Sixth Chapter: Concluding remarks
We consider that trafficking in women cannot be treated as a separate problem but as a part of a variety of social problems of the Sex "Industry" and that a across-the-board approach is necessary. One of the most important measures that needs to be taken is to fight against all forms of criminality surrounding the prostituted persons.
An issue of great concern is the mounting demand to legalize prostitution in order to fight trafficking. This position which is supported by most of the media and by several decision makers is, important to note, against the position taken by the US Government. Following are the main ideas which were conveyed by the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons in November 2004 at
http://www.state.gov/g/tip:
"The U.S. Government adopted a strong position against legalized prostitution in a December 2002 National Security Presidential Directive based on evidence that prostitution is inherently harmful and dehumanizing, and fuels trafficking in persons, a form of modern-day slavery. Where prostitution is legalized or tolerated, there is a greater demand for human trafficking victims and nearly always an increase in the number of women and children trafficked into commercial sex slavery. The vast majority of women in prostitution don't want to be there. Few activities are as brutal and damaging to people as prostitution. Legalization of prostitution expands the market for commercial sex, opening markets for criminal enterprises and creating a safe haven for criminals who traffic people into prostitution.
Where prostitution has been legalized or tolerated, there is an increase in the demand for sex slaves and the number of victimized foreign women-many likely victims of human trafficking.
As a result of the prostitution-trafficking link, the U.S. government concluded that no U.S. grant funds should be awarded to foreign non-governmental organizations that support legal state-regulated prostitution. Prostitution is not the oldest profession, but the oldest form of oppression" [31].
It is necessary to reinforce the struggle against pimping, including the closure of brothels and any form of organized prostitution, to decriminalize prostitutes de facto and not only de jure as is currently the case and mobilize funds for a five year plan to criminalize all sex buyers. The first stage of the Five Year Plan should commence with creating support and reintegration services for prostituted persons who want to leave life in prostitution along with public awareness campaigns as well as delegitimizing the demand. Education programs in schools, in youth movements, in the army, to parents and educators as well as to sex buyers combined with a full media participation to bring forth the whole issue as a top priority social problem.
The policy of the State of Israel concerning the issue of trafficking and prostitution changed during 2003 but only the decision-makers level was involved. However, due to current lack of will and budgets from and by the government, the whole process seems to be in jeopardy and unless something is done quickly to combat not only TIP but also local prostitution, the situation will be much worse next year. We are standing at a very crucial cross roads and we must start acting now. According to the recommendations of the two committees (Inter-ministerial and Parliamentarian) the indemnities for the victims should not be less than $100,000 and should be taken from the confiscated properties of the traffickers, this suggestion is still on paper and has yet to be implemented.
Furthermore, the two committees recommend that victims of trafficking who have testified against their perpetrators should be allowed to get a resident permit in Israel especially in cases of minors or threatened victims. The process to get a permit is still very problematic and takes too long without any guarantee that the permit will be handed over to the victim.
Another recommendation of the two committees is to close all operating brothels. This is being implemented in a very strange way: some of the brothels are closed but are opened again after a very short time due to a very bizarre new law which does not allow the shut-down of a brothel for more than 30 or 90 days at a time; some of closed brothels are opened in another place. Furthermore, most of the foreign women that are found are deported without questioning. When the police finds in appartments young girls of 18 years of age who prostitute themselves they threaten them with a charge of 5 year imprisonment. On the other hand, brothels are opened by the sharks of the sex industry under false names as alternative therapy centers or SPA institututes offering body massage not to mention the very remunerating porno industry through the internet for which there is a very limited police task force which is supposed to handle all sybercrime which occurs in Israel.
We see that althogh Israel made a big progress in the fight against trafficking in persons for prostitution purposes during 2003 most of the recommendations are still burried in reports. Not only that we acknowledge the fact that the issue of prostitution was abandoned as part of an alarming trend to ignore the local phenomenon of prostitution and focus only on trafficking in women.
Today, we are facing a lethal combination of cruel financial policy implemented by the Israeli government and a cinical, rating pursuing media. It is about time to reconsider Israel`s policy on the issue of prostituion and to make of Israel an abolitionist country not only on paper. It is a matter of human development.
[31] Bureau of Public Affairs, Washington, DC. November 24, 2004
