A new report reveals that more Greek women than Eastern European women are working as prostitutes in Greece following the difficult years of austerity. ‘Some women just do it for a cheese pie, or a sandwich they need to eat because they are hungry,’ claims the report’s author, sociology professor Gregory Lazos at the Panteion University, Athens.
Prostitution is legal in Greece and with the fall in wages and rising unemployment, the industry has been growing rapidly.
‘Factor in the growing number of girls who drift in and out of the trade, depending on their needs, and the total number of female prostitutes is startling,’ Mr Lazos said. The Greek academic’s findings suggest that Greek women now dominate 80 per cent of the sex trade industry, which has become a €600 million business.
So, basically, free enterprise provides a safety net after the collapse of socialism.