A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse, is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub parlors, studios, or by some other description. Sex work in a brothel is considered safer than street prostitution.
Legal status
On 2 December 1949, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.General Assembly resolution 317(IV). The convention came into effect on 25 July 1951 and by December 2013, had been ratified by 82 states. The convention seeks to combat prostitution, which it regards as "incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person". Parties to the convention agreed to abolish regulation of individual prostitutes and to ban brothels and procuring. Some countries not parties to the convention also ban prostitution or the operation of brothels.
Various United Nations commissions, however, have differing positions on the issue. For example, in 2012, a Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) convened by Ban Ki-moon and backed by United Nations Development Programme and UNAIDS, recommended decriminalization of brothels and procuring.Decriminalisation integral to the fight against HIV (), Michael Kirby & Michael Wong, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 13 July 2012.Rights&Health-EN.pdf Risks, Rights & Health (), GLOBAL COMMISSION ON HIV AND THE LAW, UNDP, HIV/AIDS Group, July 2012, page 43 ("Recommendation"): "Repeal laws that prohibit consenting adults to buy or sell sex, as well as laws that otherwise prohibit commercial sex, such as laws against 'immoral' earnings, 'living off the earnings' of prostitution and brothel-keeping."
Prostitution and the operation of brothels is illegal in many countries, though known illegal brothels may be tolerated or laws not strictly enforced. Such situations exist in many parts of the world, but the region most often associated with these policies is Asia. When brothels are illegal, they may nevertheless operate in the guise of a legitimate business, such as massage parlors, saunas or spas.
In a few countries, prostitution and operating a brothel is legal and regulated. The degree of regulation varies widely by country. Most of these countries allow brothels, at least in theory, as they are considered to be less problematic than street prostitution.
In the European Union, there is no uniform policy and no consensus on the issue, and laws vary widely from country to country. The Netherlands has one of the most liberal prostitution policies in the world and attracts sex tourists from many other countries. Amsterdam is well known for its red-light district and is a destination for sex tourism. Germany also has very liberal prostitution laws. The largest brothel in Europe is the Pascha in Cologne.
In Sweden (and in Norway and Iceland outside the EU) the buying, but not selling, of sex, is illegal; in most former Communist countries the laws target the prostitutes; while in countries such as the UK (except Northern Ireland), Italy, and Spain the act of prostitution is not itself illegal, but soliciting, pimping and brothels are, making it difficult to engage in prostitution without breaking any law. The European Women's Lobby condemns prostitution as "an intolerable form of male violence" and supports the "Swedish model".
In February 2014, the members of the European Parliament voted in a non-binding resolution, (adopted by 343 votes to 139; with 105 abstentions), in favor of the Swedish model of criminalizing the buying, but not the selling, of sex.
In parts of Australia, brothels are legal and regulated. Regulation includes planning controls and licensing and registration requirements, and there may be other restrictions to help improve the safety of sex workers, punters (customers of prostitution), and to reduce crime. However, the existence of licensed brothels does not stop illegal brothels from operating. According to a report in the Australian Daily Telegraph, illegal brothels in Sydney in 2009 outnumbered licensed operations by four to one, while in Queensland only 10% of prostitution happens in licensed brothels, with the rest being either independent sex workers (which is legal) or illegal operations.
Brothels are currently illegal throughout the United States, except in 10 rural counties in Nevada. Prostitution outside of the 19 licensed brothels operating in 6 of those 10 counties is illegal throughout the state. All forms of prostitution are illegal in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area. The Dumas Hotel in Butte, Montana, operated legally from 1890 until 1982.
History
The earliest recorded mention of prostitution as an occupation appears in Sumerian records from and describes a temple-bordello operated by Sumerian priests in the city of Uruk. The 'kakum' or temple was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar and housed three classes of women. The first group performed only in the temple sex-rites; the second group had the run of the grounds and catered to its visitors as well, and the third and lowest class lived on the temple grounds but were free to seek out customers in the streets. In later years, sacred prostitution and similar classifications of women existed in Greece, Rome, India, China, and Japan.
