Pattaya on the BBC

[arsenal]

An interesting piece on the BBC website about Pattaya. In it the policeman says that selling sex is a crime but buying it isn't. I was under the impression that both were illegal.

[Thai Dyed]

arsenal, the policeman is right.

[Halfhansum]

Cant seem to find it ... Got a link please ?

[Marsilius]

See here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/f ... 748412.stm (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/fast_track/9748412.stm)

Interesting that the reporter can't have spent long in the place as he calls it Patt-EYE-ya!

[egel]

From the BBC website

Rajan Datar reports on the efforts to keep the city safe and ambitious plans for changing its image.


Time to move on then...

[christianpfc]

The legal situation of the prostitute and the john depend on the country.


Prostitution may be considered a form of exploitation (e.g. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, where it is illegal to buy sexual services, but not to sell them тАФ the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute), a legitimate occupation (e.g., Netherlands, Germany, where prostitution is regulated as a profession) or a crime (e.g., many Muslim countries, where the prostitutes face severe penalties).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostituti ... mic_status (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution#Legal_and_socio-economic_status)

[bucknaway]

It's fully legal here in the USA if you are in Nevada.

[anonone]

It's fully legal here in the USA if you are in Nevada.

Actually, it is only legal in certain limited counties in Nevada, and las Vegas is not one of these places. I believe it leads to some tourists getting into trouble, perhaps thinking it is legal everywhere in the state.

[bruce_nyc]

That, plus Nevada still has anti-sodomy laws. There are no legal gay brothels in Nevada. And legal straight brothels only exist in two very rural counties.

What surprises most of my friends is that prostitution is totally legal --- even advertised on television --- in England.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Wrong on both counts I am afraid.

Prostitution is illegal but a blind eye is usually turned if it is indoors and private.

Prostitution is definitely not advertised on TV. On what channel did you see these adverts?

[bruce_nyc]

A friend of mine is the most famous male prostitute in the UK. BBC did a documentary about him, and about legal prostitution in England.

( this might lead to a link to it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/4373475.stm )

[Marsilius]

Wrong on both counts I am afraid.

Prostitution is illegal but a blind eye is usually turned if it is indoors and private.

Prostitution is definitely not advertised on TV. On what channel did you see these adverts?

No, I think it is you who is wrong here.

Prostitution as such in the UK is not illegal. It is soliciting for the purposes of prostition that is against the law here. Hence if you walk into a prostitute's premises, have sex and pay her, there is no offence. If she solicits for business on a street corner, on the other hand, she is committing an offence. See the detailed and informative entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostituti ... ed_Kingdom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_the_United_Kingdom) where you will read that "In the United Kingdom, prostitution itself (the exchange of sexual services for money) is not a crime, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are crimes."

[bruce_nyc]

Thanks, Marsilius. I knew someone would do the research for me. :ink:

I'm in Pattaya.... I have no time for google right now. :tongue3:

[Jellybean]

Marsilius has, I believe, correctly stated the legal position of prostitution in the United Kingdom. The above series of posts reminded me of the time I was involved in a multi-agency look at the proliferation of male prostitution, through escort agencies and advertising, in London. My involvement in this project was many years before I found myself using the services of working boys in Thailand.

As I recall each agency had its own agenda, for example, I believe the police were primarily concerned about the possibility of underage boys being involved in commercial sex and whether anyone, especially foreign workers (who may have had their passports confiscated) were being forced into prostitution. I believe they had discovered cases where females were being forced into prostitution after being lured to the UK under false pretences.

I also believe at least one escort agency owner was prosecuted for living off immoral earnings and given a prison sentence.

Another owner saw the way the wind was blowing and made a quick exit from the UK back to his country of origin.

As far as the working boys were concerned no agency was looking to prosecute individual boys for simply being a prostitute. However, a number of foreign boys, particularly from South America, were found to be working illegally and were deported by HM Immigration Service. Boys working whilst claiming social security benefits were either fined or prosecuted and others with high earnings and assets were brought within the taxation system.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

You are right Marsilius, I was a bit confused.

The act of prostitution itself is not illegal, however almost everything else to do with it is. To the extent that it is in reality impossible to conduct a prostitution business without breaking the law (even a sole trader has to break the law on soliciting). This is rather different than the situation in some countries in continental Europe (such as Germany) where one can operate a brothel, advertise it readily, etc.

I would still be interested in any evidence to refute my claim that there is no advertising for prostitution on TV!