots are Prague 1 (Národní třída, Jungmannova ulice, Perlova ulice (Bulgarians), Uhelný trh (Roma women), Skořepka, Na Perštýně, near Žofín, the lower part of the Wenceslas Square (Bulgarians), in Melantrichova Street (Bulgarians), at the Old Town Square and in Prague 2 (Žitná, Karlovo náměstí, streets Odborů, Myslíkova, and Resslova). In the region of Central Bohemia it is primarily Beroun County (at a rest stop on highway D5 in Rudná, and in Kladno, Slané, Teplice, and Louny). Sexual services are often preformed in the clients' vehicles. It can be said that sexual trade is spreading into new places.
The prices for streetwalking are generally about the same everywhere. In the region of Western Bohemia, they range from 20 to 70 EURO (cheapest in Sokolov), in the region of Northern Bohemia, it is about 30 EURO, except for highway E55 (10 to 15 EURO), in Prague, it is from CZK 500 to CZK 1500 (Bulgarian, Ukrainian, and Roma women ask lower fees), in the region of Central Bohemia, it is CZK 500 to CZK 1000, in the region of Southern Bohemia, it is CZK 500, in the region of Northern Bohemia, it is CZK 200 to CZK 1000, and in the region of Southern Moravia, it is CZK 500 to CZK 1500 (except for Znojmo where it is 25 - 60 EURO).
The regional and local police forces fight street prostitution in many ways, but their efforts are feeble and short-lived. For instance, the municipal and national police perform regular searches to detect individuals within nationwide search, for minors, criminal suspects, infected persons, etc. The police identify these individuals, verify the prostitutes' age, and arrest foreigners that have no documents. They combine forces with sanitation workers and monitor the compliance with local regulations that prohibits unregulated prostitution (Sokolov), and soliciting or buying sexual services (Cheb), etc. As a result, in the Western Bohemia, prostitution has been pushed out into the urban periphery and the number of streetwalkers has decreased (they go into clubs with better conditions and higher profits). In the Northern Bohemia, the police arrest prostitutes and may, in keeping with law, fine them up to CZK 10 thousand. The fines are practically inexpugnable. A prevention activity called Úklid (Cleansing) that constantly monitors problem zones was in part successful but too costly. Attempts have been made to curfew establishments' closing time according to the licensing law. This didn't work either because decisions issued through lawful process were soon abolished based on considerations for freedom of enterprise. The region of Central Bohemia's frequent efforts to identify criminal activity are ineffectual. The region of Southern Bohemia strives to improve the situation by regularly trading information with Austrian and German criminal police. In the municipality of Tesin in the region of Northern Moravia there is a regulation in place (traffic sign prohibiting cars to stop), and yet another by the municipality of Brno and municipality of Chvalovice (Znojmo).
None of the above steps offer a permanent solution. It is impossible to supervise streetwalking. Most prostitutes are slaves to their pimps. Many women are sold (from abroad to the Czech Republic and vice versa), coerced into prostitution, abused, and exploited. The range of the prostitutes' nationalities is growing wider as are the services these women are willing to perform. The health of streetwalkers is dire. Voices from the worst hit regions demand prostitution regulations that would eliminate streetwalking and impose strict control over prostitution performed in establishments.
B. Prostitution performed in sex establishments
The number of sex establishments in individual regions shows mild fluctuation compared to last year. Compared to 1999 it is almost equal (880 in 2003 : 846 in 2002). In Western Bohemia, there are 300 establishments, especially near Cheb (84), in Cheb (59 - decrease by 7), in Karlsbad (10 - decrease by 3), Pilsen (15 - increase by 2), Sokolov (11 - double increase), Aš (17), Mariensbad (6), Domažlice (35 - increase by 2), Klatovy (23 - decrease by 3), and Tachov (15 - decrease by 5). Northern Bohemia has about 120 establishments, especially in the counties of Teplice (49), Děčín (21), and Chomutov (19). In Prague there are approximately 200 establishments (their count hasn't changed - as some go under new ones crop up). In Southern Bohemia, there are altogether 81 sex clubs, especially in Český Krumlov (34), Prachatice (17), České Budějovice (8), Jindřichův Hradec (9), Tábor (7), etc. In Northern Moravia, there are clubs in the counties of Karviná (8 - increase by 1), Frýdek Místek (8 - decrease by 3), Vsetín (6), Olomouc (9 - decrease by 1), Ostrava (24), etc. In Eastern Bohemia, there are 21 sex clubs: Trutnov (5), Pardubice (4), Hradec Králové (2), Semily (4), etc. In Southern Moravia, there are 103 of them, most of them in Brno (36), Znojmo (33), Zlín (12), county of Brno (7), Jihlava (6). In total, it is 880 identified establishments.
