Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 202-205. (Budapest, 2008)

TANULMÁNYOK — ARTICLES - FORRAI, Judit: History of the politics of prostitution in Hungary (19-20th c.). - A 19-20. századi magyar prostitúciópolitika története

for those males who frequently visited the brothel. Last, but not least, in the decree of 1st May 1928 the minister ordered all brothels to be closed. The rate of registered prostitutes was insignificant compared both to the number of inhabitants of the capital and to the rate of occurrance of infection. Melly described unambiguosly that the high rate of infection and morbidity could not be solely due to the prostitutes, but was also a result of the risk-taking and non-monogamous behaviour of the citizens and the practice of unprotected sexual intercourse. The expected moral norms differed from sexual habits at this time. Official sites of prostitution were rendezvous places and and private flats. Whorehouses and Rooms by Districts (1929) in Budapest a/ Whorehouses District Number of Houses Number of Rooms II. 2 15 IV. 2 32 VI. 8 66 VII. 8 119 VIII. 11 135 IX. 4 57 Total: 35 424 b/ Rendezvous-places District Number of Houses Number of Rooms VII. 3 32 VIII. 4 43 Total: 7 75 c/ Number of private flats District Number of Houses Number of Rooms IV. 3 25 VI. 10 52 VII. 6 27 VIII. 3 15 Total: 22 119 In total 64 houses (brothels) with 618 rooms served as the 'official' location of the sexindustry. The occupations of the prostitutes before their registration were various. Comparing the decrees of the 19th and 20th century, we can say that regulation of prostitution made run a regular round. In the 1880s in-brothel acitivity was authorized, thereafter permission was given for out of brothel prostitutes. However, by the turn of the century the way was paved for out of brothel prostitutes back to the normal life, finally in 1926 the law prescribed the closure of brothels. In this way, regulation come a full circle.