Prostitution in Europe in Nineteenth Century

Running Head: Sociology
Prostitution in Europe in Nineteenth
Century
Essay
System04104
6/11/2019

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Introduction
The estimation or prediction about the numbers of prostitutes in 19th century in
Europe is almost difficult. No one can predict or estimate the exact number of females who
involved in such type of work in Europe. In 1791, a police magistrate estimated (as he used
the word ‘estimate’ and conjecture) that there were 50,000 women involved in prostitution
work in London at that time (Vanwesenbeeck, 2013). The term ‘prostitute’ was not used
entirely as people used in recent times. However, the prostitute refers to a woman who sold
her body for sex and because of some reasons like money or even some women was involved
because prostitution was their family work. In the 19th century prostitution was very common
in the society and people use it more usually as they refer it to a women who had illegitimate
affair or children from another men or when a women living with a man without marriage or
women who had relation with a men without any social bonding like marriage. However, as
an estimate, half of the prostitutes out of 50000 perhaps had a relationship with a male person
and they were in relationship for pleasure rather than money and even less than half of them
refer to those works and business what we today called prostitution (Wagenaar, 2017). This
essay shows the conditions of Prostitution in 19th century in European countries and about the
contemporary attitudes of people to sexuality, gender, and class. This article also helps to
investigate and understand the problems and controversies which prostitution raised in
society.
Prostitution in 19th century in Europe
The term prostitution was used as a ‘great social evil’ in 19th century by
contemporaries. The impact of prostitution in the society was not only one people’s moral
and their health rather prostitution also shows the people’s thought about it. The people
understand it against the moral. The thought of people about the prostitution is that it is a sin
and vice. The people thought about the prostitute were that they failed to meet the idle of
middle class and social class and prostitution is one of the great threats for the nation’s health
and delivery a sin moral implication in the society (Davidson, 2010).

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(Source: Matthews, 2015)
Prostitution was like a trade in the European country in the 19th century and people
were thinking that it affects the every level of the society (Palacký, 1948). However, in
European country the term prostitution differs country by country. In Netherland and
Germany, there were very permissive prostitution policies related to prostitution and these
two countries were very attractive place for tourists for international sex tourism (Green,
2014). The Amsterdam’s prostitution windows were one of the famous prostitution places in
all over the world in 19th century. However, in London and France, the prostitution is one of
the trades in the country in 19th century and most of the women who are involved in
prostitution were belonging to working class. However, the involvement of women in selling
bodies for sex generally seen in suburbs and West end of the Europe where the women
involved in this type of act (Day, 2010). However, most of the women were force in
prostitution by the people and family members because of it was there family trade. The
impact of prostitution was not only on the health of the women rather it spread many
unethical and immoral messages in the society. However, it is one of the major things that
most of the prostitutes were wrongly presumed by people in that era (Evered & Evered,
2012). The perception and though of people about prostitution was generally determined by
the values and culture which is generally differ from societies. In France and England, there
were many charities were established by the government and other state level regulatory

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bodies to reform prostitutes and provide them a new life. Some of the prostitutes accept the
offers of government while some of the prostitutes denied doing so because they enjoyed
their profession and they were habituate of it. However, in some countries of Europe,
prostitution was treated as the recognised profession and the prostitutes were treated as the
workers who were involved in a trade of selling bodies for sex for money (Green, 2014). In
some countries, it was immoral and uncultured activities and women who involved in such
profession were punished or facing imprisonment or even some were killed by the people or
society for the same work (Hacke, 2017).
(Source: Jahnsen & Wagenaar, 2017)
Few countries in Europe treated the prostitutes with same severity and in those
countries where it was illegal or against the laws, many women were suffering with strict
punishment in the society. In many societies of the European countries required young girls
in prostitution while in the some society prostitutes were forced to pay tax. In some of the
countries of Europe, prostitutes wear a distinctive dress. Dress played a major role for the
street-walkers women and it was a great factor in identifying the prostitutes on the streets as
they hold up their skirts on the street little higher. The dress of prostitute helped people to
identify them and the gesture and posture mixture with their dress was helpful in identifying
such type of women on the street (Jahnsen & Wagenaar, 2017). However, the most of the