Defending socialism
Fighting prostitution in Cuba

'We cannot fill the country with police and the definitive solution cannot be repressive, but we're conscious that we've spent a lot of time persuading and there are symptoms of a certain disrespect, of mockery of the law, that we cannot permit. If we don't take measures, we will cause our people to stop being combative and see these things as something normal.'

Many visitors to Cuba in recent years have been shocked to see prostitutes touting for business in the tourist areas of La Rampa, the Malecon and Old Havana. One comrade was even accosted several times by pimps in a short early morning stroll outside his hotel, his lack of Spanish being no problem: the pimp's drawing in the air of the outline of a woman was clearly understandable. 'But we thought this was eradicated with the revolution!' visitors protest. It was. Unfortunately, prostitution, along with criminal and anti-social activity, has resurfaced during the special period, linked to the rapid escalation of tourism and the free circulation of hard currency; and since the prostitutes go to the main tourist areas, visitors get a misrepresentation of the rest of Havana and of Cuba. TANIA JACKSON reports from Havana on measures being adopted to tackle the problem.

This in-your-face prostitution shocks visitors, who forget about the semi-hidden red-light districts of their home towns that make no-go-zones for local residents, or the sexually explicit photos advertising prostitution placed in phone-booths that are visible to all, including children, and so common they're now not noticed or remarked upon. But prostitution has in reality become a problem in Cuba.

Juventud Rebelde, the weekly newspaper of the Union of Young Communists (UJC), recently featured an interview with a young woman, 'Magdelena', brought from Ciego de Avila to Havana with the promise of a job. Once here she was obliged to have sex with foreigners for the pimp's gain. Her life became a despairingly identical routine night after night, for nine hours at a time: disco-brothel-disco. The pimp would leave her at the entrance of the Hotel Comodoro disco with $5 tucked in her cleavage to bribe the doorman. Once she'd picked up a foreigner, it was a short car ride ($5 to the driver) to a nearby apartment ($10 to the 'madam', Marina, and $10 picked up later by the pimp) and then $40 for a quick 'service' or $60 if it went over half an hour (all taken later by the pimp).

The apartment was well set up. Prostitutes arrived at all hours night and day by motorbike, car or taxi. The two rooms were rented out 24 hours a day; Marina's daughter and grandson slept on the balcony. The rooms were well-equipped with air-conditioning, TV, music system, towels, mirror, box of condoms (at $1 for three) and, for special 'friends' who brought up to four foreigners a day, room-service drinks. The pimp would stay outside with the duty driver and someone who indicated which room was free - three apartments in the same building were being rented out. Magdelena only escaped by throwing herself from a car to get away from her pimp, who was beating her.

That's unfortunately just one case among many. It is estimated that 70% of the prostitutes in Havana come from other provinces. I remember in the Hotel Ciego disco, in Magdelena's home town, how the pretty 15-year-old Cuban woman in our group was approached by a gold-encrusted Cuban man waving a wad of dollars at her, offering to buy her a scarf. His motives were obvious and I quickly asked her friend to intervene. How often does this happen? Far too often.

In recent months, there has been much talk about prostitution and crime, both on the street and in meetings, including in September at the 5th Congress of the CDR (Committee for the Defence of the Revolution, Cuba's neighbourhood-based mass organisation). Some called for increased numbers of police, others heavier sentencing or greater controls, but in particular greater collective vigilance in the neighbourhood: 'Not just more police, but a greater revolutionary offensive' was how one contributor put it in the plenary session.

Offences related to prostitution were the main theme of a meeting at the beginning of October of the National Commission for Prevention and Social Attention, headed by Vilma Espín, President of the FMC (the Federation of Cuban Women). Estebán Lazo, from the Political Bureau of the Communist Party and 1st Secretary of the Party in the City of Havana, spoke out strongly against shameless pimps who brought prostitutes from other provinces: exemplary and severe punishments should be used to stop them getting the better of the revolution and putting more young women and their families through such terrible ordeals - 'Exemplary measures are also preventative'. It was felt there was a need for greater integration of all relevant institutions to combat this and other criminal behaviour, which grow out of family tolerance and the community turning a blind eye, forgetting the enormous social cost they bring.

