- says policewomen at the International Women Police Conference
"That prostitution is definitely not "a crime without a victim" can be easily understood once you talk to women in prostitution, their families, and the police." (Catherine Suay, Information Officer, Organized Crime Department, Las Vegas Police Department, USA)
Seminar participants presented the current status, legal institutions and police measures regarding prostitution in each country. The forms of prostitution and the policies implemented differed greatly from country to country, but all the participants agreed to the need to 'de-criminalize' sex workers, punish brothel keepers severely, and eradicate police corruption. Kim Kang Ja, Director of the Women and Youth Department of the NPA and the Korean presenter at the seminar, said, "There are some 1.5 million sex workers in Korea (civic groups estimate 3 million), and prostitution in Korea is characterized by enslavement and cruel human rights violations by the brothel keepers who demand and take prepayment."
Kim recommended a step-by-step approach for the effective eradication of prostitution, in which the police first cracks down on prostitution involving minors or forcing slavery in the red light districts, then moves on to regulate employment of minors or human trafficking in entertainment spots, and then deals with youth prostitution on a one-on-one basis.
Kim suggested, "In the mid to long term, funds must be secured to put in place institutional mechanisms to guarantee alternative livelihoods for sex workers, and to launch a nationwide campaign to reform the sex culture."
