Amendments have been proposed to our existing laws to give severe punishment to prostitues, pimps and customers - up to eight years’ imprisonment and Rs 100 000 fines. Surely, such superficial measures would not put an end to the “most ancient profession” on earth, based on man’s basic physical desire and satisfaction and eventual payment for it. The objectives of such measures are to establish a “puritan society” in Mauritius where physical relations would be restricted by moral values.

Before adopting such severe laws to eliminate prostitution, we need to go deeper into the root causes which make of a woman a prostitute.

<B> Purely economic</B>

The main cause for a woman to become a prostitute is economic. As we say in Mauritius, “moralité na pa rempli vent...” It is easy for one living with all the comforts of life to look down upon the woman who has nothing else than her body to sell for a living. Would a woman, who basically needs love, affection and attention from a man, give her body to be abused for the pleasure of a strange man, unless she is forced to?

In most cases, a woman sells her body to cater for her small children or even an ailing husband. Some women fall prey to vice-ridden men or women who exercise pressure on women, young girls or boys to take to prostitution and earn money.

<B>Desire to acquire more</B>

When talking of prostitutes, we should not target only those from the low classes of society who are very vulnerable. We have women coming from the middle or even the upper classes. How could one identify these women who, during office lunch time, practise prostitution in the privacy of hotels in the capital and thus earn extra cash. How could one spot high-class prostitutes with “VIP” clients in prestigious five-star hotels. These high-class prostitutes sell themselves for extra cash to afford luxuries. Surely, it would not be easy to arrest them and their “VIP” clients.

In many cases, it is difficult to establish if two persons sharing a bed in extreme privacy actually have a “money deal”. How can one prove that the man has paid the woman? Moreover, the law allows an adult to have physical relations with another consenting adult.

Therefore, laws to penalise prostitutes and their customers would probably identify only the poor and easily exposed. Arresting and heavily penalisingthe latter and their customers would not actually remedy the situation.

It is important and human to go deep into the problem. The first thing to attempt would be to reform the prostitutes, rehabilitate them in social centres where they could be trained in different skills to enable them to earn their living, get back their dignity as human beings and be integrated in the work force. However, the present situation in Mauritius is very alarming as many women have lost their jobs due to the regular closing of factories.

Often parents use their young daughters, or even sons, for prostitution to tourists to bring extra income to the family. Sometimes, they are schoolgirls. Such desparate cases should be given social and proper financial help instead of arresting them, putting them in prison or charging them with high fines.

Recently in an article published in l’express, it was stated: “La prostitution est un esclavage... La dignité d’un pays s’analyse à la place accordée aux femmes…’’ Prostitution is worse than slavery as the woman sells her body just for a mere living. In fact, prostitution is not the result of “inequality between man and woman’’ as stated in the article. Prostitution in most cases is the result of a basic need for survival. With the number of job losses lately and the rise in prices of essential commodities and services, society will surely witness more social problems like prostitution, crime, violence and suicide.

Often prostitution grows around the tourist sector. How feasible is it to arrest tourists and put them in the prison or charge them with huge fines? What would be the impact of such laws on tourism, one of the major pillars of the economy? Is is possible for the police to raid private rooms in prestigious hotels and arrest tourists for sleeping with prostitutes. What would this do to the image of Mauritius in international tourism, when tourists are put in prison under such laws? Prostitution with tourists can be discouraged by comprehensive media campaigns.

Once laws have been made to punish prostitution, prostitutes would be even more vulnerable to abuse (even by the police), violence, other criminal acts, blackmail and eventual non payment by clients.

One has to accept that prostitution is a “necessary evil”. One cannot ignore those men without female partners and with the physical and natural urge for a physical relationship. If prostitutes are totally abolished, would not there be more rape cases? Laws would not put an end to prostitution. In fact, it would be practised under cover.

<B>Legalise Prostitution</B>

Prostitution should be legalised for the proper control and security of prostitutes. There should be laws to register all prostitutes. But pimps should be severely punished as they earn money by selling other people’s bodies. Very often pimps get the big share of the money and prostitutes are subject to blackmail and violence.

If prostitution were legalised, prostitutes could be helped; once they call for official registration, it could be done:

a) If they are forced by a third party to practise prostitution. In such cases, the pimps could be identified and punished severely and the prostitutes could be rescued and rehabiliated in special rehabilitation centres.

b) If the women are prostitutes of their own will due to financial strain, they could also be sent to rehabilitation centres where they would be helped and trained for alternative livelihood.

c) Those who wish to continue could be given psychological help to give it up gradually.

d) The registration of prostitutes would help to give them regular medical checks to avoid the spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as backstreet abortion often leading to death.

Once prostitution is legalised many of the women, girls and boys could be rescued as they would no longer fear to approach the authorities openly for help and this would bring down the number of prostitutes and eliminate the pimps. There should be special offices to help prostitutes and protect them from crime and blackmail. In fact aiming at a society made free of prostitution by laws is sheer UTOPIA.

<B>Ranjita Bunwaree</B>