Prostitutes in Zagreb at the Beginning of the 20th Century. Their Origin, Everyday Life and Position in Society

Rad se bavi životom prostitutki kao marginalizirane skupine u Zagrebu početkom 20. stoljeća i samim fenomenom prostitucije. Njihov život bio je reguliran zakonskim propisima; prvotno Bludilišnim pravilnikom iz 1899. godine, dok je drugi takav dokument bila Odredba kr. redarstvenog ravnateljstva od 24. rujna 1922. broj 11.027 o nadzoru nad prostitucijom na području grada Zagreba, kojom se život prostitutki u javnim kućama stubokom promijenio, pa su one sada bile izjednačene s uličnim prostitutkama. Najveća promjena u njihovu životu bilo je ukinuće prostitucije Zakonom o suzbijanju spolnih bolesti od 28. ožujka 1934. godine, čime su sve žene koje su se nastavile baviti prostitucijom spale u sferu ilegalne, tajne prostitucije. Tajna prostitucija postojala je i za vrijeme legalne prostitucije, ali je u ovome razdoblju dobila na zamahu. Osim s pomoću zakonskih regulativa, život prostitutki pokušao se prikazati i dnevnim tiskom te radovima njihovih suvremenika.
This paper deals with the life of prostitutes as a marginalized group in the city of Zagreb at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as with the very phenomenon of prostitution. The daily life and supervision of prostitutes were originally regulated by the Prostitution Rulebook from 1899. The second such document was the Regulation of royal constabulary directorate from 24th of September in 1922., No. 11.027 on the Prostitution in the City of Zagreb, by which the life of prostitutes in brothels had been drastically changed, and their status was now equal to one of the street prostitutes. The biggest change in their life was the abolition of prostitution by the Act on the Suppression of Sexual Diseases from 28th of March in 1934. Consequently, all women who continued to engage in prostitution were now placed in the sphere of illegal, secret prostitution. Even though secret prostitution also existed when prostitution was legal, in this period its numbers soared. Apart from legal regulations, the life of a prostitute was portrayed with the help of excerpts from the daily press and the works of their contemporaries.