Exploring the Lives of Prostituted Women in Davao City

Exploring the lives of prostituted women in Davao City

Nessa Maureen D. Cabiles, Bonieve D. Martinez

& Stelamarie J. Ticong

Brokenshire College

 “The oldest profession in the world” is a common quotation used to describe commercial sex work (Knowles, 2010). Prostitution refers to any act, transaction, scheme or design involving the use of person by another, for sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct in exchange for money, profit or any other consideration (R.A. No. 9208, Sec. 3. C). Prostitutes may be female or male or transgender, and prostitution, may entail heterosexual or homosexual activity (Rosen, 1983).

In a review of 100 countries done by ProCon.org there are 49 countries that legalized prostitution (49%); 12 (12%) countries with limited legality and 39 (39%) countries illegalizing prostitution. Based from this data in population (total number and percentage of total) of countries with legal, illegal and limitedly legal prostitution (of the 100 countries) 1.41.billion (26%) legal; 2.05 billion (38%) illegal; and 1.91 billion (36%) limited legality.

In most Asian and Middle Eastern countries, prostitution is illegal but widely tolerated. Most of the people who sell sex in Asia do so because they are compelled by economic and social inequality and by terribly restricted life chances. Especially in the poorer countries of the region, they have no other realistic option. Some moreover are physically coerced and a large proportion of women staffing the brothel sector have been trafficked into the business. Those women who are held in debt bondage may receive only a fraction of the money paid by clients (World Bank, 2000). On the other hand, in patriarchal societies in which women have inferior access to economic resources, sex work gives many uneducated and unskilled women an income that far exceeds that which they can obtain in any other occupation (Brown, 2000).

Prostitution in the Philippines is illegal, although somewhat tolerated among society, with law enforcement being rare with regards to sex workers (Robles, 2003). Prostitution caters to local customers and foreigners. The Philippines topped the list of Southeast Asian countries with the highest number of prostitutes according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) (Maza, 13th Congress). In a report entitled “the Sex Sector-The Economics and Social Bases of Prostitution in Southeast Asia” (1998), the ILO said there are approximately 500,000 Filipino women engaged in prostitution. The ILO also estimates that that there are 75,000 underage prostitutes. The Department of Education gives a higher figure—300,000 child prostitutes during the 1995-96 periods. The number of students engaging in “seasonal” prostitution is also increasing.

In Davao City, there are two types of prostitutes or prostituted women the freelance and the registered. The freelance are those  street walkers who pose on the streets at night (e.g. San Pedro, Central Bank, etc.) while those who are registered are employed in clubs and establishments such as saunas, karaoke (ktv) bars, massage parlors, and escort services.  The registered are those with occupational permits and appointment cards (a.k.a. pink card). This pink treatment card according to Dr. Josephine Villafuerte of the City Health Office is issued to all workers who will have contact with another person physically, including massage therapists. These cards are renewed annually and the holders are to undergo basic laboratory tests including stool and urine tests.

This paper aims to understand deeply the lives and motivation of prostituted women in Davao City and thus raises the following questions: What are the common problems they encounter in their job? What motivates them to engage in such kind of occupation?

        Motivation is considered the process which drives goal oriented behavior; it also guides, initiates and maintains certain behavior. There is a lot of negative stigma and discrimination associated with sex work, so the idea that someone might willingly choose to become a sex worker may be baffling to some (Cohan, Lutnik, Davidson, Cloniger, Herlyn, Breyer & Klausner, 2008). However the sex industry is not all negative and there is a demand of clients wanting to buy what is on offer, and individuals wanting to deliver such services (Kontula, 2008).

        People who become sex workers are driven by motivation much like every other aspect of life. Some individuals report that the motivation to enter the sex worker industry is to help with financial situations (Sinha, 2015; SWOP, 2010; Kontula, 2008). Some are motivated by the goals of wanting to pay for and finish schooling; sex work offers flexibility with time and room for good pay outs. Other individuals use sex work to fund their addictions, either being addicted to illegal substances before entering the industry or unfortunately being introduced to illegal dealings after entering the profession (Sinha, 2015; SWOP, 2010; Kontula, 2008).

        There are misconceived ideas that all sex workers have been subjected to physical or sexual abuse as a child and sex work becomes an outlet for them once they've grown up, while this might be the case for a portion of sex workers, others use sex work as a way to explore their sexual curiosities (Kontula, 2008). Those who may have been subjected to sexual abuse can use sex work as a way to gain perceived control over their own bodies (Sinha, 2015).

        This study is anchored by the theory of human motivation of Abraham Maslow. According to Maslow, our actions as human beings are motivated in order to achieve certain needs.        Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs explains how these needs motivate us all. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied we are concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development. Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs.

        Maslow sought the structural concept of basic needs up to secondary or higher needs, describing the idea that people innately seek to achieve these needs. He suggested that the most basic level of needs must be met before an individual would focus more intensely on secondary levels (Maslow, 1954). As previously mentioned some people enter the sex working industry as a way to find financial security as without the security of an income physiological needs are unable to meet, the need for sustenance and shelter are all items that come as monetary cost. Although sex work is not always safe, Maslow suggested that the motivation for secondary needs such as safety may be weaker until primary basic needs are met (Goble, 1970). So if an individual it at a point of desperation they would have the motivation to sell their body as a service to meet their physiological needs.