Iceland impose more restrictions

From the Iceland Review see full article

Private dancing will be banned and stripping will only be allowed with special permission in Iceland after July 1 according to a new law provision accepted by parliament in March.

These strip joints encourage human trafficking, prostitution and pornography and these laws are a charge against it, MP for the Left Greens (Vinstri graenir) Atli Gíslason said.

The main rule is that all venues that thrive of pornography and similar are banned; strip joints and pole dancing clubs, Gíslason said. It is new and it applies to everyone.

According to the new law provision, it is illegal to offer nude shows and sell the nudity of employees or guests unless the venue in question has permission from the appropriate local authority, the health committee, the fire department, a building officer and police.

With the new provision it will be illegal for dancers to “walk among spectators” and private dancing is prohibited. Private dancing in closed spaces was already banned.

 
Arson attempt on sex shop in Sweden

From the The Local see full article

Two young women tried to set fire to a pornographic video shop in Malmö police have said.

The women, 23 and 26, were arrested near the shop on Bergsgatan in the city.

They were outside the shop, and set fire to a phone book. They also tried to set fire to an antenna cable that led into the video store," said a police spokesman

As well as housing the porn shop, the block housed a number of apartments.

Police were called to the scene by someone who saw what the young women were doing. It is not yet clear whether the women's action was a political statement or whether they had another motive.

 
The Vatican should realise by now the harm that can be caused by sexual denial

From the Khaleej Times see full article

The Vatican urged nations to pass laws to curb the ‘modern slavery’ of prostitution to protect women from violence and punish clients.

A new document said the exploitation of women stemmed from activities including human trafficking and sex tourism and the problem should be tackled in a comprehensive way.

The victims of prostitution are human beings, who in many cases cry out for help, to be freed from slavery,’ the document by the Vatican’s department on migrant issues said: The customers too are people with deeply rooted problems, and in a certain sense are also slaves.

An effective measure towards cultural change with respect to prostitution could derive from associating criminal law with social condemnation. Monsignor Agostino Marchetto, explained: We think that there should be not only protection of women but also a punishment for the clients.

He said the Vatican would push for legislation along the Swedish model, which penalises customers with jail sentences and fines based on their salaries.

The section of the document that dealt with prostitution, called Pastoral Ministry for the Liberation of Street Women, said men who frequent prostitutes should be aware of the Church’s: clear condemnation of their sins and the injustice they commit.

Call to ban vibrating condom rings in Madhya Pradesh

From The Times see full article

A vibrating condom has become the latest target of Hindu nationalists who have outlawed sex education in many schools and suggested teaching teenagers yoga instead.

Authorities in the central state of Madhya Pradesh are planning to ban sales of Crezendo condoms, which have a “vibrating ring” in each pack, on the ground that they should be considered sex toys.

Condoms should be used for family planning, said Kailash Vijayvargiya, the public works minister for Madhya Pradesh, which is governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These are sex toys to be used for sexual satisfaction, he told The Times. I’ve instructed government officers to check if there is a law against such things. If there isn’t a law, we’ll make one.

Crezendos, released nationwide six months ago, advertise themselves as your passport to the Republic of Pleasure, promising a 20-minute joyride through the realms of vibrating pleasure. Each pack contains three condoms and a tiny battery powered vibrator attached to a ring, which is designed to sit at the base of the condom and stimulate the man and the woman during sex. The vibrator is re-usable, but its battery lasts for only 20 minutes, according to Hindustan Latex, its state-owned manufacturer.

This month, India’s first “condom bar” opened in the northern state of Punjab. The initiative is certain to raise eyebrows among more orthodox residents. But its backers say that there is a serious purpose behind the scheme as the aim is to promote HIV and Aids awareness.

A campaign by Latvian nutters

Based on an article from The Sydney Morning Herald see full article

Latvia's capital is hopefully becoming a Baltic Bangkok.

Local nutters feel this is not such a good thing and that girls need to be steered away from one-night stands with tourists.

Like other Eastern European capitals, Riga has become a popular destination for groups of men on stag nights. This has led to a boom for pubs, clubs and strip bars and a growing sex industry.

Riga is at risk of becoming a Baltic Bangkok and I'm starting to worry about the image of my country abroad, said Martins Kozlovskis leading a Stop Sex Terrorism campaign.

The campaign is aimed at local girls, showing them the dangers of getting involved with tourists. During the month-long campaign there will be shows on television and radio broadcasts aimed at starting a dialogue in society about sex tourism.

Bill to legalise prostitution in Mexico City

From The Ledger

The leftist party that has already legalized gay unions and abortion in Mexico City said it wants to make prostitution legal in the capital of Mexico.

Mexico City legislator Juan Bustos of the Democratic Revolution Party, who submitted the bill, said the move is necessary to protect prostitutes from abuse and regulate the sex industry.

Corrupt police frequently use the current law not to arrest sex workers but as a threat to shake them down for bribes or sexual favors.

