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100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies
This page details 100 countries' policies on prostitution, brothel ownership, and pimping. These countries were chosen in order to be inclusive of major religions, geographical regions, and policies towards prostitution. Taiwan and Scotland were included in the country listings for China and the United Kingdom, respectively, in accordance with the country listings and population estimates provided in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
World Factbook and the US State Department’s listing of independent states in the world.
Whenever possible, we have included government documents regarding prostitution such as laws, court decisions, employment information, etc. under the name of the country. While reasonable efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the data provided, do not rely on this information without first checking an official edition of the applicable law. This page was last updated Nov. 4, 2009.
Legal in 50 (50%); Limited Legality in 11 (11%); Illegal in 39 (39%); Total: 100 (100%)Country
Population:
July 2009 Estimate
*
Legal Status of Prostitution, Brothel Ownership, and Pimping
Related Information
1. Afghanistan
Population: 33,609,937
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Afghanistan's sex industry is booming, according to both private and official sources. Statistics are scattered, and few solid figures exist. But since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, prostitution has become, if not more widespread, at least more open...
The Taliban strictly controlled sexual activity, meting out harsh punishments for extra-marital relations and adultery. Married women who had sex outside marriage were stoned to death. Others were publicly flogged.
Sex outside marriage remains illegal in post-Taliban Afghanistan, and the prisons are full of women who have been convicted of 'fornication,' a charge that carries a penalty of from five to 15 years in jail."
Sayid Yaqub Ibrahimi, "Prostitution Thrives in Afghanistan," Middle East Times, Jan. 18, 2008
2. Albania
Population: 3,639,453
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"The law prohibits prostitution; however, it remained a problem...
The country was a source country for trafficking of women and children for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, although there has been a slow but steady decline in the number of persons trafficked each year. Greece is the main country of destination for trafficked women. Italy, Macedonia, and Kosovo were also destinations, with many victims trafficked onward to Western Europe. Traffickers largely used overland routes or falsified documents to transport their victims by airplane or ferry. Police and shelter representatives continued to report a trend of traffickers moving females from villages and smaller towns to larger cities for forced prostitution in hotels and private homes."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Albania," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 3. Angola
Population 12,799,293
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution is illegal, but the prohibition was not consistently enforced. Many women engaged in prostitution due to poverty, but there were no estimates on its prevalence. The MINFAMU [Ministry of Family and the Promotion of Women] maintained a women's shelter in Luanda that was open to former prostitutes...
Child prostitution is illegal; however, local NGOs expressed concern over child prostitution in the country, especially in Luanda and Cunene provinces..."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Angola," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 4.
Antigua and Barbuda
Population: 85,632
Sexual Offences Act, 1995 (213 KB)
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution is prohibited, but it remained a problem. There were a number of brothels that catered primarily to the local population...
There are no laws that specifically address trafficking in persons, and there were occasional reports of trafficking in women to the country. There were a number of brothels, which were staffed mostly by women from various Caribbean countries who traveled to the country as 'entertainers' or 'dancers.' In some cases brothel owners reportedly retained their documents to exert influence over the victims. However, authorities usually deported the women immediately, before information on possible trafficking could be obtained.
There were two known cases during the year in which persons were trafficked to the country to work in local brothels. Authorities deported one victim and the other voluntarily returned to her home country with the support of the Bureau of Gender Affairs. In neither case were charges brought against the brothel owners."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Angola," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 Prostitution: Legal
Article 19 of the Constitution states, "The private actions of people that do not offend in any way the public order and morality, nor damage a third person, are only reserved to God, and are exempt from the authority of the magistrates."
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
It is illegal to solicit, to aid or abet a prostitute, or live off their earnings.
"...[P]rostitutes throughout Argentina are casting off police persecution and demanding the same rights as other workers. They have formed the Association of Women Prostitutes of Argentina, or Ammar - the word amar means to love in Spanish - ... and have set their sights even higher. In the coming months, the nine-year-old organisation plans its boldest step yet: to demand government recognition as an official union. It would be the first such union in Latin America and one of only a handful in the world.
...1,700 Argentine prostitutes [are] now registered as members of Ammar, whose leaders say government recognition would give the organisation the legal standing to fight for the decriminalisation of prostitution. Technically, prostitution is not illegal in Argentina but most provinces have laws allowing the arrest of prostitutes for causing 'scandal in the public thoroughfare'.
...Pimping is illegal but brothel owners are rarely sent to jail. Instead, they form shady business alliances with the police, who collect regular rake-offs."