Sex extablishments usually have a proprietor and a manager. The manager is either an physical person or a corporation. It is usually a person aged 30 to 55, with or without criminal record. For instance, establishments in Klatovy are mostly operated by the Czechs, although in the past, a club manager in Železná Ruda was a German citizen. In the Northern Bohemia, 80% of the operators are of the Czech origin, half of them operate as a Ltd. The rest is made up of citizens of the former Soviet Union, former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Vietnam. The proprietors and managers in Prague are mostly Czech, but may also be of a foreign status and have other business activities as well.
The estimated numbers of prostitutes in the Czech and Moravian regions are as follows: Western Bohemia: Karlsbad (40-70), Cheb (450), Sokolov (40), Tachov (50-60), Domažlice (280), Pilsen (200), Klatovy (138). Depending on its size, each club has anywhere from 2 to 30 girls; Northern Bohemia: altogether 360 to 600 girls (3 to 5 girls per club); Southern Bohemia: 1021 girls (emphasizing increase of foreign women); Northern Moravia: doesn’t give a total, but for instance in Olomouc there are 64 girls (3 - 17 per club, although the girls aren't employed on a permanent basis); Eastern Bohemia: 108 girls and that number fluctuates based on demand; and Southern Moravia: 594 girls (2 to 40 per club).
There are slight differences among regions in the women's nationalities. Western Bohemia: Karlsbad (Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Russian), Cheb (Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Russian, Moldavian, Bulgarian, Turkish), Sokolov (Slovak, Ukrainian, Moldavian), Tachov lists Czech and mixed clubs with women of Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Slovak and Czech nationality. Nationalities in Pilsen are: Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Byelorussian, Lithuanian. Klatovy sees Polish, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Byelorussian, Lithuanian, Mongolian, Thai, and Bulgarian nationals. Northern Bohemia: Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, former Yugoslavian, Albanian nationals. Prague: Czech, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Bulgarian, and Asian women. Southern Bohemia: Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Slovak, Romanian and Czech nationals (Czech women come here from other regions). Northern Moravia: Czech, Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Slovak nationals. Southern Moravia: Czech, Romanian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Thai, and Moldavian nationals.
Women working the clubs allegedly keep 50 % of their profits and hand 50% over to the club. They're aged 18 to 40, majority of them around 25 (but, the police have found thirteen-year-old prostitutes working in a night club in Tábor). The women come mostly from poor classes. The Roma women work only some clubs (Sokolov 40% clubs, Northern Bohemia 30%, Karlsbad 0%). We find women of every marital status, with or without children. Foreign women are often married and tell their families they work in Germany. The women's education spans all categories, those from the Former Soviet Union countries are often high school or college graduates. Some clubs ensure the girls have regular medical checkups (Karlsbad), others let the girls take the responsibility. Infected prostitutes usually move quickly into the neighbouring regions. The Czech women working the clubs come typically from deprived families, or they run-aways from home or a correctional facilty, or they are women looking for a change. Some are unemployed, other support themselves in college or on maternity leave. There are asylum applicants here who give the asylum organization as their permanent address. For temporary address they write either a fictional address in the border region, the address of the sex club or the residence of the proprietor or manager of the club. It can be safely assumed that there is a fast turnover in the clubs and that this turnover is largely organized by reselling the women.
The following criminal activities are often connected with sex clubs: trafficking in human beings, procuring and soliciting prostitution (pimping), restraining personal freedom, burglary, blackmail, debit card fraud, theft, car theft, car burglary, murder, trafficking in women, bodily harm, illegal gambling and betting, spreading of a contagious disease and endangering the public with STD. Between January and late September 2000, the region of Western Bohemia listed 34 infected prostitutes. However, it is difficult to prove endangering public health with STD (medical confidentiality). Most of the infected are Russians, Ukrainians, and Moldavians. Another problem is tax evasion, impossible to prove (the establishments only pay tax on their restaurants and hotels even though the women who pay no taxes at all give them half their earnings). Some establishments are licensed to buy and sell merchandise. There are invented deeds, sleep inducing substances, and sudden death of clients. Drugs are distributed in some clubs; in Western Bohemia, methamphetamine and other opiates are commonly used. The region of Southern Bohemia has detected an increased demand by Austrian clients for the Czech form of methamphetamine. The Albanian citizens maintain the business of drug trafficking and procuring in Northern Bohemia.