However, he expects opposition.

President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party said it had problems with aspects of the bill and that the goal should be to get women out of prostitution.

In most Mexican cities, prostitution is considered the equivalent of a misdemeanor. In Mexico City, it is punishable by 12 to 24 hours in jail and fines equal to about $51 to $93.

Some cities have informal red-light zones where prostitution is tolerated, such as the border city of Nuevo Laredo. But none appear to have gone as far as the Mexico City proposal, said Carolina Velazquez of Mexico's Women's Information Center.

The bill would legalize prostitution in designated areas at least roughly 1,000 feet from schools, parks, churches and apartment complexes, though pimping would remain a crime. It also would require prostitutes to adhere to health standards or face punishments similar to those under the current law.

The new law would guarantee prostitutes' rights and make them eligible for government services, Bustos said.

Western Australian will legalise brothels

From News.com.au see full article

The Western Australia Government will certify brothels from next year in a pragmatic bid to put law and order, taxation and health and occupational health and safety issues in the sex industry on a sound regulatory basis.

Attorney-General Jim McGinty said: We all know that prostitution is the oldest profession, attempts at prohibition have always failed, everywhere in the world, and so there is now a recognition that we need to regulate something that we cannot prohibit.

Prostitution is currently legal in Western Australia but running a brothel is not and neither is living off the earnings of prostitution.

Antwerp put brothel on the tourist map

From The Times see full article

Tourist officials in Belgium are supporting a visitor map that encourages trips to brothels in Antwerp.

The map, which is backed by the Flemish Government, the city of Antwerp and Tourism Flanders, recommends visits to Villa Tinto, a “mega-brothel with 51 sex suites where 102 prostitutes alternately work around the clock” in the red light district.

On the “by night” section of the map, which is entitled “Antwerp for young people”, there are directions to the brothel under the heading: “The oldest trade in the world.”

A spokeswoman for Tourism Antwerp said: The City of Antwerp’s aim is to move prostitution from the control of organised criminals, and combat crime and violence fostered by conventional red light districts. She added that tourist officials were not responsible for the map’s content.

Malaysia has no law against erotic massage

From the Malay Mail

According to Ampang Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Amer Awal, masturbation is not prostitution and it is not mentioned in the Malaysian Penal Code.

That is the reason why police cannot take action against massage parlours offering erotic massages as it is not an offence.

It appears that certain massage parlours are using this loophole in the law to offer ‘hand jobs’ to customers, under the name of urut batin. This is a form of traditional Malay massage that helps the body circulate more blood to the penis while increasing the strength of erections to improve sexual stamina.

Amer said police cannot take action against the massage parlour operators without evidence: It’s difficult to prove whether a masseuse masturbates her customer. When a raiding team enters the cubicle, the masseuse would have quickly covered the customer’s private parts with a towel or something and put her hands on his thigh as if she’s massaging the area.

Amer said he would write a letter to MPAJ and inform the council on the goings-on at these parlours based on the undercover reporter’s account published in Weekend Mail: I will suggest to them to cancel the licence as obviously, there are immoral activities.

Amer said he would also write a letter to the Selangor Religious Department so that the religious body could act on the Muslim masseuses and customers.

Internet porn affecting revenues from video and DVD

From AVN see full article
See also For Pornographers, Internet’s Virtues Turn to Vices

The New York Times has examined a drop in adult industry revenues possibly due to an abundance of free online content.

The industry's online revenue is substantial but is not growing quickly enough to make up for the drop in video income, the article states, noting that DVD sales are suffering due to an abundance of free online content and an oversaturated marketplace. The increased availability of digital video technology and high-speed internet access has resulted in an influx of amateur pornographers, whose efforts have hurt studios' bottom lines and lowered the bar on quality.

The barrier to get into the industry is so low: you need a video camera and a couple of people who will have sex, AVN President Paul Fishbein told the Times, adding that unless current trends change, adult revenues are likely to shrink this year.

Red Light District president David Joseph and Nectar Entertainment CEO Sean Logan both told the Times that they hope to fight the competition from online porn by offering higher production value, better talent and improved packaging - but do consumers care?

Unlike consumers looking for music and other media, viewers of pornography do not seem to mind giving up brand-name producers and performers for anonymous ones, or a well-lighted movie set for a ratty couch at an amateur videographer's house, the article notes.

Kaplan characterized adult producers' use of free internet content as a marketing tool to lure paying customers as a misguided strategy: They think that if they give people enough of a free sample, they'll come back and pay, but that's not true, Kaplan told the Times. Instead, Kaplan argued, users are watching what they want for free, and then leaving.

Study shows increase in sex shops and adult internet

Based on an article from X Biz see full article

A study has shown a 23% increase in online adult traffic in just one month, and the number of adult shops has risen from 500 to 900 in four years.

