March 10, 2008
Making a global business of the oldest profession
Reading the federal complaint against the prostitution ring in which Eliot Spitzer, the New York state governor, apparently became caught up is an insight into how even this sort of business is just that - a business.
The Emperors Club VIP was clearly at the top end of prostitution enterprises. It operated across borders - in Paris and London as well as in US cities - and it was very expensive. Clients had to pay between $1,000 and $5,500 per hour for its services.
Like other service businesses, it had a loyalty club for the most elite clients who paid even more than $5,500 per hour, known as the Icon Club. It allowed some clients to “buy out” their favourite prostitutes, permitting the men direct access to the women without going through the Emperors Club.
The 47-page complaint shows the Emperors Club also faced many operating challenges. The federal wiretaps of conversations show the organisers facing problems such as having too few prostitutes for the demand from clients in one city and having to hassle clients to pay bills.
One problem was to get the prostitutes to get correct imprints of the clients’ American Express cards. The complaint states that one of the organisers asked another:
To ask the prostitutes to fax the imprints, or if that did not work, to scan them and email the imprints and then send the originals in the event of a dispute with the clients about the charge, or if American Express inquired.
Meanwhile, the business was also suffering from childcare problems. One of the accused, speaking to another in a wiretapped conversation, said that a prostitute had stayed with one client only 40 minutes rather than the expected hour:
We’re thinking that there’s a chance that the reason she stayed 40 minutes ’cause we just found out from the other day that she has children and she went to pick them up from school immediately afterwards.
In short, leaving aside the fact that the four organisers face jail sentences of up to 25 years each for breaking federal prostitution and - in two cases - money laundering laws, it had a lot of commonplace operational difficulties.
That was, of course, before Mr Spitzer’s name emerged. There are presumably many other clients of the Emperors Club who are feeling a bit nervous at the moment. Given the high fees it charged, he may not be the only well-known name among them.
Disgusting and disgraceful for the so called “moral crusader” of NYC. Spitzer should be spat on . He proved to be the worse of the kind of wrongdoers he ruthlessly persecuted over the years, sometimes wronly out of personal spite and for self promotion.
This is his nemesis.
Whoever the other grandees are who are the “elite” clients , they may at least not have pretended to be saints..and beacons of morality .
They should all be exposed and be held accountable.
No doubt many will be well known figures of the NY/ LA/ London charity and philanthropy circuit/ circus..
Quite interesting how business models evolve.. it seems it is now a required skill for prostitutes to master scanning documents and who knows may be even prepare Excel spreadsheets to monitor payments..
No wonder -as John Gapper mentions in the operating challenges faced- the pimps of Emperors Club found difficult to recruit adequate numbers of suitably skilled prostitutes to meet demands of business.
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 10th, 2008 at 10:14 pm | Report this commentWho hasn’t fantasized about the best hooker money could buy? I blame God, by God! When I was in my 30s, I could not fathom why guys in their 50s would a) pay for sex, and b) risk everything they built up to get their hands on a young body. What’s the big deal?
Now I am 55, and I understand. God, in his infinite wisdom, screwed up. He somehow neglected to switch off the extremely powerful sex drive the Man possesses as we age and cycle through the primal desire to perpetuate the species. It is one of the great conundrums of male life - the urge to pursue the opposite sex heightens just as men become less attractive to the opposite sex. No wonder we die before women do, on average.
Must be a design defect. Something for the Attorney General to look in to, I suppose.
Posted by: Edward Holman | March 10th, 2008 at 11:25 pm | Report this commentCertainly Spitzer, if guilty now looks like the worst kind of hypocrite given his moral crusading in the past. However I don’t see why prostitution shouldn’t be be a legitimate taxable profession as it has been around since the begining of time and it isn’t ever going away. A law written in 1910 is surely past time for some revision.
Posted by: Chris Moore | March 11th, 2008 at 2:17 am | Report this commentIs this further evidence of the decline of the dollar?
Posted by: John Walkley | March 11th, 2008 at 2:20 am | Report this commentForty minutes should be long enough…
There was an article some time ago in a Swiss newspaper about the love lives of some French presidents one of whom is reputed to have said (on the subject of the amount of time taken) “Dix minutes, douche comprise”.