Nationalities of the sex club customers also varies. Western Bohemia: in the Karlsbad County, the clients are mostly Czechs, Germans, Russians, and Arabs. In Cheb, Sokolov, Tachov and Klatovy counties, it is mainly German nationals, while in Domažlice it is Germans, Czechs, Turks, and local Russians and in Pilsen it is the German, Dutch, Czech, Slovak, and Swiss nationals. Northern Bohemia and Prague: it is Germans, Czechs, Slovaks, former Yugoslavia nationals, Bulgarians, Albanians, Turks, Italians, and the Vietnamese. Central Bohemia: it is Germans, Turks, Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, and Hungarians. Southern Bohemia: it is Austrians and Germans from the border regions. Southern Moravia: it is Austrians, Czechs, and Slovaks. Northern Moravia: it is Czechs, Germans, Ukrainians, and Russians. Eastern Bohemia: it is Czechs, Germans, Poles, Ukrainians, and Slovaks. In all the regions, clients come in all age categories, from 18 to 70 years. There are random and steady customers of all classes (Karlsbad, Sokolov, and Southern Moravia clients are members of middle and upper classes, elsewhere it is also members of poorer classes) and family status. Generally speaking, prostitutes in the clubs experience fewer perverse requests than streetwalkers. Especially in Moravia and Eastern Bohemia it is true that the clients are businessmen that come to the clubs in groups, a fairly steady clientele that gets discounts in the establishments.
Prices vary by regions. Western Bohemia : Karlsbad: CZK 2500-4000 per hour, Tachov: 70 EURO per 30 minutes and 90 EURO per hour, Domažlice: 35-80 EURO/30 minutes, 50-120 EURO/hour and 250-400 EURO for the night, Pilsen: CZK 1000-4000 /hour, Klatovy: 50-60 EURO/hour. Northern Bohemia : cca 40 EURO/30 minutes, Prague: cca CZK 2000. In Southern Bohemia prices went moderately up after the introduction of EURO, now it is CZK 500 to – 9 thousand (the maximum for the entire night). In Northern Moravia, prices fluctuate considerably: CZK 500 – 3 thousand /hour, Eastern Bohemia: CZK 500 - 2 500, and Southern Moravia: CZK 500 – 4 thousand.
Sex clubs in the border regions are usually located near highway ramps leading from the city toward border crossings (cca two thirds of them), with one third in towns and their adjacent areas with easy parking. Often they are in single houses free of neighbours. In Northern Moravia and in Prague they are found in housing developments, older neighbourhoods, or on the city periphery.
In collaboration with SCPP, the Unit for Detection of Organized Crime and the licensing authority, the police engage in organizing preventive checks of sex clubs (wanted persons, minors, foreign women without documents, forced prostitution). In individual regions and counties, there are different procedures taken to maintain lists of proprietors, managers, and staff (the situation is very well mapped). In Northern Bohemia, the police has tried to report unlicensed construction and reconstruction of night clubs (especially their "windows") but it met with little support from construction authorities.
In addition to streetwalking and prostitution in clubs, many regions (namely Prague, Southern Bohemia, and Northern Moravia) report a quickly growing new form of prostitution – the escort service with prostitutes delivered to apartments, boarding houses, and hotels, according to the client's need. These services are arranged by cell phones and the police has practically no way to monitor them. It can only tap into published advertisements.
C. Homosexual prostitution
The description of prostitution includes homosexual prostitution. This phenomenon takes places mainly in big cities but is also a part of highway prostitution. The most notorious places are the Central Railway Station in Prague and gay clubs. It most often concerns young boys living a chaotic lifestyle without family or any kind of social support. Homosexual prostitutes are considered the most high-risk group in the sexual business. A majority are addicted to drugs, some to pin-ball machines. Many are infected with hepatitis B, some are HIV positive or have full-blown AIDS. Their health and lifestyle is poor. Another problem linked with homosexual prostitution is criminal activity, perpetrated not only on the providers but mainly on the clients. The criminal activity is largely hidden and is seldom reported by clients. Homosexual prostitution is rarely organized.
Conclusion:
1. Prostitution in the Czech Republic is chaotic and highly erratic, especially in sex clubs.
2. It is difficult to separate voluntary and forced prostitution since prostitutes are reluctant to tell the police anything (for fear of their pimps, of breaking the law, etc.)
3. Streetwalkers are mainly Czech and Slovak women from poor classes (a high incidence of the Roma women). The number of foreign women is rising.
4. Sex clubs are worked by Czech women as well as many foreign women from all over the world. Some night clubs are ethnically homogenous, targeting clients of a particular nationality.
5. Prostitutes from poor countries (such as some former Soviet Union countries) are hardly ever voluntary. They're almost invariably forced to prostitution, either by economic and social factors, or by pimps and traffickers.
6. The assumption that sex industry is linked with trafficking in human beings is supported by the frequent turnover of prostitutes in the clubs (confirming that it is an organized activity by pimps and traffickers sensitive to demand and to the danger of discovery should a prostitute stay in one place for too long).
Login
Übersicht der Prostituition in Tschechien
Absolut lesenswert
© ® ™ RoMo, 11. July 2007, 14:43 R. I. P.