Reed Lindsay, "Argentina's Prostitutes Get Militant," Observer, Jan. 25, 2004
Prostitution: Legal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution and sex tourism are legal, but operating a brothel is prohibited and engaging in other forms of pimping are punishable by one to 10 years' imprisonment. According to media reports, there were fewer than 5,000 women involved in prostitution in the country, approximately 1,500 of whom were in Yerevan. Police and other security forces reportedly tolerated prostitution...
The country is a source and transit point for women and girls trafficked primarily for sexual and, to a lesser extent, labor exploitation to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey...
Traffickers, using developed networks in source and destination countries, typically recruited victims who were already engaged in prostitution. The majority, but not all, of the identified victims were aware that they would end up in the sex industry in other countries; however, they were unaware of the traffickers' intent or the exploitative circumstances they would face abroad...
Women engaged in prostitution, orphans who had outgrown their institutions, homeless or divorced women, and women in difficult financial situations were at greatest risk of being trafficked. There were some reported incidents of physical violence against trafficking victims."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Armenia," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 7.
Australia
Population: 21,262,641
Queensland Prostitution Licensing Authority (PLA) Summary of Laws (54 KB)
Prostitution: Limited Legality
The law varies depending on the state from decriminalized to legally regulated to criminal. Click on the PLA Summary on the left to see a description of each state.
Brothel Ownership: Limited Legality
4 states permit brothels, 1 allows as part of a containment policy, and 3 prohibit.
Pimping: Limited Legality
"Foreign backpackers visiting Queensland have been earning money as illegal prostitutes and damaging legitimate operators, the legal brothel industry has claimed. Queensland Adult Business Association Nick Inskip said the illegal sex industry was undermining efforts by the legal industry to make a profit and uphold health and safety standards.... 'They can charge less because they are not paying GST, staff costs for managers and receptionists, or have a registered business name,' Mr Inskip said.
...One solution could be allowing legal brothels to operate outcall services, he said. But the proposal has previously been rejected by the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the state government. Queensland currently has 23 legal brothels operating in city and regional areas. Police figures show the number of prostitution offences reported in Queensland increased from 362 to 600 in 2005-06."
"Backpackers Work as Prostitutes, Says Industry," Sydney Morning Herald, Jan. 30, 2007
8.
Austria
Population: 8,210,281
Prostitution: Legal
Legal since Jan. 1, 1975. Laws regulating prostitution require prostitutes to register, undergo periodic health examinations, be 19 years old or older, and pay taxes.
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"A former Olympic figure skating gold medalist was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday after being convicted of involvement in a gang that smuggled women from Eastern Europe to Austria for forced prostitution.
Wolfgang Schwarz, who won the gold for men's figure skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics, was arrested in Vienna last March. Police charged him with procuring visas for seven young women who were smuggled into the country to work in brothels....
Judge Anton Baumgartner sentenced him to 18 months in prison, but Schwarz's attorney has three days to consider whether to file a formal objection to the sentence before it will take effect, the Austria Press Agency reported. 'Signals must be sent that slave trade is forbidden, Baumgartner said in his ruling.
Investigators said the gang was involved in recruiting women from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and other eastern countries to Austria by promising them lucrative jobs. Upon their arrival, they were brought to brothels in the Austrian cities of Vienna, Graz and Salzburg, and their passports were confiscated, police said."
"Ex-Olympian Jailed for Human Trafficking," Associated Press (AP), Dec. 6, 2002
9.
Bahamas
Population: 309,156
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution is illegal and was not a widespread problem. There are no laws specifically addressing sex tourism. Police officials acknowledged that sex entertainment was a developing industry but did not consider sex tourism a problem...
On November 26, parliament passed legislation specifically addressing trafficking in persons for the first time. The law also prohibits prostitution and the procurement of persons for purposes of prostitution either in or outside the country by force, threats, intimidation, or the administering of drugs. The maximum penalty for trafficking in persons is life imprisonment."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Bahamas," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 10.
Bangladesh
Population: 156,050,883
Prostitution: Limited Legality
Female prostitution with minimum age 18 is legal. Male prostitution is illegal.
Brothel Ownership: Legal
Pimping: Legal
"Female prostitution was legal. Male prostitution was illegal, although local NGOs claimed it was common in the major cities. The authorities generally ignored the minimum age of 18, often circumvented by false statements of age, for legal female prostitution. The government rarely prosecuted procurers of minors, and large numbers of underage girls in prostitution worked in brothels. Local NGOs estimated the total number of female prostitutes was as many as 100,000. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated in 2004 that there were 10,000 underage girls used in commercial sexual exploitation in the country, but other estimates placed the figure as high as 29,000. Trafficking of women internally and internationally remained a problem...
