Prostitution in Bulgaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prostitution in Bulgaria is itself legal,[1] but organised prostitution brothels, prostitution rings, or other forms of prostitution procuring are prohibited.[1][2] In the past, the Bulgarian government considered fully legalising and regulating prostitution.[3]
The sex trade is a major source of income for Bulgarian criminals.[4][5][6]
UNAIDS estimates there are 10,000 prostitutes in the country,[7] and in 2013 there were 20,000 Bulgarian prostitutes working abroad and this was a source of foreign exchange earnings for Bulgaria.[8] Because of poor socioeconomic conditions, a high number of Romani women are involved in prostitution.[2][9] Nine NGOs offer outreach services to prostitutes in the main cities.[10]
Bulgaria became a principality in 1878. The regulation system, with registered prostitutes working in licensed brothels and tolerated as long as they subjected to regular examination for sexual diseases, regulated prostitution in Bulgaria for four decades until the 1920s.[11]
The regulation system of tolerated prostitution attracted opposition and condemnation, and the licensed brothels were banned in the early 1920s.[12] While formally banned, prostitution was nonetheless tolerated in the interwar period since the police routinely turned a blind eye to prostitution, and the law was not enforced until after the Communist takeover in the 1940s.[13]
