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From: "Juliette M. Engel, M.D."
Subject: research paper on prostitution in Moscow State University
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2003
Organization: MiraMed Institute
From: Shonda Werry, shondawerry@mail.com, MiraMed Institute, Moscow
Subject: THE PRETTY WOMAN SYNDROME: RUSSIA'S NEW GENERATION OF PROSTITUTES
Date: April 25, 2003
Shonda Werry
Research Intern, MiraMed Institute, Moscow
shondawerry@mail.com
“Why did you come to Russia to study abroad?” is a question I’m frequently
asked at Moscow State University. Girls in my dorm cannot believe that an
American would come to Russia. In fact, the first day I met my roommate,
she did not believe I was a real American. “No one would leave America to
come here,” she said in her introduction. Her desire to get out of Russia,
and her belief that life in foreign countries is better than life in Russia
are both common feelings that other girls in the dorm frequently express.
Although a university may seem like an unlikely place to meet prostitutes,
the unfortunate truth is that many students in Moscow have bought into the
idea that prostitution is their ticket to a better life. The girls in my
dorm who sell their bodies have all expressed a desire to get out of
Russia, to meet wealthy men, to get married, have children, and start
successful careers. From their perspective, prostitution is a harmless job
that provides money, as well as the opportunity to meet foreign men who
might help them leave Russia.
One of the first things to notice about these younger prostitutes is that
they rarely call themselves prostitutes. As one girl at Moscow State
University explained, “I’m not a prostitute, but if I meet a wealthy man at
a bar, and he wants to pay me for sex, I’ll do it.” In fact, most of the
students surveyed make a distinction between selling sex and prostitution.
When high school and college students in Moscow were asked if they knew any
prostitutes their age, most answered no, however, when asked if they knew
any young women who would have sex for money, most answered in the
affirmative. The distinction for them lies in the fact that a prostitute
has a pimp and her only job is selling sex. On the other hand, if a
student engages in sexual activities for money occasionally, she is not a
prostitute. Those sexual encounters are isolated events, and do not
constitute her entire identity.
Many college girls talk about prostitutes’ glamorous lifestyle, and they
are impressed with the benefits that come with this job. The girls in my
dorm told me that prostitutes are invited to the most elite clubs in
Moscow, and many girls envy the prostitutes who work for politicians and
get to ride in expensive cars. Another reason given for prostitution is
being able to afford nicer clothing and make-up. Prostitutes are
considered to be the most desirable girls, and teenage girls often aspire
to imitate the prostitutes’ fashion. Russian girls are familiar with the
film “Pretty Woman,” and many express hope that they will, like Julia
Roberts, find true love through prostitution.
Finding opportunities to sell sex is not difficult in Moscow, and girls
know they can meet men in most clubs and bars. Getting started in this
field is fairly easy, and the students in Moscow sometimes encourage one
another to “try it for a night.” One of the ways an interested girl can
“try it for a night” is by going to one of the private clubs in Moscow
where every girl who enters becomes a prostitute for the evening. The men
at the club sit in a designated room and watch the girls dance through a
one-way window. When a man sees a girl he would like to pay for sex, he
leaves the room and negotiates a price. Several students mentioned their
preference for this club because they could easily sell their bodies
without the interference of the police. Sadly, for many students in
Moscow, the decision to experiment with prostitution is a casual one.
When I told some of the students on campus that I was doing research on
prostitution, they immediately asked if I wanted to become a prostitute.
They gave me names of places where I could make the most money, meet the
wealthiest men, and gave me advice on how to avoid the police. In fact,
some girls were surprised that I didn’t want to prostitute myself for an
evening because, as they explained, “It’s such an easy way to make quick
money.” Other girls asked if I would help organize a pro-prostitution
student group on campus to lobby for the legalization of prostitution.
Many girls believe that prostitution would be safer if it were legal, and
that they could make money without fearing the mafia or police.
These college-age prostitutes differ from the traditional prostitutes in
their selectivity. Because most do not have pimps and are not desperate
for money, they can afford to carefully select men. The girls know that
foreign men usually have more money than Russian men, and a common
requirement is that the man be a non-Russian. Some girls bluntly
advertise, “No Russian men, please.” American and foreign bars are a good
place to find wealthy foreigners, and students wanting to earn extra money
often go to these bars. A male American student described his experience
talking to a prostitute in an American bar, “She asked how much money I
make before she would even dance with me!” Other American men share
similar stories, providing examples of experiences when prostitutes
rejected them for such reasons as a lack of ambition, insufficient income,
and poor Russian language skills. Another American student explained that
a prostitute approached him, and to his surprise, asked how much he would
be willing to pay to marry her and take her to America. She then
interviewed him, asking questions about his future plans and career goals.
Unlike poorer prostitutes who need cash to survive, the young corps of
students who sell sex are more interested in long-term money arrangements,
Green Cards, and prestige.
Despite the cliche that girls who are driven to prostitution are only those
with limited options, many college students in Moscow believe prostitution
is a means to a better end. Students from a wide range of departments at
Moscow State University admit to prostituting themselves on occassion, and
a linguistics professor says she knows of students in her department from
well-off families who occassionally sell sex. The students’ willingness to
sell their bodies, and their strong desire to leave Russia is corroborated
by the information gathered from a telephone survey that Miramed Institute,
an anti-sex trafficking agency in Mocow, conducted. Based on their phone
calls, they learned that many trafficking victims and women who consider
going abroad for work are well-educated professionals. Of the 264 calls
from women, 78 already had jobs, and they identified themselves as
teachers, nurses, bookeepers, and lawyers. The high percentage of educated
women seeking to leave Russia is also reflected at the universities, where
the girls frequently discuss their dream of getting out of Russia.
While this phenomenon of students selling sex occurs far more frequently in
Russia than in America, it is not the average Russian girl’s experience.
However, among those girls who do not sell their bodies, there is talk of
this career as a back-up plan. As one student half-joked, “If I get tired
of my major in economics, I know I can make a lot more money as a hooker.”
At the same time that young girls are overwhelmed with positive images of
prostitution, they are exposed to very few disincentives to pursue this
career. The girls who enthusiastically elect prostitution do not consider
the possibility that they will be abused by pimps, exploited by the mafia,
or trafficked. Furthermore, many college women are incredibly naive about
the physical risks of prostitution. Inadequate sex education in Russia has
led to the popular beliefs that men cannot transmit AIDS to women, that
condoms can be reused, and that it is impossible to get an STD while on
birth control pills. When I asked a group of girls on campus about their
birth control methods, they answered that they are not concerned about AIDS
or STDS. One girl said, “AIDS isn’t as big of a problem for women in
Russia as it is for you in America. Russian men don’t usually transmit
AIDS.” All of the girls agreed that it is not socially acceptable to ask a
partner about his sexual history or if he has recently been tested for STDS.
Previously, anti-prostitution efforts have focused on offering women better
salaries, equality in the workfield, and more career options, but for these
girls in my dorm who didn’t choose prostitution out of desperation, another
approach is needed. Now the challenge for anti-sex trafficking and
anti-prostitutions organizations in Russia is to convince these young women
that in reality prostitutes’ stories do not end as happily as Julia
Roberts’ story in “Pretty Woman.”
-------
Juliette M. Engel, MD
Founding Director, MiraMed Institute, Moscow
(7) (095) 915-4374 office tel/fax
(7) (095) 730-0063 direct line
(7) (095) 730-0064 fax
(7) (095) 774-8323 cellphone
jengel@miramed.org http://www.miramedinstitute.org
