12.11.2014 Stereotypes: Rroma and prostitution

Szenogrady (2014) reports on the verdict against a Hungarian pimp who was sentenced for forcing a debtor and a long-time girlfriend into prostitution at the Zurich Sihlquai. The pimp is referred to as being Rrom. The victim’s ethnicity is not explicitly stated, but it is suggested that there are also Rroma. The pimp was sentenced to prison for four years: “With a now 34-year-old labourer from Hungary, a brutal Roma pimp had to stand trial for human trafficking, promotion of prostitution, extortion and other crimes at the Zurich high court. […] The pimp had threatened an indebted compatriot with death by shackling him in Hungary and menacing him to push him into a water channel. […] In Zurich, the offender forced his trafficked victim into prostitution on the Sihlquai. Although the victim is heterosexual, he had to disguise himself as a woman and to sexually satisfy diverse punters as a transvestite over several weeks. […] The brutal perpetrator also brought a long time girlfriend in his power. […] In Zurich, the young woman had to prostitute herself for several months and pass her winnings to her patron. If she protested, he hit her or threatened to throw her out the window.” Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. However, by the one-sided media focus on delinquent Rroma, this impression is wrongly suggested and maintained. Few Rromni and Rrom are effectively involved in prostitution.