Mandanad

This is a link to an interview George Knapp had with Annie Lobert about a year ago on Youtube. Knapp is an investigative journalist who works for the KLAS-TV. Knapp is interviewing Lobert in regards to prostitutes in Las Vegas and the specific things she does to reach these prostitutes for Christ. Lobert was a prostitute herself and found Jesus and became a Christian and this is a little bit about her testimony as well. Now, Lobert goes out to the Las Vegas Strip regularly, reaching girls still in the business, letting them know they are loved and beautiful and give them some contact information if they decide to come out of the industry. This video is about 11 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/v/bmHb8-Ci1xk&rel=1

What really happens inside Nevada´s legal “cathouses” is not glamourous. Psychologist Melissa Farley´s recent book, Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connection, the result of a two-year research project sponsored by the U.S. State Department, uncovers some of the less savory side of the Nevada sex industry (American Chronicle: The Sex Industry in Nevada, author’s web site).

“‘No one really enjoys being sold,’ a woman in a Nevada legal brothel told Farley. ‘It´s like you sign a contract to be raped.’ From interviews and first-hand observation, Farley says that ‘many of the women in the legal brothels are under intense emotional stress; many of them have symptoms of chronic institutionalization and trauma.’ Farley found mentally ill women in the brothels, ones who had been beaten, and ones who had been trafficked in by pimps, who took the majority of the money they earned (by American Chronicle: The Sex Industry in Nevada, author’s web site).”

 In 1514 Western Avenue, there’s a place called “Little Darlings” and Veronika along with many others makes her living there. Dancing seems to be not just a means to money but a way to enjoy one’s self according to Veronika. In a face-to-face interview with her, she told me that she lives away from danger and harassment, while stripping for men looking for some entertainment in Las Vegas.

Veronika has been in the industry for about five years, starting at the age of 18 up until 22. Her mother, having danced in Korea in a fairly similar manner, has been her support from day 1. From Hawaii, the two moved to Las Vegas and struggled with money until Veronika’s success in the dancing industry.

Veronika said “You can make alot of money, retire early and pay for your education, it’s a very secure job, it’s not as bad as people think it to be, it’s just like sales.” She also said that “dancing should remain legal in Vegas, because this is after all ‘Sin City’ and people come here to be entertained, although there are too many strip clubs and that makes business harder for the rest of us.” Of course Veronika doesn’t mind going back to the good old days when dancing was more “classy” as opposed to “trashy,” thanks to people like “prostitutes.”

As a dancer, Veronka is an independent contractor who has to pay for her time at “Little Darlings.” She said that she would “never prostitute” herself to anyone. Veronika admits that when she started in her line of career she was scared and unsure, but as her mother encouraged and supported her, she began to feel more at home with the industry.

Las Vegas introduces entertainment as a number one asset leading to many signs of danger. Although Veronika might not have prostituted herself to anyone, the possibility that she might is more than she thinks.

According to News 3 Las Vegas on Sep 5, 2007, Olivia Howard was a heroin addict and a prostitute for 19 years. “People want to limit to thinking that strip dancing is not prostitution, yes it is, most of the women are being forced to do things, they’re not there because they’re great dancers, they’re there to provide a service in the backroom,” says Howard who knows about the grim reality of selling her body.

Here are some questions and answers for all my readers:

Is prostitution legal in Las Vegas? According to Las Vegas Leisure Guide, prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas.

What does Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman think about legalizing prostitution in Las Vegas? According to the Review Journal on Friday Oct 24, 2003, Goodman discussed “the potential for legalized prostitution during an appearance Wednesday on a talk radio show and has elaborated on those beliefs in subsequent interviews, leading some to believe he is opening a debate on whether brothels should be among the city’s offerings to tourists.”

At his weekly news conference Thursday, Goodman said “there are pragmatic reasons to back legalized prostitution. Those include the acknowledgement that illegal prostitution is occurring and that brothels could provide safer, regulated and revenue-generating sex,” he said.

What ages do the prostitutes in Las Vegas range from? According to reviewjournal.com, the police have arrested prostitutes as young as 11 years old.