As many as 10,000 children were used in brothels for commercial sexual exploitation, and procurers of minors were rarely prosecuted.
Government corruption greatly facilitated the process of trafficking. Police and local government officials often ignored trafficking in women and children for commercial sexual exploitation and were easily bribed by brothel owners and pimps."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Bangladesh," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 11.
Barbados
Population: 284,589
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution is illegal, but it remained a problem, fueled by poverty and tourism. A number of brothels with women from Guyana, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands operated in the country. The police and immigration officers periodically raided brothels and deported women found working illegally. There is no statute specifically prohibiting sexual tourism and no statistics on it, but anecdotal evidence suggested that it occurred...
The constitution and laws do not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, although laws against slavery, forced labor, or other crimes could be applied. A law prohibiting the procurement of persons for sex, which carries a 15-year sentence, could be used to prosecute that type of trafficking cases. There were limited reports that persons were trafficked to the country, both to work as prostitutes and as domestic workers or in the construction and garment industries."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Barbados," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 12.
Belgium
Population: 10,414,336
Prostitution: Legal
Brothel Ownership: Legal
Pimping: Illegal
"As the 9 a.m. shift began at Villa Tinto, which calls itself Europe's most high-tech brothel, prostitute Andrea Maes put on her leather boots, pressed her finger on a biometric scanner and started posing for potential clients in her neon-lit display window. After matching her fingerprint with the one in its database, the brothel's system clocked her in and flashed her ID number -- A9018 -- to a control room manned by a fellow prostitute. It also switched on the lights in her designer-furnished room -- more boutique hotel than bordello....
Villa Tinto, House of Pleasure, is a pioneering example of a widening European drive to legalize prostitution, while combating the crime and violence it fosters -- including the explosion in human trafficking in recent years. The brothel opened in January, with the help of the Antwerp city council, the police and the prostitutes themselves as part of a 'tolerance zone,' begun in 2001. The Belgian government views the three-block area as a test case as it considers national legalization -- a move to wrest prostitution from the control of organized criminals and bring in some lost tax revenue."
Dan Bilefsky, "Belgian Experiment: Make Prostitution Legal To Fight Its Ills," Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2005
13.
Belize
Population: 307,899
Prostitution: Legal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"The law does not explicitly address adult prostitution, and the government did not use law enforcement resources to combat prostitution. Loitering for the purposes of prostitution, operating a brothel, and soliciting sex are illegal...
There were no reliable estimates of the extent of trafficking. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working with the Ministry of Human Development, indicated 70 victims of trafficking in persons were identified through year's end. Sixty-five of the victims comprised one trafficking case. There were reports that women were trafficked to the country from neighboring countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, primarily for prostitution and nude dancing. NGOs reported that persons in the commercial sex trade appeared to be in the country (and in their current occupation) by choice, usually at the suggestion of a friend or family member who was also engaged in commercial sex work. Victims generally lived in squalid conditions in the bars where they worked. Some bar owners reportedly confiscated victims' passports."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Belize," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 14.
Bolivia
Population: 9,775,246
Prostitution: Legal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"As of Wednesday morning, Bolivia's 'night workers' are on strike. Up to 35,000 prostitutes across the country have refused to report for the medical checkups required every 20 days to legally work the streets...
It comes in response to attacks in the city of El Alto last week in which citizens burned brothels and beat sex workers in protest against legal prostitution... The rampage began after citizens demanded that brothels and bars be located at least 3,200 feet away from schools. Within 48 hours, angry mobs had taken matters into their own hands, burning more than 30 establishments...
The municipal government responded by closing all brothels within 1,600 feet of schools, but took no action against those who had attacked the prostitutes... The latest violence against Bolivia's sex workers is not surprising. Although the Supreme Court in 2001 legalized prostitution, which is widely practiced nationwide, the oldest profession has not gained the relative social acceptance it enjoys in some European countries. Instead, women and men in the sex industry have become scapegoats for everything from broken homes to the rising HIV-infection rate."
Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, "Prostitutes Strike in Bolivia," TIME magazine, Oct. 24, 2007
15.
Brazil
Population: 198,739,269
Labor and Employment Ministry Primer on Sex Professional (9 KB)
Prostitution: Legal
There are no regulations for adult prostitution.
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"[R]ather than comply with an American demand that all foreign recipients of AIDS assistance must explicitly condemn prostitution, Brazil has decided to forgo up to $40 million in American support....
'Our feeling was that the manner in which the Usaid [sic] funds were consigned would bring harm to our program from the point of view of its scientific credibility, its ethical values and its social commitment,' Pedro Chequer, director of the Brazilian government's AIDS program, said... 'We must remain faithful to the established principles of the scientific method and not allow theological beliefs and dogma to interfere.'...
