Prostitution is often referred to as the oldest profession and with good reason, anywhere there is evidence of human civilisation we will often find evidence of the sex trade. Prostitution has been a part of almost every culture in every part of the world, whether by choice or by force and chances are it won't ever go away either.
The terms prostitute, hooker, whore etc are these days often looked down upon and the people working in these industries much prefer the term sex worker. This umbrella term also covers jobs like stripper or exotic dancer, happy ending masseuses, people who work in pornography and basically anything else to do with sex. There have been many attempts to regulate these industry's but when it comes to prostitution it has remained mostly unchanged over the thousands of years.
Sumerian records dating back to ca. 2400 BCE are the earliest recorded mention of prostitution as an occupation but it is believed to of existed long before this.
In the region of Canaan a large percentage of the prostitutes were male even though prostitution is seen as a mostly female occupied industry.
Prostitution in old times
Prostitution was ripe throughout most civilizations including the Roman empire, Aztecs, ancient Greece and Asia.
During these times it was mostly considered a perfectly ethical and moral thing to do. Whilst the sex workers themselves were sometimes slaves or from poor family's there was no negative connotations connected to it. Even men of the highest social status frequented brothels and prostitution without incurring disapproval.
In the 7th century the prophet Muhammad declared prostitution forbidden and is still considered a sin within the Islamic faith today. The ironic thing about it is that sexual slavery seemed to be exempt from this as opposed to willing sexual service.
During the Middle ages prostitution was considered sinful by the Roman Catholic church but was often tolerated as a form of preventing the greater sins of "sodomy, rape and masturbation".
Modern day sex work
These days most sex work is regulated to some extent. In most western countries prostitution is either illegal or only legal within brothels which leaves many sex workers even more vulnerable. A push in 1910 saw sex work become illegal in the US alongside many drugs and alcohol prohibition.
Sex workers that work alone are often targeted by gangs or pimps and are forced into handing over a large portion of profits to their "bosses" as well as being physically abused and raped. Historically sex work has come with a stigma attached and as such the women who engage in this form of work are often shunned by mainstream society.
When it comes to things like rape they often have very little to stand on and are viewed as being liars or untrustworthy because of their profession. They are also more commonly victims of physical violence including assault and murder. This dangerous profession is sometimes an only option for certain women and it has become inherently dangerous.
Sex trafficking
Sex trafficking is not to be confused with sex work as it often involves the women or victims being kidnapped or tricked into the trade. They often come from poor countries where they are told they will be given a job in a western country and will some day be able to bring their family over to a better life. However once arriving in their destination they have their passports forcibly taken and are forced to work in the sex industry to "pay off their debt" which can take as long as a decade.
Other victims are kidnapped and force fed drugs or held completely against their will, some sold to wealthy men as personal sex slaves. These women not only endure a dangerous journey filled with rape and physical abuse but are forced to live like animals once they reach their destination.
There are many active organizations dedicated to help stop or at least reduce the sex trafficking trade but so long as there is a market for these things it will be very difficult to stop.
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The other issues with sex trafficking arise from the use of children in these industries. While this is less common in western countries it is a huge problem in places like Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. These are prime location for sex tourists to conduct these despicable acts on children, some of whom are orphaned and others, even worse still, sold by their own parents into this trade.
The sex trade is a multi trillion dollar global industry that requires very in-depth discussion and regulation to ensure a safe environment for it's workers. Whilst in the modern day many places are finally realizing there is nothing inherently wrong with working in a sex industry there is still a lot of work to be done to provide safe working conditions and eliminate the plague of human trafficking. These are peoples lives that are being traded as if you just went down to the local market.
I will write more in depth about this another time but for now thank you for reading.
Resources
https://sabotagetimes.com/sex/a-history-of-prostitution-how-old-is-the-sex-trade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_worker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_trafficking
https://sharedhope.org/the-problem/what-is-sex-trafficking/