Other European Countries.—A similar system prevails in Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Rumania, Greece, Hungary and Aus tria, excepting Vienna, where licensed houses have been abolished. The German or the English plan is followed, more or less, in Holland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and the Scandi navian countries. Colonies, dominions and dependencies usually follow the example of the mother-country.
Cuba.—The licensed areas were abolished in 1913, but con ditions still remained very bad, particularly in Havana, until 1925, when a vigorous movement was initiated by the Govern ment, under the inspiration of the League of Nations Committee, which visited Cuba in 1924. The police became very active, and the houses where prostitution was carried on were reduced from 477 to 224. The incoming traffic, which had greatly increased since the war, was largely stopped in 1925 by a decree making it an offence to assist immigration for the purpose of prostitution and providing for the deportation of foreign women and keepers of prostitutes. The number of women so engaged in Havana was stated to be 700, chiefly French, Spanish and Italian. Except for the deportations the outgoing traffic was small. Cuba is a party to all the conventions.
The Argentine Republic.—South America has become the main objective of the traffic from Europe. The Argentine is a party to none of the conventions. Prostitution is there regulated by the municipalities. Houses are licensed and prostitutes are registered and medically examined. In Buenos Aires there were 585 licensed houses in 1923, showing a considerable increase. The women are chiefly French, Poles, Italians and Spaniards, but "there is a constant flow of foreign prostitutes from every corner of Europe to the Argentine around all barriers devised to check it. . . . It is clear that the traffickers manage to evade every re striction, and the evidence discloses an elaborate system for run ning the business of prostitution and securing girls therefor to the great profit of third parties." (Report of committee.) Brazil.—Brazil is a party to the conventions of 1904 and 1910 and has signed the convention of 1921. There are no laws regulat ing prostitution and no licensed houses. The penal code, as modified in 1915, makes procuration and brothel-keeping an offence; but brothels, and ostentatious ones, abound in Rio de Janeiro. With regard to the traffic Brazil is a country of demand
and prostitutes come there from everywhere. A memorandum pre pared by the medical officer of health of Rio de Janeiro gave the nationality of 1,683 prostitutes; of these 987 were Brazilians, 158 Russian, 148 French, 144 Poles and 69 Portuguese.
It is hoped that the foregoing notes will sufficiently indicate the general position in the Western world. There are two main differences between the treatment of prostitution in the several countries. The first difference is the licensed house, which gen erally exists on the Continent but not in Great Britain and her dominions or in the United States. There is, however, a tendency to follow the example of Germany or, at least, of Berlin and abolish them. This has been done in Switzerland, Holland, Czecho slovakia and the Scandinavian States. It is largely a geographical and racial question, but the tendency is in that direction. The second difference lies in the registration and examination of prostitutes. There is none in Great Britain, Holland, Switzerland and the United States; the institution of venereal clinics does something to protect the public health in its place, and does it better. The great object of the police in regard to prostitution is the maintenance of public order, which is undoubtedly assisted by licensing. But to-day prostitution is essentially an urban prob lem, and the vast size of modern cities makes clandestine prostitu tion so easy that the licensed houses hold only a small pro portion of the total number. What proportion it is impossible to say ; the estimates freely made are mere guesses.
Another modern problem is the international traffic, maintained by souteneurs and capitalist principals. The fact that this question has been taken up by the League of Nations is highly significant. No nation can wish to retain the traffic, with its abominable ac cessories, and the new immigration laws and, to a lesser extent, the greater protection afforded to girls going abroad, show that the action of the League is having a marked effect. But more than that, it has stirred the Governments to look into an unsavoury subject and has affected the whole anti-prostitution movement, which began in Great Britain with the campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts.