Phenomenon of prostitution in the Abruzzo and Marches

Abstract

This work begins with a study of the legislation on prostitution as a first step in providing a general panorama of the phenomenon of prostitution, its structure, and how it is perceived by society.The second section considers the criminological aspects of the phenomenon that emerge from the analysis.In recent years, due to a large flow of immigrants, the phenomenon of prostitution has also been marked by traffic in human beings, minors included, which is constantly increasing internationally. This study examined the territory of the southern part of the Marches Region and the northern part of the Abruzzo Region, under the jurisdiction of the Court of Ascoli Piceno. This article takes into consideration two types of data: information gathered by public and private associations working in the field in the battle against prostitution, and unpublished information gathered directly by the Ascoli Piceno Court on pending or concluded proceedings. The territory of the Marches, which at first was mainly characterized by the phenomenon of street prostitution, has undergone a transformation, becoming an area of underground prostitution, practiced by non-European Union subjects, concentrated above all in coastal areas, in apartments or night clubs. The ethnic groups most involved in offering sex for payment are Nigerians and Romanians, but data has also emerged on Chinese prostitution. Analysis of the data indicates that the phenomenon of prostitution is characterized by a considerable number of people who circulate in the sector, but it does not point to direct involvement of large-scale criminal associations. Management of prostitution is a local phenomenon with important involvement of illegal and legal immigration. On the basis of the data obtained in the field, and gathered from the Ascoli Piceno Court, the number of convictions regarding prostitution is not significant compared to the scale of the phenomenon.