Prostitution and gender-based violence

Prostitution is not the oldest "trade" in the world; rather, it is the oldest form of exploitation, slavery and gender-based violence devised by men to subjugate women and keep them at men's sexual disposal. Whenever prostitution is discussed, the role played by the client is disregarded, protected and minimised. However, it is essential to understand the starting point of this situation: "There is no supply without demand". It is men who, as a class, maintain, enforce and perpetuate subjection to this form of gender-based violence, demanding this "trade" and socialising new generations in its "use". In general, studies on the subject have failed to address this issue, and the consumers of prostitution themselves experience difficulty recognising and accepting their responsibility. This refusal to engage in a critical examination of the users of prostitution, who are by far the most important link in the system of prostitution, is nothing more than a tacit defence of male sexual practices and privileges. It is therefore fundamentally contradictory to talk about and advocate equality between men and women during the education of children whilst simultaneously supporting relationships and spaces of power that are an exclusively male preserve and in which women only seem to have a place when they are at the service of men. We have a duty to imagine a world without prostitution, just as we have learnt to imagine a world without slavery, without apartheid, without gender-based violence and without female infanticide or genital mutilation. We must not abandon our aspirations to transform society and teach equality between men and women. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.