Mark Dybul, deputy coordinator and chief medical officer for the Bush administration's global AIDS initiative,... says the prostitution controversy is not only overblown, but is also an example of the many misconceptions about U.S. policy. 'On the ground, this isn't an issue,'... 'Part of a compassionate response involves meeting people where they are and working with them.' He added, 'Each country has a sovereign right to make decisions for themselves, and we respect that.' But to receive American aid, he said, 'it does require an acknowledgment that prostitution is not a good thing and to be opposed to it.'"
Larry Rohter, "Prostitution Puts U.S. and Brazil at Odds on AIDS Policy," New York Times, July 24, 2005
16.
Bulgaria Population: 7,204,687
Penal Code of Bulgaria (451 KB)
Prostitution: Limited Legality
Prostitution is not specifically addressed in the law.
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution now exists in a legal gray area in Bulgaria, a small but important country for the European sex trade. Women are sent abroad by the thousands each year to work as prostitutes, often against their will, and many others are forced into prostitution within the country’s borders.
Opponents of legal prostitution argue that illegal operations flourish in environments where paying for sex is permitted, and that human trafficking follows the demand. The goal of prohibiting sex-for-money is to reduce the demand, and thus curtail trafficking if not stamp it out entirely...
While the front-burner issue in Bulgaria is the export of women into forced prostitution abroad, Ms. [Antoaneta]Vassileva of the antitrafficking commission said that 45 percent of trafficking takes place within the country, often from poor rural villages to the big cities and resorts along the Black Sea coast. The country’s chief prosecutor, Boris Velchev, who was at the forum, described what he called a double standard' in the treatment of those forced into prostitution abroad and attitudes toward those domestically, who he said receive less attention and are more likely to be blamed than treated as victims."
Nicholas Kulish, "Joining Trend, Bulgaria Won't Allow Prostitution," New York Times, Oct. 6, 2007
17.
Cambodia
Population: 14,494,293
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"The constitution prohibits prostitution; however, there is no specific legislation against working as a prostitute. Trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution was a serious problem, despite laws against procuring and kidnapping for purposes of sexual exploitation. There were reports that police abused prostitutes. Despite increased crackdowns on brothel operators in Phnom Penh, prostitution and related trafficking persisted. Estimates of the number of working prostitutes ranged from 14,725 to 18,250. Sex tourism was a problem, fueled by pervasive poverty and the perception of impunity."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Cambodia," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 18.
Canada
Population: 33,487,208
Criminal Code of Canada (9 KB)
Prostitution: Legal
Must be done in private places. Cannot be done in a brothel. Solicitation in public places is illegal.
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Owning a "Bawdy House" can be punishable by up to 2 years in prison.
Pimping: Illegal
Anyone who "lives wholly or in part on the avails of prostitution of another person" can be sentenced up to 10 years.
"Prime Minister Stephen Harper said today... 'In terms of legalization of prostitution I can just tell you that obviously that's something that this government doesn't favour.'
Adult prostitution is not illegal in Canada, though most activities surrounding it are prohibited, 'making it virtually impossible to engage in prostitution without committing a crime,' according to the parliamentary committee's 2006 study of the issue."
Peter O'Neil, "PM Not Convinced Prostitution Laws Should Be Changed," Vancouver Sun, Jan. 27, 2007
19.
Chile
Population: 16,601,707
Prostitution: Legal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"President Michelle Bachelet accepted Friday the resignation of the director of Chile’s PDI investigative police, Arturo Herrera, amid a scandal over allegations that members of his force aided and abetted a prostitution ring which exploited underage girls...
Though the prostitution ring was broken up in the autumn of 2007, the uproar over possible police misconduct began just weeks ago with the airing of a television documentary about the operation run by pimp Carlos Parra Ruis, known as 'Charly.'
...The documentary said that several police detectives were regular customers at the two brothels run by Charly: the Hotel Louisiana and the Cabaret Pandemonium, both in Valparaiso.
Those detectives were allegedly protecting Charly’s operation, taking payment in the form of sessions with drugged girls.
Some of the girls also said they were taken to the police barracks to have sex with officers.
While the prostitution ring was eventually broken up by PDI officers from the Santiago division assigned to Valparaiso, Channel 13 said that neither police leadership nor prosecutors were willing to investigate the charges about cops’ collusion with Charly."
"Chilean Police Chief Booted Amid Prostitution Scandal," Latin American Herald Tribune, June 27, 2009
20.
