User:TelluricAcid/Prostitution in the State of Palestine

Prostitution in the State of Palestine is illegal, under Palestinian Law. In addition, income from prostitution is criminalized.

The prevalence of prostitution in the State of Palestine is difficult to quantify, due to factors including illegality, social taboos, and conflict in the region. Accurate information, studies, and official reports on the topic are scarce. In addition, researchers have reported difficulties securing interviews with trafficked women, other women involved in prostitution, pimps, and police. Obstacles have also included threats against research field workers [1].

Palestinian youth report the existence of a number of brothels in the West Bank, including those in East Jerusalem and Ramallah. These brothels are known to operate in secrecy, but are also well known among Palestinians [6]

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Legality
In the West Bank, prostitution is penalized as a breach of public ethics and morality. It also penalizes ownership of a brothel and obliging a women to engage in prostitution. Income generated by prostitution is illegal. Prison sentences are imposed on males who base any part of their livelihood on income earned by a female via prostitution.

In Gaza, prostitution is categorized as an act of indecency and an offence against morality. Paying a prostitute for sexual services is considered a misdemeanour. Heavier punishments are incurred for threatening, defrauding, or drugging women. Brothel keeping is prohibited, as is allowing children to live in a brothel. Living on the earnings of a prostitute is illegal, and women who control, direct, or influence the movements of a prostitute are punished by law [5].

Early 20th Century
In the early 20th century, sociopolitical change in Palestine was influenced by an influx of Jewish immigrants in the Second Aliyah. This migration was conducted in stages, where the head of the family would arrive first, and bring over the rest of his family once he was established. Migrants would often come first to cities, and the result was a large gender imbalance, creating the conditions for the flourishing of prostitution and trafficking in women. European Jewish women were lured to Palestine through either promises of a better life, or promise of marriage from a young man who pretended to be a wealthy businessman. It was often the case that traders would convince Jewish women to join them on a "Zionist journey," only to sell her to a house of prostitution. As the trade in prostitution grew, prostitutes of Ashkenazi origin became more common in Palestine [2].

There was no legislation regulating prostitution in the Ottoman Empire [3]. On occasion, however, Ottoman authorities were known to shut down brothels, expelling prostitues and their employers from town. One local Jewish newspaper approved of the move, thanking "the admirable folk who have done this, for it has removed a great disgrace to our people" [2]. For the most part, however, prostitution was unregulated and freely conducted during Ottoman control [4].

Social attitudes in Jewish communities towards prostitution tended to be concerned with the reflection of Jewish prostitution on the Jewish ethnic and national identity [2]. While less is known about attitudes towards prostitution in Arab communities, Arab women suspected of extra-marital sex are condemned, and so female prostitutes are likely condemned.

British Mandate Palestine
During British colonial rule, military camps brought soldiers to Palestine, enlarging the clientele of the trade in prostitution [3]. Colonial authorities' main focus in regulation was on issues of "social hygiene" and the trafficking in women and children. Jewish migration to Palestine was strictly controlled. Individuals who were considered to be a danger to public good were not allowed to enter the territory, and this included prostitutes, among others. Civil authorities effectively transferred British legislation on prostitution to Palestine, including amendments to the penal code to address trafficking from Britain and prohibitions including brothel keeping, first in most regions and then altogether. Military authorities focused regulatory demands on the spread of venereal disease, and so tended to prefer regulation, while civil authorities preferred education and prevention [4].

Jewish prostitution during this time period seems to reflect the results of large-scale Jewish migration in the context of social and economic hardships for women [4]. Jewish prostitutes tended to either be older women who had difficulty finding an income, or younger women fleeing exploitative domestic work. In addition, unlike the era prior to British rule, Mandate Palestine saw in increase in the number of Jewish prostitutes of North African and Middle Eastern origin [3].

As reported by the colonial administration to the League of Nations, most Arab prostitutes were from Lebanon and Syria, where prostitution was regulated and licensed. In some cases, older women who were no longer considered sufficiently attractive moved, usually illegally, to Palestine to continue working. Other women arrived more locally, having left rural settlements due to domestic strife. Opportunities for single Arab women to support themselves were extremely limited, and so those with no familial support would in a number of cases turn to prostitution.

Sex Trafficking
There is a significant lack of statistical data and other resources on sex trafficking in the region. Cases are mainly reported isolated from each other, and documented by police reports or newspaper accounts.

A 2009 report by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and SAWA-All the Women Together Today and Tomorrow, a Palestinian NGO, suggested that an increasing number of women turned to prostitution in the face of poverty and violence.

From a geopolitical perspective, the report describes trafficking in Palestine as characterized by the many obstacles to movement in and between Palestinian communities. Movement requires going through Israeli authorities, which means that trafficking is largely a small-scale activity. The report describes four main trafficking patterns: Israel into the West Bank, the West Bank into Israel and East Jerusalem, Within the West Bank, and From Gaza into Israel.

Trafficking organizations tend to be more organized than prostitution activities. These organizations often facilitate girls and women through discreet apartments or what are known as "mobile prostitution services," where a van transports prostitutes to clients' houses or to a park near clients' residences.

Most victims are reported to be in their early 20s. The youngest victims were as young as 12 or 14, and the oldest in their 30s and 40s. Many of the victims are university students from Palestinian colleges, or universities who come from accommodated families. A number of cases identify teenage school girls working in prostitution, especially in Ramallah. Many of the women identified by the study are from Nablus, Jenin, Hebron, Ramallah, Al-Ram, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Some of the trafficked women into the West Bank through Israel are from Easter Europe, mainly Russia and Ukraine. In most of the research cases, the women were violently abused by their families, especially fathers.

In almost all cases, traffickers were found to be Palestinian women in their forties and fifties who have some history with prostitution, domestic violence, and/or socioeconomic hardship. Many traffickers are married, and have husbands who are aware of their business. Fairly low levels of education are reported, with most having finished high school at most. [1].