Dear Editor,
I have read a number of your published articles on the topic of ‘Prostitution and Escort Services’ and it seems to me that a bit of lateral thinking is required here by the Portuguese authorities.
We know that prostitution is not illegal here (nor in many other places around the world) because such a piece of legislation would be unenforceable and therefore pointless.
We also know that many of the girls involved are forced into the ‘occupation’ by criminal gangs who live the high life off the earnings and terrible risks these females take every day of their lives.
One answer implemented by a number of northern European countries is to open properly authorised and supervised brothels on the outskirts of town where the women are safe from abuse by either customers or their pimps (protected by the presence of a policeman at the door), visited regularly by doctors, charge their customers standard rates on which they are then taxed by the state.
Such an arrangement takes away the control of the operation from the criminal gangs and provides the opportunity for anyone found operating in the street or a ‘private’ brothel can then be dealt with by the police under the appropriate law, whether it be fiscal or criminal.
After policing the British armed forces for almost 40 years all over the world, I can tell you that this is the only solution to the problem that I have ever seen which has come even close to solving it.
NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD
