The deputies of the Sakhalin regional legislature elaborated the bill. They propose introducing punishment for prostitution, which is defined as ''entering into sexual intercourse or other act of a sexual nature, excluding sexual activity between spouses, for remuneration''.
The authors of the bill suggest that prostitutes be fined 500-800 minimum monthly wages, or punished with up to 200 hours of correctional labour, or up to one month of arrest. Presently, the Criminal Code contains an article envisaging punishment for involvement in prostitution, but not a word is said about prostitution itself being an antisocial act. The far-eastern lawmakers consider such a state of affairs illogical.
''Being involved in prostitution is considered a crime, while the act itself is not,'' the Sakahlin deputies claim. ''The Russian people and the state have always denounced prostitution, and earlier it in fact did not exist, though, of late it has been spreading widely and has become a prestigious business.''
Law enforcers have long been waiting for such a law to be enacted. For instance, the chief of Moscow’s Main City Police Directorate Vladimir Pronin has repeatedly complained that the lack of legislation governing prostitution impedes the police from purging the city of prostitutes. All the city law enforcers can do is to ''squeeze the prostitutes out of the centre of Moscow, if possible beyond the city’s [outer limits] ring road''.
However, as the deputy head department of Moscow’s central district police directorate for public morality Valentina Pronina told Gazeta.Ru: ''Fines will not stop prostitutes.'' Pronina agreed that the existing legislation is insufficient, but punitive measures alone will not help to eradicate it, since it is ''the result of a general dissolution of morals, and to combat that phenomenon is extremely difficult''.
All the deputies that Gazeta.Ru contacted for comment on the draft, expressed their negative attitude towards the law, but at the same time admitted that the document has a good chance of being adopted. Given that the country goes to the polls in December to elect a new State Duma, most deputies may back the populist draft, in order to win support.
However, according to the deputy chief of the legislation committee Alexander Butkeyev (Regions of Russia), at best, the law – if adopted – will not work, at worst ''it will bring suffering to those who have been an object of exploitation by pimps''.
Deputy head of the committee for the affairs of women, family and youth Nina Ostanina (the Communist Party) believes, that one has to combat poverty and unemployment – the reasons that force women to become streetwalkers.
Alexander Barannikov (Union of Rightist Forces) of the same committee maintains that should that ''sanctimonious'' draft be adopted, it would amount to a return to the worst years of the Soviet era. Nonetheless, he believes, that the centrists may back the bill if the government endorses it.
Another SPS deputy, Vladimir Semyonov, believes that, on the contrary, prostitution has to be legalized so that the state can control it, and receive profits from it, for there is no way to eradicate prostitution as a social phenomenon. In Semyonov’s opinion, the right to a sexual life is an ingrained right. ''There are people, who for certain reasons, are compelled to go to prostitutes, therefore adopting a law legalizing prostitution would be the right move,'' the deputy concluded.
The human rights envoy from Saratov Region Alexander Lando shares Semyonov’s view. In his opinion, the draft is abortive. ''Only if tortured, will a prostitute admit to receiving money from a client,'' says the human rights activist.
In his opinion, authorities in the regions should be allowed to decide for themselves on their policies concerning prostitution. Lando refuted claims that prostitution is alien to Russian culture and traditions: ''Read ‘The Pit’ by Alexander Kuprin,'' he said. ''It [prostitution] existed a hundred years ago, and a thousand years ago. As long as there is demand, there will be supply; the idea is that this phenomenon should be placed within acceptable limits.''
05 ФЕВРАЛЯ 17:19
