Prostitution In The Trinidad And Tobago Sexual Offences Act 1986

In the Trinidad and Tobago Sexual Offences Act 1986 “prostitution” means the offering of the body by a person of either sex for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of another for payment in return. However, definitions can range from specifying sexual acts and goods that can be exchanged to broader definitions referring to a business transaction that involve, helping the person paying to attain sexual gratification . The optimal legal framework for dealing with the problems associated with prostitution is currently involved in a heated debate. It is difficult to compare jurisdictions because even within the same legal framework the definitions for prostitution and sex worker vary . The legal frameworks available are criminalisation,

Some state statutes punish the act of prostitution while other state statutes criminalize solicitation and third party involvement. Prostitution is a serious problem in the United States. It is estimated that there are between 100,000 to 300,000 child sex workers. Adult sex workers are 22.1 per 100,000 . In an attempt to reduce prostitution, many jurisdictions prescribe similar punishments for customers and sex workers. The reality is that sex workers bear the brunt of the law and are more harshly and frequently punished than their customers. They are abused, raped and victimized without any recourse because of the illegality of their profession. Criminalizing their source of income creates social stigma, which prevents them from procuring other employment opportunities and leaves them without options outside of prostitution

This meant that local authorities were tasked with devising and implementing policies. The consequence of this lack of coherence in the law is that the way licences are issues and prostitution is regulated is incredibly inconsistent throughout the Netherlands. This has had a negative effect on prostitutes as those operating illegal businesses were now given licences to legitimize their previously illegal dealings. Local municipalities have capped the number of licences allotted meaning that brothel owners have a monopoly over the commercial sex business in the Netherlands. This decreases opportunities and options for sex workers especially those that want to run their own business. The workers are still being victimized as the power remains with the owners of the