The study shows that during the first quarter of the year, 4.3 million Australians visited an adult website at least once, which accounts for 35% of all Internet users in the country. Of that total, one-third were women.

The study also found that the wealthier the Internet user was, the more likely he or she was to visit an adult site.

Fiona Patten, Chief Executive of Australian adult retail body Eros Association, said she believes women to be the next consumer market for the adult industry.

But Helen L'Orange, the nutter and former head of the Office of the Status of Women, has called for a government inquiry into the "pornification" of society, examining the effects that the online adult world has had on relationships.

Director John T Bone not to be prosecuted

From X Biz see full article

British pornographer John Gilbert Bowen, aka John T. Bone, has reported on his blog that Thai prosecutors have dropped the various pornography offenses he was charged with in April. Bowen told XBIZ he is leaving the country and will be in the U.S. in a few days.

Bowen and two associates were arrested in April for filming and selling pornography in an apartment complex; police seized all of his equipment, including cameras, computers and a customer list. Both the production and sale of adult material is illegal in Thailand.

Bowen said that the prosecutor decided there was no case to answer, telling Bowen that he is free to leave the country.

Believe me, it will take no time at all to pick up my laundry and head for the airport, Bowen said: returning to Thailand "would be madness,".

Bowen has directed hundreds of DVD lines for companies including Platinum Blue, Metro, Heatwave, Zane and others. He is best known for directing Annabel Chong in The World’s Biggest Gang Bang.

Soapy massage tolerated in Japan

From Mainichi see full article

Anti-Prostitution Law outlaws payment for intercourse, yet soapland brothels openly offer the practice and no-one ever says anything about it, according to Spa! magazine, which pledges to uncover one of the Japanese media's great taboo topics.

Despite the ban on paid intercourse, soaplands all operate with written permission from the police and can often be found in the vicinity of police boxes. Yet the media never says a word about the contradiction.

The reason is because soaplands are regarded, on the surface at least, as public bathhouses and not adult entertainment businesses. That's why soaplands have steam sauna machines made for one, and playmates and hard massage tables instead of beds, an expert on handling government documents tells Spa! What you pay to get into the soapland is merely an entrance fee for a public bath.

Soapland workers - bubble princesses, as they are sometimes called - are officially there only to help the customer wash. If there is any sex between the customer, it is regarded purely as the result of "free love" and the soapland itself has no involvement. The transaction between customer and bubble princess is one between lovers.

This shaky argument gives plenty of room for the police to move in on the soaplands, but they rarely do.

There are sometimes arrests made, but the police basically know everything that's going on and choose to shut up about it, the expert says. I suppose they let it go because soaplands are a way for the common man to relieve his sexual frustrations.

Sex workers protest in Peru

From AlertNet see full article

Peruvian sex workers Have urged the government to regulate their profession, saying it would protect them from violence and help stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Although prostitution is legal in Peru and in much of Latin America, sex workers said prostitutes should be allowed to work under license in "tolerance zones." To get and keep a license they would have to register with the government, submit to regular health checks and pay taxes.

People have to understand that it's not simply about a whore standing on a street corner, it's a woman, a lady who's working, said Angela Villon, president of the Civil Association of Sex Workers.

According to the health ministry, there are around 60,000 sex workers in Peru, 14,000 of them in the capital Lima, although Villon said she believed the true figures were higher.

The call for laws to regulate prostitution has won support from at least one lawmaker, Jose Macedo, who said he would propose a series of measures in parliament.

As in other countries, prostitutes in Peru work openly in the street and advertise in newspapers, often under the pretext of offering massages.

The government of moderate leftist President Alan Garcia has proposed a ban on such advertisements, angering sex workers who say they are being driven underground.

Sex workers protest in Padua

From The Telegraph

Hundreds of prostitutes, anti-globalisation dissidents and bemused bystanders brought Padua to a standstill yesterday as they protested against the city’s clampdown on the world’s oldest profession.

Prostitutes danced to disco music and held up banners demanding the right to sell sex without interference from the police.

We are here to defend our rights, said Kristal, a 6ft transsexual Brazilian who led the protest. My mother always taught me to rebel against every violation of my rights. I am a Paduan citizen and I pay my taxes.

Suggesting a red light zone on a Toronto Island

Based on an article from 680 Newsm see full article

A Toronto councillor has suggested turning one of the islands into a red light zone.

Georgio Mammoliti said it would allow the city to put the massage business into one area.

Mammoliti wants city staff to study the experiences of Amsterdam and other cities that have legalized prostitution and restricted it to specific areas.

After that, he is intending to investigate a non-residential part of town for the red light district.

Predictably many residents are not pleased with this idea and are calling it "ridiculous."

So far, Mammoliti has only named the Toronto Island as a possible location.

   
Berlin pursues working girls

From The Times see full article

The cash-strapped German capital this week dispatched inspectors into establishments such as Lust Land to drum up revenue from the city’s 7,000 sex workers. Prostitution is a strong economic sector in the capital, says Gerry Woop, spokesman for Berlin’s economic administration.

