Sex slavery continues in Europe in spite of progressive attitudes

Posted on | maart 30, 2011 | No Comments

International human trafficking, especially sex-slavery, appears to continue unabated despite law enforcement operations, government studies and even politically-correctness. There are several scholars and organizations in the United States who have advocated the legalization of prostitution in order to remove the crime from the sex trade.

But, as with most programs dreamed up by the American elite, there may be a downside to the legalization of prostitution and the sex trade. If one removes the profit motive for an illegal activity, organized crime will always subvert the system in order to maintain their profits.

For example, in the Netherlands, the recent arrest of pimps and “window brothel” owners in Amsterdam’s red light district revealed the continuation of organized crime gangs involved in the sex trade. And this is almost 11 years after the legislature in the Netherlands passed the so-called Brothel Law.

The rationale for the law, at least in past, was legalizing prostitution would reduce the presence of organized crime in the sex trade. Brothels were licensed, opened for health inspections, and both owners and prostitutes would be taxed as would any other legitimate business and worker.

The progressives hoped the new legislation would curtail the involvement of criminal organizations in prostitution by legalizing the sex trade and allowing sex workers to form part of the legal economy.

Unfortunately after more than a decade the Brothel Law is at best limited in its success, at worst another exercise in liberal futility.

Organized crime gangs did what organized crime gangs usually do: adjust their operation and search for loopholes in order to achieve illegal profits from criminal activity.

For example, the Brothel Law stipulates only those able to legally work in the Netherlands could seek employment in the sex trade.

This opened the door to “exotic” women and those exotic women were usually illegal aliens being forces at times into participating in the sex trade. These illegal alien women — some still in their early teens — are from outside the European Union or from those countries in the EU not eligible to work in the Netherlands.

As a result, criminal groups are able to exploit the potential of trafficking women from outside the EU to work in the sex trade, allowing them to profit from prostitutes working outside the legalized sex trade.

AUTHOR: Jim Kouri
URL: http://www.renewamerica.com/
E-MAIL: COPmagazine [at] aol.com