That's good stuff Burt.....thanks for stating it so clearly!
As someone who's gaining more and more interest in the TJ scene, I find it very hard to get any clear information on the legalities within the city. From what I understand, everything is legal and regulated within La Zona Norte. However, how do the laws apply to the women working outside of the Zone, such as the agency girls. Are they also protected under the law? Or do the police simply look the other way? Is it legal to operate an agency in TJ? Or is that considered pimping? If anyone could chime in, or provide a link, it would be greatly appreciated. I know in the past, at least one agency owner would contribute to this board. A response from him would be amazing. Thanks!
Agency owners are in violation of trato laws and considered pimping. The letter of the law does not make allowances for taking a commission as opposed to taking 100% of a providers money.
The providers are not violating any laws and prostitution is legal in the entire city.
Thank you for your response, Bonitachika. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the laws and regulations in TJ. How much pressure do you feel from the Mexican police? As an owner, are you worried at all about law enforcement? I guess my concerns involve an owner getting stung and repercussions falling back onto the client? Have agencies been shut down by law enforcement in the past? Again, I appreciate your input.
The providers are not violating any laws and prostitution is legal in the entire city.
My agency closed briefly in 2006 or 2007 when I was arrested and detained for a bit. No client was put in harms way, and the motivation was the Municpal Police wanted to run our agency. We opened a month later. We did make an agreement with a bar to work under their license and I am not sure how that would play out in court and don't want to test it. A few agencies have been under investigation but our lawyer has intervened and to my knowledge the investigations had "no findings".
Thank you! That's exactly the answer I was looking for. It sounds, for the most part, like the police tend to turn a blind eye to the agencies, although the girls themselves aren't breaking any laws.
I guess that is why the agency website always have claimer saying the ladies are provide their own time.
N.B.: Prostitution per se is legal everywhere in Tijuana.
When I started going to Tijuana massage parlors (before some laws were changed) they were constantly being closed. I didn't want to get in trouble so I consulted two attorneys about the law. This is what I learned:
There are no national laws in Mexico governing prostitution. It is governed by state and municipal law.
Prostitution is the act of paying/charging money for sex. In Tijuana the act of prostitution in and of itself is legal anywhere in the city. There are, however, laws governing some prostitution related activities. The following are illegal:
• Public manifestation of prostitution (which most often is solicitation in public)
• Brothels
• Pimping and pandering
• Having sex with a minor, even if she is a prostitute
Public manifestation of prostitution is sort of like solicitation in the US. The key word is public. Public solicitation is only allowed in a zone of tolerance. That means that only in a zone of tolerance can a chica stand on the sidewalk saying, “want suckie/fuckie?” Only in a zone of tolerance can you walk up to a girl and say, “$20.00 for everything.”
Bars. Some think bars where prostitutes ply their trade are only legal in the Zone of Tolerance. They are 100% wrong. They apparently know nothing about Africa, Siete de Copas, Maribu, etc.--bars outside the Zone of Tolerance where prostitutes work exactly like they do in Hong Kong, Adelitas, etc.
Ever wonder why bars have curtains over the door? The curtains make what happens in the bar a private--not public--activity. (Which is how clubs outside the Zona are able to stay in business.)
Remember that telephone calls and e-mails are private--not public--forms of communications. Also, that whatever act of prostitution occurs behind closed doors are legal as they are not happening in public.
Brothels. Brothels are illegal in Tijuana. Ever wonder why you go next door to a hotel? You can bet your last dollar that on paper different people own the bar and hotel. That way nobody can be prosecuted for running a brothel.
Massage Parlors. Prior to around 2005 massage parlors were considered brothels and thus were illegal. When the city decided they never be able to close MPs they decided to tax them. Today massage parlors are legal--as long as they're license. (Which is the case with the ones that tourists know about and visit.)
Escorts. Seeing an escort is legal any where, any time in Tijuana. (As long as you don't have sex in public--something that is also illegal to do with a civilian.)
Pimping and pandering. If you charge money to hook somebody up with a prostitute you broke the law. However, if you pay a prostitute for sex you did not break the law. It is really very simple, just follow the money.
It is illegal to have sex with somebody who cannot give legal consent. Normally this means a chica under age 18 or a mentally retarded chica. However, it also can also be applied to a chica who is drunk. The penalty for sexual harassment is fairly harsh. (So don't "hit on" the maid.)
Health Cards. A prostitute in Tijuana is supposed to have a health card. Some do and some don't. However, the health card requirement is part of the civil code that regulates businiess activity; it is NOT part of the criminal code.
BTW, what would happen if you went to a MP without a license, dated a prostitute without a health card, etc.? Nothing! Because they--not you--are violating the civil code. (And, again, this activity is part of the business code, not the criminal code.) It is the same as eating a taco at a taco cart without a license. The law requires the taco cart, MP, bar, prostitute, etc. to have a license. It does not require the customer to inspect the license. (That is the job of Reglamento.)
Once more: prostitution per se is legal everywhere in Tijuana while public solicitation is illegal everywhere in Tijuana. However, the law against public solicitation/public manifestation of prostitution are not enforced within the zone of tolerance.
These are the laws governing prostitution in TJ: Código Penal para el Estado de Baja California Articulos 261, 264 & 267.
My sources are two attorneys in Tijuana. One, who is now in private practice, at one time he held the position equivalent to that of a US District Attorney. The other is an attorney who practices criminal law.
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To those who say I am wrong: Name your source(s). Hearsay and urban myth are NOT sources, while statutes and attorneys are.
-- Modified on 2/4/2015 9:09:16 PM
Incredible response, Burt. I'd say that pretty much clears things up.
That's good stuff Burt.....thanks for stating it so clearly!
does that mean the escort agencies are pimps since they charge a percentage the transaction
If an agency was run by a pimp, the pimp would get 100% of the money.
i understand that the true definition of a pimp in the US in 100%, but from what i read on this thread, they consider anyone that profits off the girls a pimp, which would be illegal. am i wrong on mexican law.
Yes that is against the law on either side of the border, but no one that takes a % would be considered a pimp in the life. That is just a word the clients use that don't know better.
Above the question was asked if escort agencies are pimps. Technically yes, practically no.
What is against the law in Tijuana is what the British term "making money off the earnings of a prostitute."
Technically in addition to pimps, the taxi driver who takes you and a prostitute to a hotel/motel can be prosecuted as can the hotel/motel that rents a room to people that will be using it for purposes of prostitution, etc.
However, taxi drivers, hotels/motels, etc. are never prosecuted for pimping and pandering. And TJ law enforcement turns a blind eye towards escorts agencies. (Probably because their chicas take home the majority of the money they earn.)
The people who are prosecuted for pimping and pandering are the padrotates (pimps) who take a chica to work in the ally, at a bar, MP, etc. and then at the end of her shift take away from her all the money she earned prostituting herself.