Student Prostitution in Bucharest

Romania is largely a “post-Christian” nation.  Most people call themselves Romanian Orthodox in terms of religious affiliation, but that usually means little more than they were baptized in a church building as an infant, they attend weddings in a church building, and their funeral will be conducted by a Romanian Orthodox priest one day.

Under Communist oppression, the church prospered, with men of God like Richard Wurmbrand refusing to surrender to a Godless regime.

Now, in the freedom of democracy and a free market economy, God isn’t outlawed but ignored – not crushed beneath the feet of an iron dictatorship but trampled by the suede shoes of a generation of self-interested Black Friday pleasure-seekers.

That’s about as poetic as I’ll get here, so relish that line for a moment everyone.  Aaaah, OK, now let’s move on.

When God is pushed out of society, morality follows suite.  In Bucharest, a city of 35 colleges and universities, there is a growing trend toward student prostitution, whether it be in the form of massage parlours, escort services, or web cam girls.  Many of these students (men and women) make good money.  Some work out of their homes, others gather in collectives, and still others work as employees of video studios or modern-day pimps.

I’ve been reading some articles and interviews with the guys and girls involved with the business, and while there are some who cry “human trafficking” and “sex slavery,” and it may be true that there are elements of both of those, what has alarmed me the most is that the majority of participants (mostly women), view their business as a decent way to make an income.  Prostitution and web cam work in Romania can net anywhere between $400 to $4,000 a month depending on how often you want to work and what you’re willing to do.  Prostitution, according to some studies, is by far the best paying job available to women in Romania.

Due to the flexible schedule and decent pay, students are flocking to it.  If there is no God beyond money, and your body is just a bunch of tissue and bone and blood, and sex is just something that feels good like cracking your back or letting out a good sneeze, then why not make a decent salary selling yourself?

I know stuff like this goes on all over the world, and the situation is actually (from what I’ve been reading) much better in Romania than some other places, but it breaks my heart that people can degrade themselves so much that they’re willing to sell their bodies for the pleasure of some random guy who really only cares about himself.

We bear the image of God.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  We were created for His pleasure, not for our own selfish pursuit of money or for some random guy who’s willing to pay for sex.