According to the German Institute for Economic Research, prostitution in Berlin has an annual turnover of €300 million (£203 million), making the sex industry more dynamic than domestic builders, painters and decorators.

Prostitution was legalised in 2002. This allowed brothel owners to provide more hygenic conditions of work and prostitutes became eligible for pensions and health insurance. But the quid pro quo was that prostitutes should fill in annual tax returns. So far only a handful have been doing so.

Under the new rules, each prostitute will be required to pay €30 a day to the brothel owner as an advance payment on tax. The prostitute should have documentary proof for every day worked.

   
Footballers satisfied in court

From The Guardian

German sex shop chain Beate Uhse must pay German soccer stars Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn 50,000 euros each for using their names for vibrators without permission.

The company had marketed the sex toys, dubbed Michael B and Olli K, before Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006.

Although the surnames of the two German soccer stars were not used, it was clear they referred to Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

Kahn and national team captain Ballack sued Beate Uhse in court for unauthorised use of their names and won.

   
Spanish commission opts to maintain the status quo

From EUX.TV see full article

Should prostitution be banned, or should it be regulated?

After nearly three years of debate, a parliamentary commission advising the Spanish government threw in the towel, rejecting both of the proposed approaches and simply leaving prostitution where it was: a shady zone where it is neither legal nor illegal.

Spain will only take measures aimed at reducing prostitution, the commission announced.

Its incapacity to adopt a clear policy angered both the main camps: women's rights activists regarding prostitution as a form of slavery, incompatible with democratic values, and prostitutes' associations saying sex workers needed legal rights to protect themselves.

Spain has been dubbed the "brothel of Europe," with up to 500,000 women working as prostitutes. Every day, 1.5 million men buy sex in Spain, said Maribel Montano of the governing Socialist Party (PSOE).

The trade, which is plied in places ranging from parks and flats to roadside brothels, turns over an estimated 40 billion euros (54 billion dollars) annually, almost the equivalent of Spain's education budget.

Parliament's incapacity to take a stance showed how deeply divided Spanish society is on the subject. A full ban on prostitution might imply penalizing hundreds of thousands of male clients, a measure too unpopular for the government to contemplate, a police expert observed.

   
Sharia in Poland?

From Spiegel see full article

One Polish legislator has announced plans for a bill that would ban miniskirts and other "enticements", with the goal of reducing street prostitution. But the move is also part of a wider culture war.

Artur Zawisza, a Catholic member of the breakaway "Right of the Republic" party, wants to ban miniskirts as well as heavy makeup and see-through or low-cut blouses in a proposal he says is aimed at prostitutes. His initiative would rob Polish streetwalkers of a means of advertising, he says.

Prostitution is legal in Poland, though, and Zawisza admits the ban might have a chilling effect on women who aren't prostitutes. It is possible that a pretty girl on the way home from a disco might get arrested, he said, but he trusted Polish police to tell the difference between respectable women and women with loose morals.

Suggesting that Singapore should not criminalise gays

From Asian Sex Gazette see full article

Singapore's powerful former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, has questioned the country's ban on sex between men.

He acknowledged the possibility of a genetic link to homosexuality: If in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual - because that's the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes - you can't help it. So why should we criminalise it?

Under Singapore law, a man who is found to have committed an act of "gross indecency" with another man can be jailed for up to two years, though prosecutions are rare.

But Lee said Singapore should not actively pursue homosexuals who engage in sex: Let's not go around like this moral police.. ..barging into people's rooms. That's not our business.

A new trend in Japan

From the Japan Times see full article

A popular buzzword on the Internet these days is the Japanese phrase for "orgy party". Search for the term 'ranko' party and you'll come up with hundreds of thousands of hits.

Some of the Web sites are for swingers but the vast majority are merely ads for the latest trend in prostitution. At these so-called "orgies," the guys pay money to take part, and the women are professionals.

More than 100 groups seemed to have sprung up since last year in central Tokyo, but there are only three authentic, not-for-profit ones, says an anonymous man, who counts himself among the very few authentic swingers.

Why the proliferation of these professional "orgy parties" in Tokyo? The main reason is the crackdown against local naughty nightlife, which city hall has been waging during the last few years. As the authorities drive prostitution deeper and deeper underground, sex-establishment operators have discovered that the sex parties are a relatively safe and highly profitable field of business.

Advertising is done furtively, on the Internet or through word of mouth. The venues are usually hotel rooms.

As for the fees, male participants in the classy members-only orgies pay anywhere from 100,000 yen to 500,000 yen per session. Yearly memberships can run as high as 5 million yen. For these prices, participants can expect to cavort with aspiring fashion models and actresses. On the other end of the fee scale are the common one-off parties, costing from 10,000 yen to 50,000 yen per session. The women usually hail from massage parlors and other sex establishments.

