Prostitution as a Special Form of the Offence of Social Parasitism in Socialist Czechoslovakia
Prostitution as a Special Form of the Offence of Social Parasitism in Socialist Czechoslovakia

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to introduce the reader to the specifics of the social phenomenon of prostitution in socialist Czechoslovakia, with an emphasis on its punishment through criminal law. The first part of the article briefly characterizes the ideologically coloured perception of prostitution in socialist states and briefly outlines the development of criminal prosecution of prostitution in Czechoslovakia since the end of World War II. The second part of the thesis is devoted to an analysis of the crime and the misdemeanour of social parasitism which were most frequently applied against prostitutes as part of the communist regime's systematic efforts to suppress this social phenomenon. The third part is devoted directly to persons who practiced prostitution in socialist Czechoslovakia. Attention is paid to both homosexual prostitution and heterosexual prostitution, the latter being further divided into certain categories. In the third part of the text, examples from the contemporary practices are given for each category of prostitutes, in particular cases of the District Court for Prague 1 which punished prostitution as a form of social parasitism offence. The aim of this article is to present the specifics of particular cases of prostitution set in the contemporary atmosphere of socialist Czechoslovakia.

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