P.S. The wife of a French president, so it is said, on one occasion answered a “3 am telephone call” , and when the caller asked to speak to the president, she replied “How should I know where he is at this time of the night?”
Posted by: fh | March 11th, 2008 at 11:35 am | Report this commentSadly, the Emperor had no clothes..
A sad last act of a seemingly stellar career was played at room 871 of the Mayflower hotel in DC.
If he had only met a prostitute in NY , he would have avoided the much more severe prospect of breaking federal law.
Politically, Spitzer might have survived a sex scandal among consenting adults with no cash changing hands, especially if his wife stood by his side as she did. But , Spitzer made his reputation as a crusading state attorney general who was more zealous than the Securities and Exchange Commission in prosecuting Wall Street wrongdoings..
Business in Wall Street has some analogies to prostitution , but one difference is that in the case of the former parties are clothed..
As a former law enforcement official who shut down at least two prostitution rings Spitzer is guilty of the sin of despicable hypocrisy by becoming a client of a dodgy prostitution ring himself and chanelling money to them in all kinds of contrived and unlawful ways for which he should be exemplarily charged.
He should have been smarter and follow the example of French Presidents then,and get a mistress !
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm | Report this commentAs a highly-paid escort in New York City, I have to say that I’m completely unsurprised by the events that have unfolded the past few days. I am curious, though, as to how it will affect my industry in the coming few months (the Empire Club was one of the top 5 “VIP” agencies in the tri-state area). I’m sure a lot of women in this particular sex industry will be keeping very quiet on this issue, so I’d like to take it upon myself to offer at least a few words in our defense:
- Spitzer is a hypocrite for unrelentingly pursuing others in his morality crusade, all the while exempting himself from the same code of conduct.
- “Prostitution” services should be legalized… while it may seem that the women and children of the clients are the “victims” of this “crime”, it is the men themselves that drive the incredible demand in this business. A man (or women) who is going to cheat will do so, and it doesn’t matter if the sex is paid or free.
- Men who stray with “prostitutes” rather than mistresses, are actually better off… Women in this industry are usually well-trained and adamant about safe sex practices. The probability that a man will bring herpes home to his wife (and unborn children) is far less with a “professional” who knows what she’s doing, than with a long-term person with whom one becomes extremely intimate and comfortable over an extended period of time.
- In a “professional” setting, there is less of a chance of emotional attachments. While it may be embarrassing for Mrs. Spitzer to find out that her husband had sex with several different females - these were encounters which were relatively unemotional and detached. “Kristen” is most likely not her real name, and many probably didn’t even recognize their client as the governor of NY. Had he been involved with one woman, there would’ve been a strong possibility that “situations” would have flared up: small jealousies, angry phone calls, sired love children, etc etc. Keeping a mistress would still involve moving money secretly to pay for those inevitabl trysts.
- As a professional Escort, I spend most of my time with my clothes ON. When a man pays $1000 an hour or more for your time, it’s usually not for the sex (actual sex takes maybe 15 minutes, though many men will pay for a four-hour chunk of my time). I have found that men are usually looking for companionship and appreciation.
So, while I don’t agree with the way Gov. Spitzer has managed his life, I don’t feel that this should reflect negatively in a business where some of us work very hard to provide a valuable, safe, and (hopefully) discreet service.
Posted by: Miss Ava Xi'an, New York, NY | March 11th, 2008 at 4:56 pm | Report this commentThank you Miss Ava Xi’an for your honest, well spoken comments (as opposed to so many other comments posted here). Prostitution, like so many other “consensual crimes” needs to be legalized and regulated. Mr.Spitzer, once a valuable player in political reform, may have ended his career needlessly.
As far as his family is concerned, that is none of our business. But here in the Bible-toting and backwards America, a man’s or a woman’s personal life is always suspect when they serve in the public realm. Indeed, Americans have little respect for the notions of private and public, not understanding the political and social differences. This sad story will be but one of many to follow that will explain why America does not and perhaps never will have again, true leaders. Leaders are individuals who are not intimidated by their own publicly imposed moralities. True leaders are those who will stand on their own ethics and morals and who will not allow themselves to be so easily identified as hypocrites as a result of their own arrogance and power.
