Search

Although Bangladesh is a constitutionally Islamic country, some brothels are regulated by state law. But these brothels are located in the suburbs, and there were legal brothels around the capital, which no longer exist. Thus, prostitution is observed in a variety of ways, including in residential hotels, resorts, homes, and open spaces. As prostitution and trafficking are inseparable, this paper adopts a quantitative approach to measure the socioeconomic variables associated with prostitution and trafficking in children in the capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The data for this study were collected from 385 respondents, and the questionnaire format was open-ended. The proposed conceptual model is presented in a way that includes sociocultural and economic factors influencing prostitution. To examine the model, a three-level research design was applied. The sociodemographic data of the respondents were collected and analyzed in this study. This study finds that the significant economic factors are poverty and lack of employment opportunities. Moreover, sociocultural variables are closely associated with rape, harassment, divorce, insufficient support from household members, living in vulnerable conditions, social instability, lifestyle, and gender violence. These findings emphasize the need to implement existing anti-trafficking laws and raise awareness of children in Bangladesh to stop child trafficking for sex work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the passing of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003, New Zealand became the first country to implement a full decriminalisation of street and in-house prostitution, nationwide. As few New Zealanders have direct regular contact with prostitutes, the media has a strong role in shaping public discourse in relation to the sex industry. Using Foucauldian inspired poststructuralist analysis, from a critical feminist perspective, this paper investigates the representation of prostitution in the New Zealand print media before and after the passing of the PRA. Newspaper articles from 2000 to 2013 were analysed to identify key discursive constructions of the PRA, prostitution, sex workers, and other key players in the New Zealand sex industry. The main representations identified in the data were adult or child street prostitution, those who sell sex were always depicted as women (or girls) and those who buy sex, as men. Discussions of men who buy sex were noticeably absent, except in coverage of men who had been violent towards sex workers and men who bought sex from children. Inhouse prostitution was depicted as a more legitimate profession than street prostitution and the (street) sex worker was portrayed in disparaging ways. We conclude that although New Zealand has decriminalised prostitution, visible sex worker activity on the street continues to be deplored, due to its violation of various codes of traditional femininity and female sexuality. The media also work to individualise issues related to the sex industry, which require a more social, structural, and economic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of children in prostitution is a well known phenomenon but not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine the involvement of children in prostitution. A total of 63 sexually exploited young women participated in this children-centered approach study. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Respondents' age ranged from 13 to 18 years old. Nearly 89.0 percent of them were 16-18 years old. This study found that the youngest respondent first involvement in prostitution was nine years old. A majority of them entered prostitution at the age of between 13 to 17 years old and more than half were 15-16 years of age. The average age of the respondents' first involvement in prostitution was 15.1 years. Three main reasons for their involvement were boyfriends' deceit, friends' influence, and personal. The study provides a significant implication to social workers on how they should treat children who are safeguarded from prostitution and living in the rehabilitation centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on empirical research to develop understandings of child prostitution, previously theorised on the basis of children's rights, feminist, and structure/agency debates, largely ignoring children's own understandings of their involvement in prostitution. Conducted in Malawi, which is one of the economically poorest countries in the world, the study goes to the heart of questions of inequality and child protection. Within a participatory research framework, nineteen girls and young women used visual methods to generate images representing their experiences of prostitution. Individual and group discussions were used to illuminate the meanings and significance of their images. With the exception of the youngest, participants understood their initial involvement in prostitution as a means of survival in the face of poverty and/or parental death, or escape from violent relationships, experiences that were subsequently mirrored by exploitation and violence within prostitution. Using the lens of the capability approach, we capture the complexity of child prostitution, demonstrating the ambiguous agency of participants in the face of deeply embedded patriarchal cultural norms that constrained their choices and limited their freedom to pursue valued lives. We end by reflecting critically on the theoretical and methodological contributions of the study, making policy and practice recommendations and identifying opportunities for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]