Europe State brothels/bordellos with regulated prices existed in ancient Athens, created by the legendary lawmaker Solon. These brothels catered to a predominantly male clientele, with women of all ages and young men providing sexual services (see Prostitution in ancient Greece). In ancient Rome female slaves were forced to provide sexual services for soldiers, with brothels being located close to barracks and city walls. Brothels existed everywhere. The custom was to display lit candles to signal that they were open.
Before the appearance of effective contraception, infanticide was common in brothels. Unlike usual infanticide—where girls were more likely to be killed at birth—a brothel site at Ashkelon in Israel revealed that nearly all of the babies were boys."Roman dead baby 'brothel' mystery deepens" , BBC
Cities first began setting up municipal brothels between 1350 and 1450 CE. Municipalities often owned, operated, and regulated the legal brothels. Governments would designate certain streets where a keeper could open a brothel. These sections of town were the precursors to so-called "red light districts". Not only did the towns restrict where a keeper could open a brothel, but they also put constraints on when the brothel could be open. For example, most brothels were forbidden to be open on Sundays and religious holidays. Some scholars believe these restrictions were enforced to make the prostitutes go to church but others argue that it was to keep parishioners in church and out of the brothels. Either way, it was a day providing no revenue for the keeper.
Although brothels were set up as a sexual outlet for men, not all men were allowed to enter them. Clerics, married men, and Jews were prohibited. Often, foreigners such as sailors and traders were the main source of revenue. Local men who frequented the brothels were mainly single; laws restricting the patrons were not always enforced. Government officials or police would periodically search the brothels to reduce the number of prohibited customers. However, since the government was so closely related to the church, common punishments were minor. These restrictions were put in place to protect the wives of married men from infections.
Multiple restrictions were placed on the residents of brothels. One limitation prohibited prostitutes from borrowing money from their brothel keeper. Prostitutes paid high prices to the brothel keeper for the basic necessities of room and board, clothes, and toiletries. Room and board pricing was often set by the local government but the price for everything else could add up to a common woman's entire earnings. Prostitutes were sometimes prohibited from having a special lover. Some regulations put on prostitutes were made to protect their clients. A woman was kicked out if she was found to have a sexually transmitted disease. The prostitutes were not allowed to pull men into the brothel by their clothing, harass them in the street, or detain them over unpaid debts. Clothing worn by prostitutes was regulated and had to be distinguishable from that of respectable women. In some places, a prostitute had to have a yellow stripe on her clothing while in others red was the differentiating color. Other towns required harlots to don special headdresses or restricted the wardrobe of proper women. The restrictions placed on prostitutes were put in place not only to protect them but also nearby citizens.
Because of a syphilis epidemic throughout Europe, many brothels were shut down during the end of the Middle Ages. This epidemic had been brought on by Spanish and French military pillages after the return of Christopher Columbus from the newly discovered Americas. The church and citizens alike feared that men who frequented brothels would bring the disease home and infect morally upright people.
From the 12th century, brothels in London were located in a district known as the Liberty of the Clink. This area was traditionally under the authority of the Bishop of Winchester, not the civil authorities. From 1161, the bishop was granted the power to license prostitutes and brothels in the district. This gave rise to the slang term Winchester Goose for a prostitute. Women who worked in these brothels were denied Christian burial and buried in the unconsecrated graveyard known as Cross Bones.
By the 16th century, the area was also home to many theatres, (including the Globe Theatre, associated with William Shakespeare), but brothels continued to thrive. A famous London brothel of the time was Holland's Leaguer. Patrons supposedly included James I of England and his favourite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. It was located in a street that still bears its name and also inspired the 1631 play, Holland's Leaguer. Charles I of England licensed a number of brothels including the Silver Cross Tavern in London, which retains its license to the modern day because it was never revoked.
The authorities of Medieval Paris followed the same path as those in London and attempted to confine prostitution to a particular district. Louis IX (1226–1270) designated nine streets in the Beaubourg Quartier where it would be permitted. In the early part of the 19th century, state-controlled legal brothels (then known as "maisons de tolérance" or "maisons closes") started to appear in several French cities. By law, they had to be run by a woman (typically a former prostitute) and their external appearance had to be discreet. The maisons were required to light a red lantern when they were open (from which is derived the term red-light district) and the prostitutes were only permitted to leave the maisons on certain days and only if accompanied by its head. By 1810, Paris alone had 180 officially approved brothels.