Researchers from the University of Pandios say at least 10, prostitutes work the streets of Athens, a city whose seamier districts house brothels and attract more than a million people a year for sex. According to the study, Albanian prostitutes, many of them minors, have inundated the market, offering visits called "three-minute tingling thrills" for half of what Greek prostitutes charge.
And, researchers add, without practicing safe sex. Instead of chasing the newcomers away, Greek prostitutes are themselves on the run. They say tough Albanian pimps use terror and brutality to chase them away from their corners. Greek authorities say the surge in prostitution is the result of Albania's unrest. Desperate refugees say they resorted to prostitution after losing everything when several pyramid schemes collapsed, plunging the country into anarchy. A general election there is aimed at restoring order.
But the university study suggests that most Albanians on the streets were forced there by pimps cashing in on the crisis. Such findings have sent shock waves across Greece, fanning a media frenzy about child and adult prostitution. Police and vice squads have responded by sweeping the streets, rounding up scores of illegal Albanians each day and sending them home. But in no time, officials say, the Albanians sneak back over the frontier and go back to work.
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