The real and awful tragedy here is that we in the US now have a federal government that cares nothing for and contributes nothing to the commonwealth of the land. Those in power care only about maintaining their power and wealth and have now established through the current administration carte blanche to pursue the private lives of all of us in a moral crusade which they mistakenly believe will save the nation.
Posted by: G.D.Wymer | March 11th, 2008 at 5:49 pm | Report this commentTHE LEGAL AND THE MORAL: Let the legal system handle any violations of the law. Let the electorate decide everything else.
SCHADENFREUDE NOTWITHSTANDING: This neither vindicates nor excuses the legal and ethical violations on Wall Street.
DEMONISE ALL: What drives Marie-Athena/lawyer’s habit of assuming evil in those involved in charity/philanthropy–see above (”No doubt many [clients] will be well known figures of the NY/LA/London charity and philanthropy circuit/circus.”) and Dear Lucy (”It is highly likely that his involvement with the charity was more of a self promotion and gratification exercise than a genuine desire to help the neeedy. Investigate where the donation funds have come from, his own or shareholders’s [sic] money.”)
Posted by: HKLivingston, 26, investment banker | March 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pm | Report this comment[…] What I wanted to focus on was the changing skill set at the apex of the profession. I am not, of course, talking about the teenage, semi-literate girls one could (can?) find at US truckstops; rather I mean the sophisticated and relatively well-educated women in major US cities, who charge an arm and a leg, and who are often happily married and engage in this activity for some extra pocket money. Such women have to be good not only in bed but equally importantly be good at conversation ( a client doesn’t pay thousands merely to get laid). What we are now learning is that they may need yet another string to their bow: computer skills. This was a comment on an FT blog: […]
Posted by: Changing skill set in the oldest profession in the world « Ali’s blog | March 11th, 2008 at 9:44 pm | Report this commentAlthough it is an unrelated subject to this blog, to answer the comment by Mr Livingston above, my observation on the charity circus is an embirical one, I have seen too many people recently jumping on the charity bandwagon for the wrong reasons. May I say ,I come from a family of philantropists myself, so I see nothing inherently wrong with this, to the contrary.
I am quite impressed by Ava Xian’s response, very straight forward,
and I do agree that the “oldest profession in the world”should be legalized and regulated as a business as usual, Irrespective of whether some of us condone it morally or not.
I just wonder who will have the guts to admit to their spouse or colleagues that it is business as usual..
But morals evolve , so do business ethics..
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm | Report this commentI don’t know why you Americans make such a fuss over that prostitution case. Ok, Spitzer, like so many other people (so many!) is a hypocrit. Yet besides that, so what? Legalise that business, monitor if all Xi’Ans and Co are no STD transmitters and no physical (and psychological) danger to themselves, let them pay taxes and let the rest be private stuff between client, service provider and their respective families.
What I do not understand is why there is still so much coercion in the business. It should theoretically be so easy for an investigator to get access to prostitutes under the pretext of being an ordinary client and find out the voluntariness level of prostitutes.
Or is it that too many police officers, politicians, public prosecutors etc. themselves have jumped over the Jordan and are now being blackmailed for having consumed such service?
Really, I do not understand this. How can half of Western European prostitutes (or more) be victims of trafficking and quasi nothing happen?
Posted by: Paul | March 12th, 2008 at 3:28 am | Report this commentWhat seems to be missing from these posts (including Ms Xi’an’s) is the other side of the coin: more often than not, prostitution is matched by and entwined with slavery, drug trafficking, pornography and pedophily. While a few top prostitutes may actually enjoy their life (like Ms xi’an seems to suggest), most of them are slaves forced to work the streets. It is all the more disgraceful that Mr Spitzer, whose background made him full aware of what is involved in a prostitution ring, could not restrain himself and developed a double ethical standard, with the stricter one applied to others.
