France: an unpunished offence” “

Discussion has begun in the Justice Commission of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies on twelve bills relating to prostitution currently before parliament. The situation in the other European countries is diversified. In France many prostitutes come from the countries of central and eastern Europe, and also from many African countries. Hitherto, the most reliable data on the phenomenon are published by the central Office for the suppression of the trade in human beings, which estimates that between 10,000 and 12,000 persons are engaged in street prostitution in France, to whom should be added 3,000 professional prostitutes who exercise their profession in bars, night clubs and massage parlours. In Paris alone, there are between 6,000 and 7,000 prostitutes. According to the same Office, the annual revenue of this business could amount to some 20 billion francs in France alone, of which the lion’s share, an estimated 70%, goes not to prostitutes themselves but to their protectors. The abdication of the institutions. The French government has ratified the UN Convention of 2 December 1949. Fifty years later, however, a report of the Senate delegation on women’s rights pointed out: “Although the repressive objective has been reached, the abdication of the public authorities is manifest in terms of the prevention of prostitution and the rehabilitation of former prostitutes”. As regards the exploitation of prostitution, French policy is clear: this is an offence punishable by law. In fact, however, “the practice is translated into a regime of freedom under surveillance, subject to whim and if need be opposed”. Under the law, anyone who prostitutes herself is considered the victim of a system of exploitation and, according to a decree of 1914, is eligible to receive assistance. But this decree has remained a dead letter due to the lack of funds. An activity regulated by the tax authorities. The income of prostitutes is taxable. The tax regime is regulated: it depends on the “service” provided, the number of performances per day, and the number of “working” days. A tax regime of this type paradoxically ends up by giving the situation official status and legality. On the social level, on the other hand, prostitutes are ignored. They are registered by no one: prostitutes who wish to quit the business can benefit neither from the services of job centres (which register and help the unemployed to find jobs), nor from unemployment benefits (paid out every month to the registered unemployed), nor from the social protection provided by the welfare services. Yet prostitutes who wish to abandon their “profession” are subjected to controls by the tax authorities: a vicious circle that leads them to perpetuate their situation. So the tax regime is a hindrance to the rehabilitation of prostitutes and at the same time a profit for the State, point out the associations that combat prostitution. The denunciation of the associations. According to the association “le Nid” (“the nest”), a Church association that combats prostitution, with accreditation at the ministry of youth, growing numbers of French youth are being dragged into prostitution and growing numbers are the victims of broken homes, economic hardship, consumerism, and sexual violence. “A bill against slavery considered as a crime against humanity is being studied in France. The slavery of prostitution cannot avoid such a denomination. But when will there be an official position on the part of the French State?” asks “le Nid”, deploring the absence of a global policy. “The ministry of the interior represses, the ministry of justice penalizes, the ministry of finance fixes the taxes, but at least the ministry of social affairs ought to establish rehabilitation measures”, complain the association’s activists. M.G.