With good money to be made, we can expect the orgy parties to become a more common part of the sex scene, at least until the Tokyo government's next round of crackdowns.

Nutters harangue Chippendales

From the South Bend Tribune see full article

The nutters of Citizens for Community Values have fought to rid South Bend of its strip bars, Friday sent a "citizen complaint and notice of violation" regarding the planned Chippendales show to local governments, police and news media.

The group said the bar would violate the county's adult business ordinance if it held the show without having an adult business license; it would break zoning rules that prohibit "adult entertainment" within 500 feet of residential areas; and it might even violate Indiana's public indecency law.

It seems that dancers will keep their shirts on and will not strip down to anything less than boxer-type shorts.

Chippendales travels to more than 200 cities a year. Typically, the men dance and strip down to their bare chests and skimpy bikini bottoms, to the delight of their female audience.

Claeys said she didn't know how the planned changes to their act will affect ticket sales, but she remained hopeful.

So claims Bush's anti prostitution head

From the BBC see full article

A woman accused of running a high-class prostitution ring in Washington DC has said she plans to call her prominent customers to testify at her trial.

Deborah Palfrey says among them will be Randall Tobias, who resigned as deputy secretary of state on Friday, shortly after confirming he had been a client.

Palfrey faces charges of running a multi-million dollar prostitution service for more than 13 years. She says she provided an entirely legal sexual fantasy and escort service.

Palfrey, dubbed the "DC Madam", plans to call, and if necessary, subpoena clients such as Tobias, to testify in her defence that they did not have sex when they hired her escorts.

Tobias resigned last week shortly after US media told him Palfrey had revealed he had made calls to her business. Before he stepped down, Tobias ran the Bush administration's programme to crack down on prostitution worldwide.

He was also criticised in his role as US Global Aids co-ordinator when he advocated partner fidelity and abstinence, instead of condoms, to help limit the spread of the HIV virus.

So far Tobias is the highest-profile name to come out, our correspondent says, but speculation is mounting about who else could be on the list of clients, which Palfrey has threatened to sell to pay for her legal defence.

Set on banning adult entertainment

From AVN see full article

Ohio lawmakers have heard testimony on a state Senate bill that would impose new restrictions on strip clubs.

Senate Bill 16 would prohibit nude clubs without liquor permits from operating after midnight. The bill also cracks down on lap-dancing, requiring a minimum six-foot distance between patrons and dancers and forbidding customers from "knowingly touching" the talent.

Supporters of the bill claim that a state law would protect local communities against First Amendment lawsuits arising from adult zoning issues. The bill's opponents argue that the law is backed by religious groups in an effort to ban adult entertainment entirely.

What this bill is really intended to do is put the strip clubs completely out of business," said Karen Hockstad, a Columbus attorney who represents adult entertainment businesses. Hockstad noted that adult clubs do about three-fourths of their business between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Nutter bill passes Ohio Senate

Based on an article from X Biz see full article

The Ohio Senate passed a bill that would force adult bookstores and other adult businesses to close at midnight. The bill passed by a 24-8 vote.

The bill would require adult book and video stores to close between midnight and 6 a.m. A violator could be charged with a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.

1st Amendment lawyer Lawrence Walters told XBIZ that states are now taking more of an interest in adult entertainment regulation, a responsibility that used to be taken by local governments.

The "Community Defense Act" was presented through Ohio's initiated-statute petition process. Citizens for Community Values, a conservative nutter group, led the petition drive.

The next step for the bill is a vote in the Ohio House of Representatives, which is expected to happen before a four-month deadline expires on May 2. Backers of the bill have said they would take the measure directly to voters if lawmakers do not schedule a vote.

Lawmakers for Repression in the US

Based on an article from KLTV see full article

They call themselves "Dancers for Democracy," and they protested near Ohio's capitol to tell state lawmakers to "butt out" and let them do their thing.

A bill being debated by the Ohio Senate would restrict nudity after midnight in exotic dance clubs and require the dancers and patrons to stay at least six feet apart. Those new rules, the dancers say, would put them out of business.

Dancers at Deja Vu, a club in south Toledo were part of that protest. Right now, the dancers can do their thing until the club closes at 4:00am, but under Senate Bill 16, nude dancing would have to end at midnight. The club could still serve alcohol after midnight, but some say the club would go under.

A few years ago, the city of Toledo passed a new law requiring dancers to be at least two feet away from their customers. Night club owners said they could live with that. The new state law would require the dancers to move back four more feet to a total six feet.

They say that would change the experience and the number of tips and customers coming in. Dancer Sarah said:  I mean, you can't come into contact, like you can't even come up behind and touch their arm and just say, 'How are you, may I sit down with you?'

According to "Dancers for Democracy," those who violate the rule could be found guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor, which the group points out is the same level of offense for negligent homicide or menacing by stalking.

