Prostitution Legal in Bolivia
In Bolivia, the average age to enter prostitution is 16. [7] Child prostitution is a serious problem, particularly in urban areas and the Chapare region. [8] Most children forced into prostitution come from lower social classes and broken families. Only 12.6% of these children have an education, so they have few opportunities. As a result, many remain in the sex trade throughout adulthood, even if they want to go out. About one-third of prostituted girls and adolescent girls have between one and five children, most of them under the age of 5. [7] Most child prostitutes work on the streets, in brothels or in bars and clubs. The main goal of people is not to eliminate prostitution, but to eliminate the problem that leads to prostitution. This is the place that is not so economically developed, and there is a very low probability of increasing prostitution, because there will be a job for every person who comes to the field out of helplessness. If a child suffers from the trauma of law enforcement, they can go to the charity house and start a new life there. It is a place where not only locals are involved in prostitution, but also women from different corners of the world are transported here. Prostitution in Bolivia is legal and regulated.
[1] [2] It is only allowed by registered prostitutes in authorized brothels. [3] Prostitutes must register and be screened regularly (every 20 days) for sexually transmitted diseases. The police are allowed to check whether prostitutes are registered or not and have visited a clinic in the past 20 days. [3] Although prostitution is widespread in Bolivia, prostitutes are highly stigmatized by society, blamed for everything from broken families to rising HIV infection rates. [5] In 2007, hundreds of prostitutes were attacked, forced to strip naked, and beaten by angry residents in El Alto; Several brothels were set on fire. Citizens demanded that brothels and bars be at least 3,200 feet/960 meters from schools. The city government responded by closing all brothels within 1,600 feet/480 meters of schools, but took no action against those who attacked prostitutes. “We are Bolivia`s unloved,” said Yuly Perez, vice president of ONAEM, Bolivia`s sex workers` union, “If we don`t work, who will feed our children?” Another representative of the sex workers` organization said: “People think the purpose of our organization is to expand prostitution in Bolivia.
In fact, we want the opposite. Our ideal world is free from the economic despair that forces women into this profession. [6] Speaking to Reuters, Lily Cortes, a representative of the Bolivian sex workers` union, told Reuters that “some women may have no choice but to work on the streets if they can`t work in cooperative brothels. Prostitution is legal in Bolivia, but getting it is not. Antonieta, another sex worker, told Reuters she planned to wear gloves, a visor and a raincoat over regular work clothes. To ensure cleanliness, she sprays a bleach solution on the pole on which she dances in the brothel where she works. “The biosecurity suit will allow us to work and protect ourselves,” she told Reuters. If a child wants to prostitute himself in Bolivia, he must be over 16 years old. The implementation of the Children`s Act is one of the main problems in urban areas and in the Chapare region. Children belonging to the lower social classes are the main victims who are forced into the world of prostitution. Among children, only 12.6% of them are literate and therefore there is very little chance that the opportunities that may present themselves to them. This is one of the reasons why they remain in the profession of prostitute throughout adulthood, even if they want to get out of it.
You can see that child prostitutes work on the streets, in bars, clubs and brothels. They believe that prostitutes are responsible for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, broken families, the number of HIV infections and everything else. And yet, things remain extremely dangerous. Needless to say, sex trafficking and child prostitution are big problems in Bolivia, but society still blames the victims. The exact numbers are hard to find. Sex work is legal in Bolivia for women aged 18 and older, and at the last count in 2012, there were more than 45,000 registered sex workers in the country. However, the government does not collect statistics on underage girls in the industry. “It`s an underground world that`s sometimes hard to understand,” says Giavarini.
Prostitution is not new in Bolivia and it can be seen that society wants to strongly stigmatize prostitutes. Prostitutes face a lot of guilt due to the increase in HIV infection and other problems. In 2007, angry El Alto residents began beating and stripping prostitutes and several brothels were burned to the ground. It was also demanded by citizens that all bars and brothels be away from schools and maintain 3200 feet. No action was taken against those who attacked all prostitutes or brothels. Even if this concept is still frowned upon, it is very popular and legally exists. Out of economic desperation, many women pushed themselves into the world of prostitution. There are many organizations trying to fight for the rights of sex workers in the country, but people still believe that they are trying to grow the business. Children from low-income households and broken families are often forced into prostitution.
They don`t have many options to focus on education and escape this dangerous way of life. Needless to say, all of these people would rather do something else, but for some, it`s the only way to feed their families. First of all, Bolivia is a country that honors tradition, and people like to focus on religion and “traditional values.” This is the main reason why hundreds of sex workers were attacked and many brothels and bars burned down in 2007. People believe that prostitution and alcohol are big problems in the country, and they have tried to solve them themselves. A number of women and children were injured during this “intervention”. The angry mob forced them to strip naked and beat her. Although prostitution is legal in Bolivia, there are many important factors to consider. Not everyone has to follow this line because there are many people who voluntarily get into this business.
People who voluntarily enter the trade must undergo regular screening and register as genuine prostitutes. Due to the lack of social and economic development of this place, the growth of prostitution has increased rapidly. People turn to prostitution to help and feed their families. Campaigners say the government does not consider child sexual exploitation a priority. Weak law enforcement and growing societal acceptance of legal sex work make it difficult to solve the problem. Economic and social problems create a climate conducive to trafficking in human beings. Young Bolivian women and girls are trafficked from rural to urban areas for commercial sexual exploitation. [9] Women and children from indigenous ethnic groups in the Altiplano region are at greater risk of being trafficked for prostitution. [8] In the face of extreme poverty, many citizens become economic migrants, and some fall victim to traffickers and forced into prostitution, both inside and outside Bolivia. In Bolivia, all prostitution is regulated and legal, so you will see that there are several brothels that are allowed and all prostitutes are registered. All prostitutes are advised to register and undergo regular examinations to determine whether they have sexually transmitted diseases or sexually transmitted diseases.