Posted by: Enrico Nicolini | March 12th, 2008 at 7:56 am | Report this commentIt is ridiculous for a man to lose his job because he sees a prostitute. Men (and women too ie via male escorts) see prostitutes all over the world and always will do. It is not that strange. Some of us might not like it, but is it a crime? No. Should you lose your job? No. No more than one should sack the CEO of the company because privately, and in his own free time, he has a fling with the nanny. Make fun of him at the golf course maybe, pull his leg about keeping it in his trousers. But sack him because he has a libido and a no sense of sexual loyalty to his wife? That is nuts.
Posted by: Richard | March 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pm | Report this commentThere is something very unhappy and sad about America, a country where the sex industry is obvious to all in every town and on every TV station, yet anyone who uses a prostitute is treated as a leper. Bizarre really, if he had visited a lap dance bar and bought a pile of legal pornography that would have been fine. But because he goes as far as to actually have consenting physical contact with a ‘professional’ he’s some kind of bad man.
It reminds me of all the worst sides of religious intolerance and hypocrisy. Americans should be bigger than this and simply say to the man: “Seeing a prostitute is a matter for you and your wife to discuss, not the nation.”
Before we work ourselves into a veritable frenzy over the hypocrisy of Americans, let’s remember a couple of things:
Outside a few happy enclaves in Europe, the US, and possibly Japan, prostitution is largely exploitative and life-destroying. I would conjecture that a majority of prostitutes in the world get paid little to nothing–certainly not thousands per hour, and many, even in New York and London, are forced into it against their will. I think those who see prostitution as generally acceptable are often those who have lived a rather comfortable existence in Europe and the US without having to see its effects.
I used to live near the Casilina leading into Rome from Naples in Italy. Every day I saw young African and Balkan women risking and ruining their lives for a few thousand lire, most of which went to someone else. And this was in the confines of a venerable western European country.
We don’t actually live in a socially libertarian world where prostitutes are safe and protected, and probably won’t for some time. If we want to be “realistic” we must realise there are women out there in the real world whose lives will continue to be destroyed by this practice.
That’s partly why some of us naive “Bible-toting, backwards” Americans make such a “fuss” about these things and think it’s disgusting that an American governor would be involved.
Posted by: Dave the American | March 12th, 2008 at 2:59 pm | Report this commentAlso… in response to Paul and Marie Athena… it seems that this case isn’t about a CEO or a private citizen. This involved a person who had been responsible for upholding and enforcing the law in his position as attorney general. And prostitution is against the law of most of the states in the US including Spitzers. And Spitzer had vigerously prosecuted high-end prostitution rings.
So in his case, no matter what one thinks of the law itself, it is perfectly appropriate that Sptizer should be penalized for his actions. In many other cases in the US, public figures haven’t been fallen from grace at all or as hard for the similar issues.
If someone isn’t OK with the law of the land, they should work to change it and not accept a position responsible for enforcing that law. If everyone had Paul’s attitude towards the rule of law, I don’t think our societies would work very effectively.
Calling this situation intolerant, short sighted or hypocritical really just misses the point in this case.
Posted by: David | March 12th, 2008 at 4:52 pm | Report this commentIn response to Paul and Marie Athena… it seems that this case isn’t about a CEO or a private citizen. This involved a person who had been responsible for upholding and enforcing the law in his position as attorney general. And prostitution is against the law of most of the states in the US including Spitzers. And Spitzer had vigerously prosecuted high-end prostitution rings.
So in his case, no matter what one thinks of the law itself, it is perfectly appropriate that Sptizer should be penalized for his actions. In many other cases in the US, public figures haven’t been fallen from grace at all or as hard for the similar issues.
If someone isn’t OK with the law of the land, they should work to change it and not accept a position responsible for enforcing that law. If everyone had Paul’s attitude towards the rule of law, I don’t think our societies would work very effectively.
Calling this situation intolerant, short sighted or hypocritical really just misses the point in this case.
Posted by: David | March 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pm | Report this commentJust to attempt to highlight a few ponts that prove that it is not about a sex dalliance between consenting adults..
and Spitzer is just not any man with a job..
and even though the title of the blog is about making it into a global business , it is still a dodgy and lurid business that leaves much to be desired in terms of human rights and not only..
The main issues for Spitzer’s transgression are :
In the US ,Banks are required to file Suspicious Activity Reports to the government whenever they observe something they fear may be a crime.