Following Swedish model of prostitution legislation

From The Guardian see full article

Norway's ruling Labour party voted yesterday for a ban on buying sex in a bid to shift the focus of the law on to Buyers.

Prostitution is legal in Norway, but procuring it, or pimping, is not. Street prostitution in the capital, Oslo, has become increasingly visible and aggressive in the past few years, provoking calls for a ban.

Labour has support from its coalition partners, the Socialist Left and Centre parties, which hold a combined 87 of parliament's 169 seats. It will also be backed by the opposition Christian People's party, which proposed the ban. A majority of parties in parliament wants a ban on buying sexual services, said the prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg.

The opposition Progress and Liberal parties oppose the ban. The Conservative party is reserving judgment.

Houston adult business restrictions upheld in District Court

Based on an article from AVN see full article

In what the nutter group Focus on the Family is calling an aggressive assault on Houston's sex businesses, a federal court has now entered its final ruling denying Houston retailers and club owners relief from a 1997 law that significantly toughens restrictions on where adult-oriented businesses are allowed to operate.

As many as 150 adult businesses could be forced to relocate or close, and in the interim, their employees may face arrest, but First Amendment attorney John Weston, who headed the original legal team fighting the ordinance, says that neither possibility is likely to happen in the near future.

Yes, we lost at the district court level, Weston told AVN.com: but we're going into the Fifth Circuit early next week to file our appeal and a motion to stay enforcement of the ordinance.

City officials, however, are anxious for the ordinance to take effect: Now is the time for them to move, Mayor Bill White told the Chronicle. We're going to enforce the law.

The decade-old ordinance would double the distance required between adult businesses and schools, parks and churches. It also has provisions against such businesses — including topless clubs, modeling studios and adult bookstores — locating near residential areas, or clustering together.

The city's announced intention to enforce the ordinance is the latest move in its continuing battle against sex businesses, as courts recently approved other provisions in the complex ordinance, such as requiring performers to get licenses and to keep a 3-foot distance from customers.

Refuses adult shop in Wangaratta, Australia

Based on an article from ABC see full article

An adult bookstore is unlikely to be approved in Wangaratta, Victoria, even if changes are made to the development plans.

Wangaratta council rejected the development because of the negative impact it supposedly could have on the retail and residential area it would be built in.

Mayor Don Joyce says the council has received legal advice that it can reject the development on those grounds. He says even if the shop were to be opened in another part of town, the council would not want it to go ahead: The community has certainly given us the message, I think it's the biggest number we've ever had in the gallery and we've got the message from the community that we represent that they don't want that facility, that type of business in Wangaratta.

Registration deters Japanese sex shops

Based on an article from asahi.com see full article

Tighter controls and more paperwork have put a kink in the sex industry, with 60% of the country's sex shops closing since new regulations were introduced last year.

Under revisions to the Adult Entertainment Business Regulation Law, which went into effect on May 1 last year, operators of sex shops are obliged to submit copies of their leases and official registration papers.

The move was designed to put the squeeze on some operators of massage parlors, "soaplands" and other sex shops that authorities believe have branched into prostitution, which is illegal in Japan.

The effort appears to have paid off, with operators simply shutting down rather than complying, according to the National Police Agency.

The sex trade has seen a boom in recent years, with the number of shops increasing from 27,024 in 2000 to 42,583 in 2005. By the end of last year, it had plunged to 17,492, apparently due to the revised law, the NPA officials said.

Before the stricter rules were introduced, individuals or companies wanting to open a sex shop merely had to fill out a form stating their intention. Under the revised law, individuals must submit their resident registration certificates. If a company wants to open a business, they must submit corporate registration certificates.

The individuals or companies also must attach the lease contracts for the shops.

Many operators filed paperwork indicating that they would shut down altogether. Many others did not submit any documents at all and as a result will be forced to close. Others got the paperwork right but were shut down for carrying out illegal renovations.

Declining Japanese shops give way to adult business

From Mainichi see full article

As traditional shopping streets fade away they tend to be replaced by sex businesses

Once bustling Atsugi has in the past few years slumped. Aoyama Gakuin University used to have a campus there, but it shut up shop in 2003.

About 90% of the small retail outlets in central Atsugi's shopping street have closed down in recent years. In their place swept first a bar staffed by foreign female "entertainers" and then a swathe of other sex businesses, so that where once there was a handyman, now there are handjob bars and rust is turning into red lights.

An identical phenomenon is taking place in my home town of Anjo in Aichi Prefecture. One-time shopping strips are becoming just strips. It will start off with a pink salon (handjob bar). They can use existing floor plans, so it's easy to start off. Then comes the cabaret clubs, topless pubs and, before you know it, you've got a thriving red light district on your hands, Akira Ikoma, managing editor of the adult entertainment magazine Ore no Tabi, says.

