Prostitution in Gylias

Prostitution in Gylias is legal and regulated. Notably, prostitution is legally organised as a public monopoly, making procuring illegal. All brothels are publicly owned, and rented to licensed independent operators who follow Gylian labour law and occupational safety and health standards. Sex workers are unionised, represented nationally by the Union of Sex Workers (USW) trade union, while brothels and other establishments are cooperatives organised by workers' self-management.

There is no stigma attached to the profession, owing to progressive social attitudes towards sexuality, and the sex industry is taxed as any other. Strong regulations and cooperative organisation have made Gylias one of the safest places in Tyran for sex workers, and given it a regional reputation as a sex tourism destination. Forced prostitution is nonexistent, owing to effective law enforcement and government regulation. Street prostitution is also banned by the Penal Code as a crime against public peace.

History

Pre-modern era

Prostitution was first organised in the Liúşai League. Member states at first instituted regulations on brothels, and later moved to creating state brothels with regulated prices. The influence of Hellene Gylians led to the emergence of a tiered system, with hetairai representing its highest class.

In general, the policy of the League states was to regulate and control sex work. Brothels were concentrated in designated areas. Sex workers, particularly hetairai, were honoured guests of local communities, and some cities actively encouraged the profession.

Xevden

Policy shifted towards abolitionism under Xevden. Prostitution was officially banned, and Xevdenite elites sought to control female sexuality in particular. The adoption of a state religion under Senalta became an additional means of social control. While prostitution was condemned as "immoral", it continued to exist clandestinely. During this period, many prostitutes entered the profession out of financial necessity.

Strong resentment of Xevdenite oppression and religious totalitarianism fueled the Gylian ascendancy in the 19th century. Female re-emancipation became a key demand of the Gylian resistance. Gylian feminists emphasised the "lost freedoms" of the Liúşai League, and embraced the cause of emancipating female sexuality.

Alscia and the Free Territories

The annexation of Alscia by the Cacertian Empire in 1908 provided a favourable environment for social development. Alscia introduced the first regulations on prostitution since the Colonisation War and adopted scientific sex education. The ties between Alscian feminists and Cacertian feminists, whose movement was strong under Elliana I, helped place sexuality prominently in the province's modernisation.

Alscia's crucial role in disseminating and promoting radical ideologies aided the mass acceptance of feminism, which came to be combined with and incorporated into other ideologies. Several sex workers achieved fame for their involvement in activism, chiefly among them Milena Živanović.

The creation of the Free Territories provided further impetus for progressive developments in sexuality. Legal restoration of equality and recognition of third genders was complemented by a social revolution which included promotion of free love and sex education.

Brothels were re-established and spread in the Free Territories, the majority being set up as independent cooperatives. Various communal assemblies took different approaches towards regulating sex work.

Maria Antónia and Luisa Braglia describe an ideological conflict over sex work during the first phase of the Liberation War, pitting pro-regulation liberalisers against RSR-inspired state socialists who saw prostitution as "bourgeois". The liberal forces won and used the occasion to purge antisexualists and transphobes from public life and the feminist movement.

Gylias

After the end of the Liberation War, a transition from the Free Territories to Gylias took place. The anarcha-feminist and sex-positive currents of the Free Territories were strengthened into a sexual revolution as part of the Golden Revolution. The Darnan Cyras government brought sex work into public ownership: brothels were nationalised and rented to independent cooperatives, and a system of licensing and registration was created to protect the health and working conditions of sex workers.

The hétaïres emerged in this period as modern successors of the hetairai, comparable to Miranians geisha and Megelanese companions. A crackdown on slut-shaming and positive linguistic reappropriation ensured a positive stance towards promiscuity in society, contributing to the acceptance and protection of sex work.

Contemporary public policy and debate revolve around the degree of control over sex tourism and provision of safe facilities for sex work, such as sex garages and hotels.

Legal situation

Prostitution is legal in Gylias. All sex workers must be registered with the government, have reached the age of majority, and undergo monthly health checks. Sex work establishments require a special license, and rent facilities from municipalities. Both sex workers and clients must use condoms and other methods of safe sex. The Gylian Police check the authenticity of registered sex workers to ensure they have undergone medical examinations, and ensure that customers pay for their services.

Operating a brothel without license, practicing sex work without registration, pressuring someone into sex work, procuring, street prostitution, forced prostitution, and sex trafficking are illegal. Sex work establishments must be organised under common ownership.

Sex workers must be unionised, pay income taxes, and charge VAT for their services. Independent sex workers are registered as self-employed. The Union of Sex Workers is part of the GCWUA, while cooperatives renting facilities are part of the NCC.

Sex work is done via appointment. Sex workers advertise their services in accordance with Gylian advertising law.

Notably, the majority of female sex workers also work as wet nurses, a common practice and well-respected profession in Gylias.

Services

The Gylian sex industry provides a variety of services, catering to a wide range of audiences and fetishes. In addition to standard brothels, these include:

• Hétaïres, who provide companionship, intellectual stimulation, and sex to clients.
• Host clubs, which provide companionship and mild physical contact to clients.
• Paid sex practice partners, who help someone practice sexual activities in exchange for payment.
• Sex hotels and garages, allowing partners to engage in sexual intercourse privately.
• Strip clubs, which provide entertainment through striptease, erotic, and exotic dancing.
• Erotic clubs, which offer a range of services short of sexual intercourse.
• Erotic fantasy clubs, which employ themes based on sexual fantasies.
• Clothing salons, which offer sexual services and intercourse themed around clothing fetishism.
• Soap salons, which offer erotic massages and baths.

Crime

Stringent enforcement of regulations by the police have practically eradicated forced prostitution and underage prostitution from Gylias.

Gylias is a transit and destination country for human trafficking, which is subject to harsh crackdowns by law enforcement.