Spitzer , hurried to get more than $4,000 in cash to pay for the call girl provided by the Emperor’s Club -a money laundering outfit as it is turning out ..
That kind of activity, repeated over time, is picked up as suspicious by Compliance officers, trained to be on the lookout for what is called structuring or “smurfing” — a pattern of transactions aimed at hiding the nature or purpose of certain money.
Spitzer of all people should have known that..
As reported by AP:( quoting)
“By the time the scandal broke this week, Spitzer’s financial transactions had been monitored, his phone calls had been caught on tape, and his actions had been scrutinized by federal prosecutors. It could have been straight out of the Spitzer prosecution playbook.
As New York attorney general, Spitzer was also familiar with how to bust up a prostitution ring.
(Would he btw find any willing prostitutes to oblige had they known who he was..?)
Indeed, “Spitzer had proudly announced on April 8, 2004, that authorities had arrested 18 people on promoting prostitution and related charges — including money laundering and falsifying business records — in an investigation of escort services in New York.
He then declared that its owners and operators will be held accountable.”
In that 2004 probe, investigators used wiretaps and other surveillance to build their case,
And the irony is that Spitzer who made a career off of a wiretap, now his demise is by the same prosecutorial tool.
“While attorney general, he also went up against two men he accused of using their tour company to promote “sex tourism” in the Philippines and Thailand — first suing them in civil court and then bringing criminal charges. ”
Anybody still thinks he has been unfairly brought to resign?
May be he should use now all his skills and knowledge of the intricacies and dark secrets to clean up , straighten up and try to legitimize the “global business” he has been cheatingly patronizing so far..
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 12th, 2008 at 5:05 pm | Report this commentRegardless of all this said above, and that Spitzer set himself up for a fall by being such a moral crusader, this still does not change the fundamental fact that he is resigning not because of any crime (if there really was one worth mentioning - the mention of money laundering is ridiculous - especially as the only reason he used cash was because prostitution has been made illegal and not for any other reason).
Posted by: Richard | March 12th, 2008 at 5:24 pm | Report this commentThe reason he is resigning is because Americans think that you can’t hold a high office and have extra-marital relationships, even with prostitutes. That is the real nub of it, all this talk about the legal issues, IRS, interstate federal trafficking of women etc is “baloney”.
Someone famous (and moralistic) cheated on his wife and the public now wants his head - it is that simple. Hubris, nemesis, and the bizarre American view on how we should conduct our sex lives - that is all, but you can keep the law out of this one.
How can you keep the law out of this one David -above- if prostitution is illegal? Was it actually ever legal in the US , because you say” it has been made illegal”
All the offenses mentioned are actually substantiated , so mush worse indeed if the offender is a high public officer , is the Law supposed to apply only to the little guys ?
I have a question for John Gapper ,: When was it documented that prostitution is the older profesion in the world? when and where?
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 12th, 2008 at 11:24 pm | Report this commentit would be interesting to know the origins of what was to grow as a pillar of globalization..
sorry, I meant Richard -above-
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 12th, 2008 at 11:25 pm | Report this commentMuch ado about nothing
Posted by: Bill | March 12th, 2008 at 11:41 pm | Report this commentFirst of all — since I’ve received a few emails wondering if I’m really who I say I am — yes, I am Ava, I do work in the industry, and I am very protective of the other girls in my industry.
I have read all the posts regarding slavery, coercion, trafficking, etc. It all sounds so horrible… but is it really true? Does anyone actually know someone involved in a situation (in this day and age), where someone was forcibly kidnapped, taken against their will, and forced into prostitution? I know many, many women (and some men) engaged in this profession, and the one word you could never use to describe them is “victim.”
Perhaps my price point gives me little perspective… However, every single day, there are THOUSANDS of posts on craigslist (New York, adult services) where the women of New York offer to sell themselves in desperation… These BEAUTIFUL women are offering themselves for $200 per hour and less, plus they have pricing for 15-minute sessions. The truly shocking thing is that there are so many of them… there seem to be more ads for “women 4 men” than there are ads for real estate.