Atsugi and Anjo are hardly exceptions. Middle-sized cities like these across Japan are seeing the same trend occur. Goi in Chiba Prefecture once had a healthy selection of small retailers near its train station. Now it has herusu, the name given to sex services where customers undergo digital or oral ministrations until they ejaculate.

Change may be in store though. Revisions to the Urban Planning Law due to be enacted in November this year aim at re-sparking Japan's struggling smaller cities, mostly by cracking down on the spread of the large scale retail outlets springing up on major roadsides throughout the country. Some say they will also crack down on the spread of central city sex shops. Others, though, say any attempt at fighting the new order will be futile.

Major adult business chains are going to go on a rush of new store openings before the changes to the law come into effect. No type of regulation is going to revive city center trading now, these places are already dead, Meiji Gakuin University Assistant Prof. Yoshiro Hattori, an expert on urban planning, tells Spa! Trying to revive shopping areas that have declined so far that only sex businesses can make any money out of them is bordering on the impossible.

Challenging Canada's prostitution laws

Based on an article from CTV see full article

Canada's prostitution laws place the lives of thousands of women working in a legal trade in grave danger, amounting to a form of "urban genocide," a group of sex-trade workers and advocates said.

The Safe Haven Initiative, led by Osgoode Hall law professor Alan Young and a volunteer group of law students, is launching a constitutional challenge to strike down laws against bawdy houses, communicating for the purpose of prostitution and living on the avails of prostitution.

While there is no wording in the Criminal Code specifically outlawing prostitution, nearly all aspects of a transaction - including hiring a prostitute, scouting potential customers and making money from sex - are made illegal by those three provisions.

Young said because those laws make it illegal for prostitutes to work in their own homes or hire a bodyguard for protection, women are deprived of their right to liberty and security - a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

There is nothing inherently dangerous about prostitution, said former prostitute Valerie Scott, who is executive director of Sex Professionals of Canada, an advocacy group for sex workers: What makes it so dangerous is the way it is currently set up in this country. It's the way the laws force us to operate in totally unsafe conditions.

Canadian government will not decriminalise prostitution

From Canada.com

Decriminalizing prostitution would lead to the exploitation of women and it is, therefore, off the table for the current government, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says in a report.

This government condemns any conduct that results in exploitation or abuse and, accordingly, does not support any reforms, such as decriminalization, that would facilitate such exploitation, Nicholson wrote the House of Commons justice committee: For these reasons, this government continues to address prostitution by focusing on reducing its prevalence.

Nicholson was responding to a report from a justice sub-committee, which was unable to come up with a consensus on whether solicitation should be removed from the Criminal Code after studying the issue for almost two years and hearing from about 300 witnesses across the country.

In a December, 2006 report, the majority of MPs on the sub-committee concluded sex between two consenting adults should not be illegal, whether or not payment is involved.

Beate Uhse change direction

Based on an article from SAWF News

Beate Uhse, which dominates Germany's erotica market, is establishing a range of city centre boutiques that aim to attract a wider clientele.

The traditional sex shops will not survive as they are, said Otto Christian Lindemann, the German group's director.

Beate Uhse's flagship products, porn films and special film screenings, are no longer making money for the company. These days, clients prefer to surf the Internet where they can often download films for free.

As a result, DVD prices have tumbled. In the 1990s, a video cassette cost the equivalent of 40 euros. Today, you can find DVDs for as little as 10 euros, said Richard Fhal, boss of Concorde, a French wholesale dealer for Beate Uhse.

The German firm's recent financial history reflects this change in the market and makes uneasy reading. Bulk, mail order and Internet sales are all in trouble. And that's not counting some other difficulties closer to home.

Customers have complained of long delays in receiving their mail order goods. Also, there was controversy surrounding a range of Beate Uhse vibrators that tried to cash in on World Cup fever. Finally, flooding at its distribution centre in the Netherlands ruined all the company's Christmas stock. As a result, net profits for 2006 dropped by 30 percent to 10 million euros.

To turn around its ailing fortunes, a new strategy must be found. In the view of one analyst, Beate Uhse, fortunately holds a trump card over its competitors.

The Beate Uhse brand is renowned throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It's a good asset to have over the competition, said Stefan Rohle, an analyst at the Institute for Independent Research.

Lindemann's magic pill is to replace the hard porn magazines and dildos with colourful sex toys and risque underwear aimed at both men and women. A new store in Munich opened last January with the aim of testing this new concept.

For sex industry watchers, this idea is a bit passe. Five years ago, Beate Uhse announced very similar measures. In 2003, it opened Mae B, a new chain aimed exclusively at women which turned out to be a flop.

Council bans sex shop despite advice

Based on an article from The Leader

An Australian town Council could spend upwards of $100,000 of ratepayers' money defending a decision to refuse a sex shop application in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

Rockdale Councillors voted to reject the application for an adult bookstore despite a recommendation by council officers that it be approved. The recommendation to approve was given because Rockdale Council does not have any development control policy for sex shops.

