NCJ Number
210201
Date Published
May 2005
Length
69 pages
Annotation
This report presents assessment findings on the size of the sex industry in New Zealand.
Abstract
Much of the activities of the sex industry are hidden and non-regulated, making it a difficult market to analyze, especially in terms of estimating the actual numbers involved with the industry. This report, then, cannot be assumed to be a fully accurate assessment of the size of the sex industry in New Zealand, but can be useful as an indication of the approximate numbers of those comprising the industry. The first section of the report presents findings from a telephone survey of the New Zealand Police Districts and Areas, which involved canvassing police staff who may have had information regarding the sex industry in their area. The survey was conducted from October 2003 to February 2004. Findings revealed a total of 383 identified sex businesses across the country, encompassing mainly massage parlors (189), escort agencies (101), and rap/escort parlors (93). A total of 5,932 sex workers were identified, 44 percent of whom worked in massage parlors. The second section of the report presents findings from an audit by the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC) on the number of advertisements for commercial sexual services in two areas of New Zealand on four separate dates spanning 2003 and 2004. The findings indicated that there were 620 advertisements for commercial sex services in the 2 areas under examination; female advertisements represented the majority of the private advertisements. Caution is advised in the interpretation of police information on the sex industry and on the analysis of advertisements for commercial sex. Tables, figures, references, appendixes