If there really are mobsters out there kidnapping young Eastern Europeans - someone should let them know (right away) that they’re wasting their time. There seem to be so many women willing to hawk their wares (voluntarily) for a pittance… It seems like an awful lot of trouble to kidnap your work force, especially when there are so many willing to give their arm, leg, or kidney to join voluntarily.
Posted by: Ms. Ava Xi'an | March 14th, 2008 at 1:30 am | Report this commentBZZZT. Sorry, Richard, but you are confusing the issues in a terrible way. All sane people agree that coercion, blackmail, trafficking and forced labor are evil. But:
- These are all ALREADY illegal, and they are not the same as prostitution. Making prostitution illegal because some (or even many) prostitutes are being forced into it only shows that existing laws cannot be enforced. It also gives law enforcement an option to waste time and tax money by going after high-profile cases like Spitzer’s instead of helping the real victims, so it makes the problem worse. Nobody should be forced into prostitution, but there is absolutely no justification for interfering with what goes on between two adults who trade sex for money–or for anything else.
- If you don’t see the reasoning in the above, let’s put it this way: Would you consider making housework illegal because in some countries trafficked people are forced to clean houses? Would you dare to advocate this publicly? Would anyone take you seriously if you did?
- Everyone trades sex for something: comfort, company, feelings, protection, money, food, etc. (misery, too). THAT’s why it is the oldest profession; trading is a basic ingredient of human civilization, and (almost) everyone can offer sex. It is not documented anywhere because it PRECEDES written history (money too, of course).
- I am “intimately” familiar with the prostituion scene in “happy enclaves in Europe,” the US, as well as Brazil and several other countries. In the US the picture is bleak: Prostitution that is actually affordable (for middle-class people) includes Asian massage parlors (lots of coercion and trafficking) as well as escort services with fake pictures and rip-off tricks. They thrive because of illegality, of course. Obvious enough? It is for me. The Brazilian government has an exemplary program with regard to prostitution, analogous to their excellent handling of the AIDS issue: there was actually a campaign targeting prostitutes to make them use protection and reinforce their self-worth (they have a job, they make money, they should be proud). Not in a thousand years will the US advance socially to that point. A few years ago, Brazil has refused an AIDS-related US “aid” package because it came with an anti-prostitution gag rule.
- Decriminalizing prostitution would also PROTECT prostitutes. A girl who is corced into it could actually call the cops (imagine that), likely without fear that a corrupt cop will blackmail and screw her.
- Prostitution was criminalized in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, under the heavy lobbying of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). How American men agreed to this whipping is beyond me. One of the better-known background stories is that as the Storyville district in New Orleans was “cleaned up,” both prostitutes and jazz musicians dispersed. Instead of New Orleans, Chicago became more famous as one of the birthplaces of jazz.
Thanks for playing. Please try to acquire some experience with prostitution and read “Sex in History” by Reay Tannahill, a crash course about both.
Ava, you are the voice of sanity. I hope I managed to help out a little on the sanity part (even though on the other hand, I realize very well that if you are discreet and smart, you can make a lot more money as a prostitute in a screwed-up environment like the US, as you wrote elsewhere).
Cheers,
Posted by: Randie Teats | March 14th, 2008 at 8:35 am | Report this commentRandie Teats, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (a free country with legal prostitution and hardly any bible-toting).
I’m very sorry, I meant to respond to comments by Dave the American and Marie-Athena, NOT Richard. I may know about prostitution but I need to read more carefully.
Randie Teats
Posted by: Randie Teats | March 14th, 2008 at 8:41 am | Report this commentHello everyone
I am a bit concerned that this discussion could degenerate into European versus American abuse if people are not careful. There are plenty of places where that kind of thing flourishes but this blog is not the right venue.
I have edited one or two comments to eliminate ad hominem abuse and sweeping generalisations about the US and Europe.
With that in mind, do carry on the discussion.
Posted by: John Gapper | March 14th, 2008 at 2:49 pm | Report this commentIn line with the blog’s title about prostitution/sex workers/ escort services’s reach as global business , I think Dubai is fast overtaking NY and London it seems as such capital.
May be the chords of escorts in NY who Ava X alleges they are desperately seeking clients should consider to move to Dubai ..
I was commuting to Dubai for a while (as lawyer on secondment to a gov project) and happened to befriend a couple of escort girls I met at the hotel pool.
