A closer look at prostitution, poverty

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Asia News Network, Manila

Last week Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas called for a review of the anti-prostitution provisions of the Revised Penal Code, a move that could pave the way for the legalization of the sex trade in the country.

She said it was time Congress reviewed the law to find out "if we can be better off if the practice is in the open and can be regulated." She added: "Women engaging in prostitution are victims themselves. Many of them are forced into the job due to lack of opportunities."

Santo Tomas' objective is to bring the problem out into the open so that commercial sex workers or prostituted women could be protected from abuses. But like the legalization of divorce, the subject of the legalization of prostitution is practically taboo in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Prostitution has been with humankind since time immemorial. It has been called the world's oldest profession. Most societies have tried to completely eradicate it, without any success. Prostitution will exist for as long as men (and women too) have a strong sexual urge and will try to find ways to satisfy it outside the bounds of marriage.

But in some countries prostitution is a growing problem because of their poverty and collateral problems such as an inadequate educational system, unemployment, and lack of opportunities. Taiwan used to be one such country until it became prosperous. Prostitution became less of a problem in Taiwan after agrarian reform brought economic development to the countryside and industrialization started a boom in the urban areas. Progress reduced the incidence of poverty, made possible the improvement of the educational system, reduced unemployment and opened a lot of opportunities for decent, well-paying jobs to women, some of whom were formerly engaged in the sex trade.

A similar scenario could take place in the Philippines if only its leaders would lay aside their preoccupation with politics and concentrate on the task of economic and social development. In the meantime it would not harm anyone if Congress would study how prostituted women could be given ample protection under the law.

Prostituted women are twice, and sometimes, even thrice, victimized. Santo Tomas' proposal should prompt the government to take a closer look at the growing problem of prostitution.

Prostitution should also be viewed as violence against women and children, since the majority of commercial sex workers in our country are women and children. To be sure, there is a very small fraction of sex workers who are in this occupation by choice. But for a great many of them, prostitution is one of the very few choices open to them because of the peculiar circumstances of inadequacy of education, poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities in our country.

If Santo Tomas' controversial proposal would result in focusing more attention on these problems, then it would have achieved some good.