Reading Le Matin Bleu the other day made me feel blue. That’s ok because a moment later I started seeing red and heated up a bit.
Why?
The story of the day was the fact that in the whorehouses of Zurich girls as young as sixteen are being offered to clients. What is more upsetting is the fact that it is legal.
In Switzerland the legal age of sexual maturity is fixed at sixteen. Therefore, it is legal for a girl (yes, girl) of sixteen to prostitute her body. I find this very upsetting.
What is more upsetting is that there is an important glitch in all of this legality. Le Matin online reports:
Remarque de spécialiste: la loi suisse qui n’interdit pas la prostitution des mineurs semble en contradiction avec les conventions internationales signées par notre pays: «La convention 182 [de l'Organisation internationale du Travail] interdit justement la prostitution des mineurs».
Basic translation: The Swiss law does not forbid the prostitution of minors. However, it is in contradiction with International Labor Conventions signed by Switzerland. The Convention 182 (Convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, Geneva, June 17, 1999) forbids the prostitution of minors.
I think that the prostitution of minors should be legally stopped and it should be done immediately. I can not for the life of me understand why the Swiss allow such a horrible thing to happen in what I (and the world) thought of as a modern and intelligent country.
The prostitution of minors isn’t a modern or progressive way of thinking. It is not intelligent.
Even more to the point it is not moral even if it is legal by Swiss law. Shouldn’t the laws of a country protect the children of that country?
on Aug 23rd, 2007 at 4:16 pm
These people who voted to legalize this law, they are as sick in mind as those paedophiles.
on Aug 23rd, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I don’t and can’t understand why it is allowed to go on and that is why I wrote a post about it. If enough people talk, write and are upset about this then it will put pressure on the Swiss authorities to change the law. I don’t think the majority of Swiss are ok with this.
However, these girls continue to be offered up in Zurich! I hope that the world will get a hold of this story and put international pressure on Switzerland. I cound not find one article in English on the internet about this. Not one.
If you are reading this and have a blog…blog about it!
on Aug 25th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I can’t believe it! That it really bad!
on Oct 27th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Maybe people in switzerland are more intelligent than the people who uphold ‘certain morals and standards’ in lieu of respecting the people of sovereign nation’s decisions.
on Oct 27th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Whatever your views on the matter, legally it would be quite hard to set the age of sexual maturity at sixteen then forbid a person from having consensual sex with anyone, whether money is involved or not. And no, because 18 is the legal age in the US doesn’t mean it is the one right age and that everyone should follow suit. Different cultures, different situations, different rules.
on Oct 28th, 2008 at 10:34 am
As I stated above there is a contradiction (or a better wording would be there is a gap) between Swiss law and Convention 182 which was SIGNED by Switzerland and is to to protect children until the age of 18.
It is until the age of 21 in France and Germany which is three years past the age in the States.
You can read more here.
Regardless, it isn’t right that a sixteen year old is prostituting…a 16 year old is a CHILD. They are not emotionally ready to make such a decision. I see them as victims of adults that should be protecting them and not exploiting them.
I never wrote this from a point of view as an American. I wrote it from the point of view as a woman, human being and a mother. And, even though I live in Switzerland I do have the RIGHT to say what I think or believe about something that is going on here. No where is it written on my Permit that I must follow like a blind sheep. It is a democracy in Switzerland with the right of free speech and thought…if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be living here or raising my children here. I would also never expect someone living in the States that is not an American citizen to not be able to express their opinions about America. It is called being intelligent.
I don’t think that this is something that most Swiss want. All the Swiss I know wouldn’t agree that a 16 year old should be a prostitute. Seriously, who would??? I would question what their motives are.
I wrote this post based off of an article in Matin Blue which is a SWISS paper that was arguing this controversial subject. From the articles I read about it this SWISS paper read all over Switzerland doesn’t support 16 year old prostitution.
I think that anyone with any common sense can see that it isn’t a good thing.