Two of the pimps involved in the big court case here in Gothenburg have now confessed to their crimes. One man and one woman are now confessing to the charges against them.
20 men are being charged with having bought sex from Russian prostitutes.
We have a friend who lives in the Netherlands, where prostitution is LEGAL, and the other day when I was talking to her in instant messages, she said she was going to watch Oprah. She said that she didn’t really like the constant commercial breaks, though – I said well who does – and she then told me that at night time (one would hope way after all Dutch children have gone to bed!) the commercials on TV are mostly about sex, call girls, clubs, you name it! That’s one of the downsides with living in a country that has made prostitution legal, I suppose…
(Prostitution in the Netherlands has been legal since January 1988, when it was defined as a legal profession. However, prostitutes must be at least 18, while for non-commercial sex the age of consent is 16. Clients must be at least 16. Violation of either age limit is a crime for the other party, and possibly for a pimp.
The legalized status allows prostitutes to have access to the social security system, since 1996 sex workers have paid income tax, and reforms in 1999 gave prostitution the same status as any other form of labor. Prostitutes form unions, and are otherwise treated like any other self-employed trades person. Advertising their services is likewise tolerated.
Health and social services are readily available, but the women are not required to undergo regular health checks. A recent study found that despite health rules, about 7 percent of Dutch prostitutes have HIV/AIDS. )
