If you hold the view prostitution is illegal, that is not entirely true. There are countries where the law has legalized prostitution.
In this blog post, you’ll get to learn Countries Where Prostitution/Escort services Are Legal and How It Works. You learn if there are laws that have been enacted to allow prostitution or not.
Prostitution has been regarded as immoral across the world for years, but years ago, some countries changethe notion. Even though many countries are yet to legalized prostitution, the truth of the matter people practices it.
If you search for the escorts in France or Paris, prostitute and sell sexual acts is legal for man and women both. Here are the other five countries that have legalized prostitution, and we have not exhausted the list. Some countries have come up with laws to regulate it and offer sex workers social and health benefits like any other work because they pay taxes.
1. Finland
In Finland, prostitution is legal; however, selling and selling sex in public and purchasing or pimping a trafficked victim is illegal.
Although street employment is prohibited, clients can be found through the internet and personal ads. In addition to reducing the number of street workers, the internet has helped increase the number of international sex workers working in Finland through classified ads and massage parlors.
Procuring is unlawful, even though prostitution has become legal. Anything that would be deemed the organizing or facilitation of services for prostitutes falls under the procurement category.
In the Nordic countries, the criminalization of the purchase of sex from adults has been a hot matter of debate. In June 2006, parliament passed a bill outlawing the purchase of sexual services if it is linked to human trafficking by a vote of 158 to 15 with four abstentions.
The topic was brought up again by the Justice Minister in 2013. As a result, the existing legal situation in Finland permits the private selling of sexual activities, such as in brothels. Still, any form of human trafficking is illegal and in violation of international human rights responsibilities.
2. Costa Rica
Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica. Because Costa Rica’s legal system is founded on Roman law rather than common law, prostitution would have to be expressly declared unlawful in a penal code, which it is not.
However, many of the behaviors surrounding it are prohibited because the law prohibits supporting or facilitating another’s prostitution, making pimping, brothels, and prostitution rings unlawful. Prostitution is widespread and openly performed throughout the country, particularly in tourist hotspots.
The government of Costa Rica introduced a voluntary registration mechanism for prostitutes in response to the rapid increase of sex tourism. Prostitutes who registered with the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) obtain an ID card and a free health examination every 15 days and access to support and help.
It is estimated that in the country, there are 15,000 prostitutes. Many of them are from Latin American countries such as Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and others.
3. New Zealand
Prostitution, brothel-keeping, living off the income of someone else’s prostitution, and street solicitation are lawful in New Zealand since the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 took effect. It is against the law to coerce sex workers.
The legalizing of brothels, escort agencies, and soliciting in 2003, as well as the replacement of a minimal regulatory regime, drew international attention; New Zealand’s prostitution regulations are currently among the laxest in the world.
Even regulated brothels operate under public health and employment rules, meaning that their staff is entitled to the same social benefits as other employees.
4. Austria
In Austria, prostitution is totally legal. Prostitutes must register, submit to regular health tests, be at least 19 years old, and pay taxes.
According to current Supreme Court case law, agreements for sex work involving sex service providers mostly on one side and customers on the other are generally allowed. This, however, does not imply that you must perform the sexual service. This restriction is important to protect sex service providers’ sexual integrity.
But, the Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether or not working contracts are acceptable in general. In terms of labor law, sex service providers have traditionally been classified as self-employed, irrespective of their real working conditions.
Nonetheless, individuals can be recognized as employees under tax and social security laws based on their real working conditions. In practice, this results in legal ambiguity.
Another federally applicable rule is the need that sex service providers be examined every six weeks for particular sexually transmitted diseases. However, the federal states have regulatory authority over the conditions under which sexual services may be provided.
Personal conditions (including the age restriction), permitted places of labor, and standards for operating a brothel are all regulated by the provincial legislature. As a result, the regulatory landscape has become extremely diversified.
5. Bangladesh
Everything is legal except for male prostitution. Bangladesh has a serious problem with petty trafficking, which is exacerbated by corruption. It is also lawful to pimp and owns a brothel.
Sex workers should register and sign an affidavit saying that they are entering prostitution voluntarily and cannot find alternative employment. Prostitutes in Bangladesh face harsh social conditions and are frequently socially stigmatized.
In Bangladesh, prostitution is permitted. However, the constitution states that the “State shall attempt to prohibit gambling and prostitution.” Child prostitution, forced prostitution, solicitation, and the operation of unauthorized brothels are all prohibited by various laws.
Prostitutes have been kept in shelters for an unlimited period under vagrancy laws. The Bangladeshi High Court found in 2000 that the incarceration of more than 100 prostitutes detained in brothel raids was illegal and that prostitution is a legal profession. The police conduct periodic raids, mainly on hotels that are exploited for prostitution.
Final words
Prostitution is allowed in several countries, and we have not exhausted the list. There are legal frameworks that guide how it should work. These legal frames work differently from one country to another. But all legal frames requires the prostitutes to be licensed and there are other limitations.