Bill prohibits advertising of prostitution in football stadiums

After identifying the presence of advertisements on escort websites in soccer stadiums in Fortaleza (CE), councilwoman Priscila Costa (PL) presented a bill to the City Council that aims to prohibit the advertisement of prostitution services and other sex services in municipal public facilities and at events that have received public funding. The initiative was presented earlier this month and will be considered by the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission (CCJ) this Wednesday (19).

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Public facilities refer to environments managed by the municipality, such as libraries, stadiums, theaters, parks, museums and squares.

When presenting the project in the ordinary session, the councilor gave as an example the presence of advertising signs for prostitution sites in the Ceará championship games that usually take place in public stadiums, such as the Governador Plácido Castelo Stadium, known as Arena Castelão. The report had access to images of games in which there are advertising signs from an escort website, behind the goal and around the soccer field.

“This is absurd. It is a practice that promotes prostitution in an environment frequented by children and adolescents”, stated the councilwoman.

The State Sports Secretariat informed that the publicity displayed on the signs around the lawn is the responsibility of the entity that organizes the matches. The report contacted the Cearense Football Federation and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), but, so far, there has been no response.

Prostitution is not illegal in the country

Prostitution is a profession recognized by the Ministry of Labor, since 2002, and allowed to people from 18 years old. However, when a third party takes advantage of the prostituted person, it can be considered a crime of ruffianism. Article 230 of the Penal Code provides that it is a crime to “take advantage of the prostitution of others, directly participating in its profits or making yourself support, in whole or in part”.

Thus, according to criminal lawyer Ezequiel Silveira, in theory, the company on the escort website could be committing a criminal offence. “It turns out that, as the crime would be committed by a legal entity, the penalty would be more difficult. In addition to being an almost endless discussion about the possibility of criminal liability of the legal entity. In this case, as it is a crime against sexual dignity, there is a doctrinal clash as to whether the legal person should be held accountable”, he explains.

About the bill, he believes that it can be approved if it acts within its constitutional competence. “Not being able, for example, to legislate on criminal matters, which is the exclusive competence of the Union (art. 22 of the Federal Constitution)”, he says. “Probably, such a proposal will be surrounded by a broad legal and political debate”, he adds.