Funnily .. or worryingly .. that they initially thought I was on the game too..
Comparing our respective hourly rates , it seemed that they were actually earning more than me as they were paying no tax..
None of them wanted to stay in the job for long, thay hated it and hearing the gawry stories and things they have to go through, I cannot understand how anyone can endure it.
Actually, I spent a lot of time talking with them
and suggested they should consider changing career.. as there were plenty of good opportunities in booming Dubai . The money was going to be considerably less but long term it would be woth it. And what a relief would be to keep their sex lives out of the trade..they would feel so liberated .
Well , both of them quited prostitution and found jobs , in hospitality. One now is a an assistant manager in a big hotel. The other one got married and moved.
Everybody has a choice in life
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 14th, 2008 at 7:18 pm | Report this commentTo Ava Xi’An
Hi - is the part of the story in the New York Times about needing to pay for the cost of your father’s operation true and if so why didn’t he apply for Medicaid or the hospital’s charity program?
Posted by: Marc Brown | March 17th, 2008 at 4:09 pm | Report this commentHi Mr. Brown:
Yes, the story regarding the cost of my father’s operation is true… We did apply for Medicaid and were denied - please remember that Medicaid has income limits and, I believe they told me that you could only qualify for Medicaid if you made less than $2000 per year, Family Health Plus if you made less than $8000 per year, and Healthy NY if you made less than $25,000 per year. What happens when you make $26,000 per year, or better yet, $30,000? I can go on and on about the state of health insurance in this country, though I won’t - there is enough being said out there today (thank goodness).
For privacy purposes, I won’t mention the name of the hospital - however, the story absolutely NOT be a reflection of that hospital’s services. This hospital was wonderful, gave the best care even under those circumstances, knew about our situation and did everything they could to help. I’m not sure what you mean about the hospital’s charity program - the doctors all waived their fees, and the hospital administrators worked very hard to cut costs by as much as half. Thanks guys - you know who you are…
Posted by: Miss Ava Xi'an, New York, NY | March 17th, 2008 at 5:07 pm | Report this commentTen years ago I worked for a remarkable woman named Julia Taft, who has held many senior positions in the U.S. government and NGOs, and was then Assistant Secretary of State for Refugees, with responsibilities including international trafficking in women and children. Julia believed that all prostitution involved trafficking, because no woman would voluntarily sell herself for sex. It is nice that Julia had led such a sheltered life that she could believe that.
Prostitution exists because men want sex for money.
Trafficking exists because poverty, displacement of people through war and economic upheaval, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and the low status of women make women vulnerable.
I spent most of the 1990s in Eastern Europe and the former USSR, a region with every permutation of the sex industry. True professionals were the tip of the ice-berg; there were lots of girls who, while not professionals, when they saw a foreigner (rich in their world) they were not above asking for $100. When you consider the difference between what we had and what they had, don’t judge them too harshly. Or cab fare – did it really cost $30 to get back to the marginal suburb where she lived? Maybe, maybe not. Almost the worst thing was the transaction-based girlfriends: ‘You give me presents, I sleep with you, maybe you will marry me and take me away from all this – if not eventualy I will get bored and look for someone else.’
In Azerbaijan two young, male former employees who wanted to show me what a superstar they could procure introduced me to a lovely woman named Marina. She had been one of the best juior tennis players in the USSR and perhaps with a little luck (like being from Moscow instead of backwater Baku) could have been discovered like the girls we now know of, but instead she got caught up in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. A modelling career was aborted at the behest of a boyfriend, who then let his family block their marriage – they wanted a nice Azeri girl with no past and she was a Russian with a child from her first marriage. So then a friend got her to try hooking. She said, ‘Maybe it is not so nice, but for me it is the best thing right now.’ I tried to get her back to tennis, found her some lesson clients, introduced her to the manager of a hotel who needed a pro for his courts, but prostitution was so much easier. It let her buy her son the things he wanted.
