ABSTRACT

Romania is a major source country of labor migration to other EU countries, being commonly perceived as a source country for sex workers operating in more prosperous economies. However, very little is known about population attitudes in relation to prostitution in Romania. Based on nationally representative data from the Romanian Gender Barometer (2018) survey, we analyzed data on 860 individuals to examine the predictors of policy preferences for legalizing prostitution. We considered individual-level socio-demographics and household-level indicators such as the presence of children and migrants, as well as socio-cultural beliefs and behaviors related to social liberalism and religiosity. The findings suggest that male gender and higher education are strong predictors of preferences for the legalization of prostitution. However, living in a household with migrants and attending church regularly were negatively associated with the legalizing policy option. Moreover, social liberalism-expressed as both favorable attitudes toward the introduction of sex education in school curriculum, and as a rejection of traditional gender roles-increased the odds of supporting the legalization of prostitution. The interaction between presence of children under 18 in the household and respondents’ occupational status also revealed a significant effect. Such findings are relevant in order to correctly develop and orient prostitution policy in a way that works for citizens.

摘要

罗马尼亚是其他欧盟国家劳动力移民的主要来源国，通常被认为是在较繁荣的经济体中从事性工作者的来源国。然而，人们对罗马尼亚民众对卖淫的态度知之甚少。根据罗马尼亚性别晴雨表（2018）调查的全国代表性数据，我们分析了 860 人的数据，以研究卖淫合法化政策偏好的预测因素。我们考虑了个人层面的社会人口统计和家庭层面的指标，例如儿童和移民的存在，以及与社会自由主义和宗教信仰相关的社会文化信仰和行为。研究结果表明，男性性别和高等教育程度是对卖淫合法化偏好的有力预测因素。然而，生活在有移民的家庭中并定期去教堂与合法化政策选择呈负相关。此外，社会自由主义——既表现为对在学校课程中引入性教育的赞成态度，又表现为对传统性别角色的拒绝——增加了支持卖淫合法化的可能性。家庭中 18 岁以下儿童的存在与受访者的职业地位之间的相互作用也显示出显着的影响。这些发现对于以有利于公民的方式正确制定和调整卖淫政策具有重要意义。