Before the vote was cast Rockdale Mayor Bill Saravinovski said: We need to send a message to the business community that we do not want this kind of establishment in our town centre.'

Rick Vermunt, acting on behalf of the applicant, John Markakis, said he would be appealing the council's decision in the Land and Environment Court: They will have to employ an independent town planner, a solicitor and a barrister, and all that generally costs $100,000. The shop around the corner was approved with no conditions attached; it is closer to a bus zone and a train station and is far more garish.'

Rockdale Council's decision on the sex shop is identical to those made by Ashfield Municipal Council in 2003 and 2004, both of which were overturned by the NSW Land and Environment Court.

Director John T Bone arrested in Thailand

From X Biz see full article

Pattaya police arrested the noted porn film maker John Bowen, aka John T. Bone, along with two associates. According to the Pattaya Daily News, the trio will be charged with various offences in relation to the production and sale of pornography and could face deportation.

Pattaya Police Maj. Chaikrit Thong-in issued the warrant for Bowen’s arrest, which was served at a Pratamnak apartment complex he used to film adult content. Police seized movie cameras, toys, digital cameras, 300 mini-DV tapes, 200 DVD and VCD movies, a customer list and laptop computers, according to reports.

Also arrested were Kyle Micgram, aka Vin Cross, Bowen’s close friend and photographer who helms the "Asian Fever" series for Hustler Video, and Paul Sangsuwan, aka Chuck Wow, Bowen’s talent recruiter and translator, who also directs for Platinum Blue Productions among others.

Police discovered a fully functional porn studio in the apartment Bowen rented, complete with lighting, flash equipment and costumes. Bowen allegedly admitted to police that he rented the apartment five months ago and used it to shoot local girls and katoeys for his various websites and DVDs.

Bowen has directed hundreds of DVD lines for companies including Platinum Blue, Metro, Heatwave, Zane and others. He is best known for directing Annabel Chong in The World’s Biggest Gang Bang.

The Pattaya Daily News reported that Bowen would likely be deported after he wends his way through the Thai justice system.

Texas commissions study of possible links between adult business and crime

From AVN see full article

Cities throughout Texas are being asked to help fund a study that would be the first to focus strictly on the impact of sexually oriented businesses.

The Texas City Attorneys Association commissioned the $100,000 study in an effort to link adult video and novelty stores to crime, decreased property values and other negative secondary effects.

According to the report, six cities, including Arlington, Frisco, Garland and Kennedale, are contributing to the study that could possibly influence how the sex shop industry is regulated across the country.

Banning sexually-oriented businesses violates constitutional rights; however, cities can impose zoning and licensing requirements to protect the public from so-called "secondary effects."

Previous studies that have linked adult businesses to crime and neighborhood depreciation have been seen as flawed and inaccurate, said Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, a trade organization for the adult industry.

Duke told the Dallas Morning News that sexually oriented businesses often have less crime than other places that cater to adults, such as bars, and are being unfairly targeted for regulation.

Open day in Amsterdam's red light district

From Stuff see full article

Amsterdam's sex workers came to work early yesterday to offer a free look at the city's famed red-light district.

I think the open day is a great idea, said Love, an erotic dancer at Amsterdam's Banana Bar, who was on hand to answer questions and pose for photographs in fluorescent negligee: It is especially interesting for women. If they learn what we do here they will realise it is not a big deal if their husbands or boyfriends want to come here.

Organisers staged the open day to counter bad publicity surrounding the 800-year-old district after harrowing reports of forced prostitution, human trafficking and organised crime.

Organiser Jacco Wanders displayed a typical prostitute's bedroom, usually concealed behind red velvet curtains and fitted with an emergency alarm bell in case a client turns violent: This day is to help break down taboos around prostitution and to create more understanding and respect.

   
Czech sex trade restricted from municipal premises

From Monsters & Critics

Czech towns may prohibit prostitution in town-owned public premises under a ruling passed by the Czech Constitutional Court.

It ruled valid part of a town ordinance that bans prostitution in the streets of the Northern Bohemian town of Usti nad Labem, thereby upholding the right of other municipalities to issue such decrees.

Pursuit of these activities dramatically threatens moral upbringing of children and youth. This kind of sex service offering may invoke an impression in children that it is something common or normal, judge Ivana Janu said.

However, Czech authorities have in the past abolished similar municipal decrees regulating prostitution. Czech legislation does not regulate the sex trade.

   
Czech court confirms restrictions are constitutional

From Prague Monitor see full article

Czech towns may prohibit prostitution in town-owned public premises under a ruling passed by the Czech Constitutional Court.

It ruled valid part of a town ordinance that bans prostitution in the streets of the Northern Bohemian town of Usti nad Labem, thereby upholding the right of other municipalities to issue such decrees.

Pursuit of these activities dramatically threatens moral upbringing of children and youth. This kind of sex service offering may invoke an impression in children that it is something common or normal, judge Iv