Ladies of the Night

This is a descritive-interpretation-evaluation (D-I-E) I had to do for my Core 200, study abroad class. It is a model of defriefing what you have observed, without judgement. I'm am posting it for all my social justices advocates in Raleigh. I think it will pull on your heart strings, as much as it has mine.

In Italy it is common to see “Ladies of the Night” standing on street corners waiting for suitors. Prostitution is illegal in Italy. However, allow me to distinguish. It is illegal to use the services of a prostitute, not to be prostitute. The reality is that most of the women who are prostitutes in Italy do not select this profession. Rather, they are forced into prostitution by someone who “owns” them. The women are also not Italian but for the most part, African or Albanian. On Saturday night Giacomo, Hannah, and I went by car to Arezzo. On the way we pasted a group of these women spaced out within a mile of each other. They were standing on the dark highway dressed in insufficient garments. Since we had been talking about prostitution in class, Hannah and I struck up a conversation with Giacomo about the topic. He said that the police are apathetic to the situation and do not enforce prostitution laws. Alternatively, if one was to attempt to help a prostitute they run the risk of being fined. The notion is that the encounter is always liable to the suitor, not the prostitute. Our surveillance of these women caused me to want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over head, ashamed that this actually happens. No change can come from this. I think instead I’ll start by simply by giving away my jacket or seat to one these women.
Don Ostere Benzi is a well known priest whose mission in the 90s’s was to help free prostitutes from the forces that held them in Italy. He started his work in Rimini, but his efforts were seen throughout the country. Benzi approached prostitutes from a purely evangelistic point. In theory, the prostitutes would warm up to his kindness and he could then take them under his protection. Many have ridiculed Benzi for his efforts and his true motives have been questioned. These accusations must have been exasperating for him. His efforts show me that this type of prostitution is not one that is predisposed to Italy in indifference. Italy is merely a porous country, susceptible to all kinds of trafficking. While the law may be indifferent to the circumstance, I think that as Benzi demonstrates, there are people who care enough to institute change. Italy as a whole is not unresponsive to prostitution.
Giacomo appeared to be just as horrified as Hannah and I were by the women on the side of the street. As this sight may now be normal to him after years of seeing it, it certainly not satisfactory. Giacomo said that prostitution is “one of the biggest contradictions of Italy: we always like say that as Italians we love and worship women, but it seems as if we do not care much, living blind to this condition.” So my question is, “what can be done?” Even if it is not an “Italian” problem, is still being supported by Italians. Unfortunately there are people that condone it, thus the reason it still exist in this country.
Dr. Webb says that all these women ought to have Meredith College umbrellas’. I think that as women from a culture that is persistent on women’s rights, we view this situation as infuriating. Our natural desire is to want to help these women, but we are restricted by alien laws and cultural bounds. Under these terms, I understand why I feel obligated to institute change. It would be interesting to receive the impression of an Italian woman. Are these feelings solely cultural or do the infiltrate from my X chromosomes?
While five “ladies of the night” standing on a dark highway may appear to be ordinary (especially in Las Vegas), it is actually a very poignant sight in Italy. Although I have seen prostitution in Italy before, I was disheartened on account of the recent knowledge I gained on the subject. As a woman, if I were a citizen in Italy, I think I would try to do something to help liberate these women. On the other hand, there are many acts of injustice in the United States that we remain blind to. It is simple too easy to turn heads or crawl under the covers. One’s natural instinct is to assert blame on the situation. But, in the case of Italy, I think it is blameless in accords to prostitution. It is just the current stage for this tragedy. This is a world problem that needs a local solution.
**The information about the Don Benzi came from this website. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-priest-who-fights-sex-traders-beside-the-seaside-1310240.html