Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms.
Brothels are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution. In escort prostitution , the act may take place at the client's residence or hotel room referred to as out-call , or at the escort's residence or a hotel room rented for the occasion by the escort in-call. Another form is street prostitution. Although the majority of prostitutes are female and have male clients, a prostitute can be, and have clients, of any gender or sexual orientation.
Depending on the jurisdiction, prostitution law may deem commercial sex to be legal or illegal. A person who works in this field is called a prostitute, and is a type of sex worker. Prostitution is one branch of the sex industry , along with pornography , stripping , and erotic dancing. The legal status of prostitution varies from country to country sometimes from region to region within a given country , ranging from being permissible but unregulated, to an enforced or unenforced crime, or a regulated profession.
It is sometimes referred to euphemistically as "the world's oldest profession" in the English-speaking world. There are about 42 million prostitutes in the world, living all over the world though most of Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa lacks data, studied countries in that large region rank as top sex tourism destinations. Some rich clients may pay for long-term contracts that may last for years.
Some view prostitution as a form of exploitation of or violence against women , [9] and children , [10] that helps to create a supply of victims for human trafficking. Prostitute is derived from the Latin prostituta. Some sources cite the verb as a composition of " pro " meaning "up front" or "forward" and " stituere ", defined as "to offer up for sale".