The Victorians criminalised prostitution in part in order to combat trafficking. Today debate about whether to legalise prostitution heavily revolves around how best to combat trafficking. Well, actually, trafficking has gone on whether prostitution was legal or not, so don’t expect that to change. The real reason to legalise is that we can’t stop it anyway. So the Swedes are prosecuting customers? That has been tried before. I don’t know if it worked, but it did not last. Can anybody imagine a viable level of law enforcement spending that would actually stop prostitution? So what is the point?
Posted by: Jonathan Mueller | March 17th, 2008 at 7:44 pm | Report this commentAva Xi’an,
Thanks for your reply. I picked up on your story at
http://www.healthcarebs.com/2008/03/16/uninsured-crisis-causes-prostitution/
which is run by David Catron, a particularly sad example of far right wing extremism (No the glaciers aren’t melting! No the economy’s not in dire straits! Hillary’s a paranoid crook! If you die for lack of healthcare it’s your fault! You get the picture). Anyway, you can reply to him directly, but he has a bad habit of excluding inconvenient truths. But I keep trying for some reason.
Posted by: Marc Brown | March 17th, 2008 at 10:18 pm | Report this commentThe hope to combat trafficking and hopefully some day eradicate prostitution is education and community support.
I have worked as a volunteer in counseling and rehab of trafficked women,( and children) as in Greece where I come from it has been a big issue due to Greece and Cyprus being used as a hub for all traffick coming from the East.
Have recenlty also joined a group in Greece -as much as I can do as I live in London-that provides free legal advice to prostitutes who run away from their pimps and are fearing for their lives. A number have suicided to save themselves, so awareness and action are compelling.
Education is the key and I have great faith in it. I even mentioned in one of my posts above, that I mentored even 2 upmarket call girls I met in Dubai and miraculously had success in making them convert to an honest life.
I have little respect for the ones who intentionally choose to be hookers not because they are desperate but because they want the easy way and be able to afford what they would not otherwise.
Stories such as “i became a hooker to save my family” are in most cases not genuine , i would say it is a sickening manipulation of people’s sympathy and empathy.
Most of us work hard and with integrity to sustain ourselves and whatever lifestyle we aspire to, and raise our families and care for our parents if needed. Turning to prostitution or criminal activities to make ends meet ..is not the natural choice in any society, poor or rich.It is marginal.
Becoming a highly paid hooker is a free choice of a job . It may seem as “the best thing right now” but the damaging effects are far reaching and often irreversible.
“Kristen ” could have been a waitress or a baby sitter or a teacher, whatever she would be good at,- I had worked in factories and farms during uni holidays to make pocket money- but , no, she chose the depravation of becoming a prostitue, high price to pay to live in the Chelsea Landmark..
I agree that we will propably not stop prostitution, the older profession in the world will prevail and it is becoming global , but I think it is our moral duty to advocate freedom from it to both ends , i.e the providers and the recipients of the trade.
There is actually a group in California I read about in the news surrounding Spitzer that provides counselling to men addicted to prostitutes. It is a run by an ex call girl.
There is always hope for new beginnings in life.
sorry, took too long.. will now rest my case..
Posted by: Marie-Athena ,lawyer | March 17th, 2008 at 11:07 pm | Report this commentI am astounded that Ava Xi’an can think that human trafficking does not exist. To be honest, I can’t speak for the United States - only for Japan, where I served as a translator for an investigation into human trafficking. There I met women who had been told they were going to become singers and dancers in Japan, but ended up becoming prostitutes in Tokyo hostess clubs. The owners of these clubs confiscated their passports and physically confined them to the clubs. The women were forced to sleep with customers who came to the clubs. The club owners withheld their salaries, so that the women would not recieve any money until their term was complete.
The group I worked with was called SharedHope International. (http://www.sharedhope.org/) Take a look at the website and you’ll see that human trafficking is alive and well, not just in countries like Thailand, Cambodia, or Japan, but right here in the US.
While I do feel sorry for sex workers who are in the trade voluntarily and feel inconvenienced by anti-prostitution legislation, I feel even worse for the women and children who are victims of human trafficking. I don’t know if outlawing prostitution is necessarily the best solution; I am open to other alternatives if anyone has any suggestions. But if outlawing prostitution makes it even a little easier to help these people, then so be it.
Posted by: Maria | March 19th, 2008 at 1:29 am | Report this comment