In Cuba, although prostitution is still relatively unorganised, the solution cannot be only through use of the police; it needs a greater involvement of revolutionaries to stop it happening in their neighbourhoods. Lazo stated: 'We cannot fill the country with police and the definitive solution cannot be repressive, but we're conscious that we've spent a lot of time persuading and there are symptoms of a certain disrespect, of mockery of the law, that we cannot permit. If we don't take measures, we will cause our people to stop being combative and see these things as something normal.'

Now in Cuba there has been a sudden clampdown on the criminal and anti-social behaviour that has resurfaced during the special period, particularly that related to prostitution. Most dollar discos in Havana have been temporarily closed down, in a move also designed to curtail drug dealing, and there are now no prostitutes in tourist areas. Prostitution itself is not a crime in accordance with Decree Law 175 of the Council of State, effective from August 1997: 'a person who sells his or her body will not be punished, but those making personal gain or benefiting in any way from acts of prostitution will face sanctions.' A multi-sectored approach is being used to reduce prostitution, ranging from health controls, the search for alternative dignified work for prostitutes and their families, to the punishment of pimps and the analysis of the social impact of future tourist facilities.

In the case of those profiting from the exploitation of Magdelena and the no doubt many others, there are now at least 11 people detained and facing possible gaol sentences of up to 8 years (20 if minors are found to be involved) and confiscation of any goods obtained or used in the sexual exploitation, including their houses and cars.

In the past couple of months, prostitutes who have been found accosting foreign visitors in the tourist zones of the capital have been taken to specialist multidisciplinary centres for at most 72 hours where they get any necessary medical treatment (and psychological if required) before they are returned to their families. In this way they are helped to escape from the pimps and reintegrate themselves in normal life. According to Juventud Rebelde, 70% of prostitutes come from other provinces, the majority without permission to reside in the City. Many arrive beaten or harassed by pimps, and even mutilated to satisfy the whims of deviant clients. Nearly always condoms have not been used, due to ignorance or machismo, or because the foreigner pays more for this. The pimps are often very promiscuous and don't use condoms; some even administer antibiotics to the prostitutes, as a pretence of protection.

At one centre on the outskirts of La Lisa in Havana, hundreds of women have been treated in the past few months since opening, among them two diagnosed with HIV, many with gonorrhoea and two out of every ten with syphilis. One woman, with advanced third-stage syphillis, had in the previous few months had relations with five Cubans and 106 foreigners. There have even been illnesses that the staff had only come across before in medical textbooks. But even worse than these symptoms, says one nurse, is that 'They're very young, yet they seem old, outside and in. They're 17, 20 years old, with a vagina as though they've given birth ten times. They think of nothing else but money. How do you cure them of that illness?'

The main weapon Cuba can use to combat prostitution and its damaging effects is persuasion and education in social responsibility and ideology, aimed at the prostitutes, their families and the community in general. Juventud Rebelde is playing an important role in this, with articles virtually every week dealing with the subject, challenging readers to reflect on how they would react to the establishment of a brothel in their neighbourhood, whether they would let their daughters go through that experience.

Criminal and anti-social behaviour, if not tackled, is one of the greatest threats to the Cuban revolution: 'Criminality vs Revolution: that is the challenge', stated Juventud Rebelde on 11 October. The UJC, as the political organisation of young people, will play a decisive role in the fight against such behaviour. It has adopted this task as a new internationalist mission: 'Our major obligation to humanity is maintaining the continuity of the revolution'. The UJC is encouraging its members and other young people to enter the police force. This, combined with the implementation of legislation and appropriate sentencing alongside non-punitive measures such as prevention and education, as well as improvement in socio-economic factors, are seen as the first steps towards controlling the problem.

Thanks to Juventud Rebelde, and in particular to Rosa Miriam Elizalde, for the excellent informative articles.

From Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! 146 December 1998/January 1999