Gender and Prostitution: The Plight of Women in the Industry 

Prostitution, in the ordinary sense of the word, is the practice of engaging in sexual activity, usually with individuals other than a spouse or friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. Prostitutes may be of either sex and may engage in either heterosexual or homosexual activity.[1] However, here in the Philippines, it is defines in Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code as women who, for money or profit, habitually indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct. On May 27, 2012, Pres. Benigno Aquino III signed into law RA 10158, amending the provision of Article 202, decriminalizing vagrancy but leaving behind prostitution. Hence, up until this day, prostitution remains to be a crime punishable under the Revised Penal Code. There is nothing wrong with penalizing such act; it is against public morals and good customs. The state is merely trying to ensure our morals and customs. But, what is most curious is that the provisions specifically categorized prostitutes as women only. What about men? Children? The third sex? Isn't the law violating the equal protection of the laws by singling out women? 

We cannot fault the framers of our laws. Prostitution is a very old profession, if one can call it that. It goes way back to the olden times. Over the centuries or even millennia, prostitution was and continues to be rampant and is usually associated with women. What they failed to see is that men and even children can also be subjected to the exploitative nature of the crime. Which leads to the next question, what really differentiates women from men? Why is it that only women are categorized as prostitutes? 

The surge of American soldiers in the Philippines did not help. In fact, it served as the spring from which the whole industry sprang leaps and bounds. Countless of women, mostly poor, uneducated ones, leapt at the opportunity to earn money and feed their families. Dollars are much valuable than pesos, and it is way easier to earn dollars in a night what they earn in pesos slaving for a month. It bolstered the view of the whole population that these women are opportunistic, lazy and has low morals. An activity which is highly corrupt for the morals that it must be stopped. To effectively stop this, persons engaging in prostitution must be dealt with strictly and sternly – to criminalize prostitution. 

Again the highlight of the whole industry is the women. In an article in the website, Rappler, Gabriela, a feminist group, was enraged by the passage of RA 10158 which repeals parts of Article 201 which decriminalizes vagrancy but left intact provisions on prostitution. It leaves unscathed the people who associates with these ”prostitutes” including pimps and the clients. They assert that this act crucified women in the industry, leaving them in the mud without much hope for change.[2]

The situation of these women is, indeed, pitiful. It does not help that these women, forced into the industry by harsh realities of life, are criminalized for prostitution while their male counterparts are free from the stigma that they bear. 

There is a large room left for the improvement of the facilities and government intervention to save these women from such fate. One start, at least, is to decriminalize Prostitution. By this, it recognizes that women are at the same level with men in the industry and that they need the help of the government in making better lives for themselves and their families. 

[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prostitution 

[2] http://www.rappler.com/nation/3456-pnoy-%E2%80%98crucified-women%E2%80%99-by-signing-ra-10158-gabriela, last accessed December 19, 2014