Prostitution in Greece
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Prostitution in Greece is legal at the age of 18, and regulated. It is estimated that fewer than 1,000 women are legally employed as
prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in 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, non-penet ...
and approximately 20,000 women, half of whom are of foreign origin and the other half are Greek, are engaged in illegal prostitution. Many women affected by the
economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
have turned to prostitution through poverty.


Legal situation

People engaged in prostitution may only work in state-run
brothels 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 ...
(called ''studios''). The women must be over 18; unmarried; have the right to live and work in Greece; be free from
STIs The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) is a spectrograph, also with a camera mode, installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. Aerospace engineer Bruce Woodgate of the Goddard Space Flight Center was the principal investigator and crea ...
; not suffer from mental illness; not have a drug addiction; and not have been convicted of homicide, pimping, child porn, trafficking, robbery or blackmail. They must register at the local prefecture and carry a medical card that is updated every two weeks. Sex is completely allowed from prostitutes and is a good source of revenue for Greece. Greek authorities decided to implement a 1999 law which stipulates that all brothels must have permits. Permits are issued by the state, usually to older women. Many of these women are former prostitutes. Brothels must be at least 200m from public buildings. It was proposed this should be reduced to 100m ahead of the
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but the Greek government did not act on the proposal.
Solicitation Solicitation is the act of offering, or attempting to purchase, goods and/or services. Legal status may be specific to the time or place where it occurs. The crime of "solicitation to commit a crime" occurs when a person encourages, "solicits, r ...
is illegal, but common, and the number of street prostitutes is increasing.
Pimping Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...
and procuring are illegal.


HIV

Between 2011 and 2015,
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
infections increased 200% in Greece. In April 2012, after the HIV rate had increased 60% in one year, the authorities in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
arrested many drug addicts and prostitutes; and conducting compulsorily testing for HIV on these individuals. The media were complicit in the crack-down and published names and photographs of those who were HIV positive. This action made sex workers wary of getting tested in case their names were published if they tested positive. Condom use between sex workers and clients is low (estimated to be 4.7% by
UNAIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) (, ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an ...
). This increases the risk of HIV and other STIs being transmitted.


Sex trafficking

Greece is a destination, transit, and, to a very limited extent, source country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Traffickers subject some women and children from Eastern and Southern Europe, South and Central Asia, China, Georgia, Nigeria, and Russia to sex trafficking in unlicensed brothels, on the street, in strip clubs, in massage salons, and in hotels. The increase in unaccompanied child migrants in Greece has increased the number of children susceptible to exploitation. Some public officials have been investigated for suspected involvement in human trafficking. Law 3064/2002 and Presidential Decree 233/2003 prohibit both sex trafficking and forced labour and prescribe punishments of up to 10 years imprisonment. Police investigated 18 sex trafficking cases in 2015 (26 in 2015). The government prosecuted 25 defendants for sex trafficking in 2016 (97 in 2015). The government has increased victim protection efforts. Police identified 26 sex trafficking victims, including five children, compared to 34 in 2015. During 2016, Greece continued to experience a wave of migration from the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, consisting of a mix of asylum-seekers, potential refugees, economic migrants, and populations vulnerable to trafficking, among others. One international organisation estimated Greece received more than 170,000 migrants and asylum-seekers in 2016; some of these individuals, such as unaccompanied children and single women, are highly vulnerable to trafficking. Unaccompanied children, primarily from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, engage in
survival sex Survival sex is a form of prostitution engaged in by a person because of their extreme need. It describes the practice of people who are homeless or otherwise disadvantaged in society, trading sex for food, a place to sleep, or other basic need ...
and are vulnerable to trafficking. Recruiters target migrants in refugee camps from their own countries. Most migrants and asylum-seekers are believed to rely on smugglers at some point during their journey and in some instances are forced into exploitation upon arrival in Greece. The
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) is an agency within the United States Department of State charged with investigating and creating programs to prevent human trafficking both within the United States and internation ...
ranks Greece as a ' Tier 2' country.


See also

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Prostitution in ancient Greece Prostitution was a common aspect of ancient Greece.This article was originally translated from the French Wikipedia article '' Prostitution en Grèce antique'' 22 May 2006. In the more important cities, and particularly the many ports, it emplo ...


References

{{Europe in topic, Prostitution in Society of Greece