China (including Taiwan)
Population: 1,338,612,968
Penal Code of China - Part Two, Chapter Six, Section Eight: Crimes of Organizing, Forcing, Luring, Sheltering, or Procuring other Persons to Engage in Prostitution (in Chinese) (158 KB)
Prostitution: Illegal
Defined as a social practice that abrogates the inherent rights of women to personhood.
(Taiwan, a disputed province of China,
legalized prostitution on June 24, 2009.)
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"In the biggest bust of prostitution related crimes in recent years, Beijing police last week arrested 38 prostitutes, 63 Internet technicians, five gang leaders, an unlicensed medical worker, along with 45 of the prostitutes' clients. The gang attracted clients for the prostitutes by randomly sending countless messages to Internet users who were logged on to major chat rooms, forums, or through instant messages. Police say the gang sent more than seven million messages to Internet users in the past month alone. The only job of most of the gang members was to send the soliciting messages from Internet bars.
A reporter with the Beijing Daily says he received 32 on-line solicitations for the services of a prostitute in just a half an hour. Many messages purported to be from available young, female college students. Other messages directed people to blogs that contained nude pictures of women. In all the messages phone numbers were left where clients could make contact with a prostitute. Police say the youngest prostitute they arrested was just 15 years old and one of the gang members, surnamed Zhao, treated the prostitutes for venereal disease and provide [sic] them with condoms. The Beijing Daily reports that organized messaging for prostitution services remains rampant in online chat rooms."
"Beijing Police Crack Biggest Internet Prostitution Gang," Xinhua, Jan. 21, 2007
21.
Colombia
Population: 45,644,023
Código Penal Colombiano -Parte 8, Capítulo IV: Del Proxenetismo (58 KB)
Prostitution: Legal
Brothel Ownership: Legal
Pimping: Illegal
"Adult prostitution is legal in designated 'tolerance zones,' but enforcement of, and restriction to, the zones remained difficult. Prostitution was widespread and exacerbated by poverty and internal displacement. Sex tourism existed to a limited extent, particularly in coastal cities such as Cartagena and Barranquilla, where marriage and dating services were often fronts for sexual tourism. The law prohibits organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and provides penalties of three to eight years' imprisonment. Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation continued to be a problem."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Colombia," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 22.
Costa Rica
Population: 4,253,877
Prostitution: Legal
Must be over 18 years old and carry a health card showing how recently they had a medical check-up.
Brothel Ownership: Legal
Pimping: Illegal
"Costa Rica can be hard. And it can be easy. It can be perturbing and paradisiacal. It can be restrictive: No nudity on the beach. And it can be permissive: Prostitution is legal. The country has a split personality and the ironies make the 'rich coast' even richer."
Linton Weeks, "On the Edge in Costa Rica," Washington Post, Oct. 24, 2004
23.
Croatia
Population: 4,489,409
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"Prostitution is illegal but widespread and generally punishable by fines. Women's organizations claimed that prostitutes faced abuse, stigmatization, and public humiliation. There were reports that women were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation...
The country is mainly a transit country for women and girls trafficked from countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans to other parts of Europe for prostitution and labor exploitation. The country was also a source and destination country for trafficked women. In December the government reported that seven trafficking victims were identified during the year; three victims were Croatians, three were Bosnians, and one was Serbian. Four of the victims were men trafficked for purposes of labor exploitation, one was a woman also trafficked for purposes of labor exploitation, while three of the victims were women trafficked for sexual exploitation."
US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Croatia," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009 24.
Cuba
Population: 11,451,652
Prostitution: Illegal
Brothel Ownership: Illegal
Pimping: Illegal
"'One day when I was down in Brazil, an Argentinian asked me 'Is it true that some girls who are university graduates sometimes practice prostitution?' [Fidel] Castro said in a rare public reference to a highly sensitive subject for Cuba's government. 'I replied instantly, without thinking, 'That proves prostitutes in Cuba have a university level,'' he added, laughing at the anecdote given during a lengthy speech to close a Cuban workers' congress in Havana.
The comment underlined both Castro's pride in his government's widely praised education system, and his concern for the re-emergence of a prostitution problem he thought his socialist system had eradicated decades ago. Once known as 'the brothel of the Caribbean' due to its reputation as a haven for rich Americans looking for sex, gambling and a swinging nightlife, Cuba drastically cleaned up society after Castro's 1959 revolution. But the problem came back at the start of the 1990s against a backdrop of increased economic hardship for locals, and an opening to tourism which brought foreigners flooding back."
"Castro Comments on Cuban Prostitution," Reuters, May 1, 2001
Here is the link to the rest of the info.
http://prostitution.procon.org/view....ourceID=000772
Have A Fantastic Weekend!
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