The Red Light Abatement Act is a

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

law in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

that was intended to curtail or eliminate

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. The Act was passed by the California legislature and signed by Governor

Hiram Johnson Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the Governor of California, 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century ...

in 1913, and became effective on 3 November 1914. Under the Act,

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s around the state were eventually shut down. The legislation was modelled on the liquor laws that had originated in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. The law was opposed by some California residents who gathered signatures for a veto referendum, 53% of voters voted yes and the new act became law. The Act stated "every building or place used for the purpose of prostitution, and every building or place in or upon which acts of prostitution, are held or occur, is a nuisance which should be enjoined, abated, and prevented, and for which damages may be recovered." By 1920, 33 states has passed similar legislation. Under the act owners of the buildings where prostitution takes place are fined by the city. This led many property owners to be more vigilant of the activity which took place in their buildings, as well as to institute

discriminatory Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...

renting practices, such as not allowing single women to rent a first floor apartment. In some places, women could not rent an apartment at all. As a result, prostitution moved to the streets, making the practice more dangerous. After many years, most red light districts ceased to exist under this act. The legislation was still in use in 2018, when it was used to shut down San Jose

massage parlor A massage parlor (American English) or massage parlour (Canadian/British English) is a place where massage services are provided for a fee. In the 19th century, the term began to be used in English as a euphemism for a brothel. Context In 1894 ...

s run by Hung Nguyen.

References

California statutes Sex industry in California 1913 in law Prostitution in California 1913 in California Prostitution law in the United States {{California-poli-stub