Legalised Prostitution

[Darth Avlectus]

NV, yeah it has a lot of this going on. While I would imagine it is subject to laws and regulation, government and enforcement can't be everywhere all the time.

 

Much the same as the adult film industry: there may be security screening companies and organizations, but even that is not foolproof. Stuff still slips between the cracks on this kind of watchdog security.

 

It is rather weird to see someone you've known from elementary school dressed up and working as a lady of the night. But then again, women of all walks probably do it. Sadly this includes mothers, daughters, cousins, neices, aunts, sisters... I doubt abuses will go away. Since this is a "behind closed doors" sorta thing, there will be a lot of he-said she-said bit going on.

 

When it comes down to soliciting 15 year olds, that is just plain wrong. 14 is Japan's age of consent? Great, go to Japan if that's what you want.

 

Anyway, I knew of an underage girl about this age being influenced and pulled into working for one of those fellas who likes to "manage" this sort of thing. I knew her family. The manager guy was a very aggressively opportunistic type. I (more precisely some homeboys, their family friends, and I) accompanied the irked family members of this girl to have a "meeting" with this "manager" and to let him know we did not appreciate what he was doing. That he would cease and decist immediately.

 

So I have seen the weasel scumbag side of this business and dealt with it pretty much face to face. While arguments in favor of prostitution are hard to deny, the flipside is the ugly underground of that world.

 

I also really don't look forward to having to hurt people to make my point of: "stay the **** away from minors". The reason it's called underage and minor is b/c that person is not to an age where she can fully understand nor process the consequences and scope of her actions.

[El Sitherino]

Oh, please. The legalisation of prostitution would only increase the use of trafficking.

 

I have to ask for proof of this. It's pretty well known that a market that provides legal prostitution shows a decrease in the use of trafficked workers. With set standards and regulations for any environment, be it factory work or prostitution, there are minimums set that prevent exploitation of the worker. Are you saying that US Motorola factors pay the same as Motorola production factories in the third world? I'd argue that the small Malaysians producing the circuitboards get far less pay and human rights than the average bottom-line American assembly line operator.

 

It also allows a means to report abuse, since you can no longer be arrested for being involved in matters that are otherwise seen as obscene.

 

I personally don't like hookers, they're generally unseemly people, but considering that they get no rights by either legal representatives or their pimps, they get quite an unfair shake and to me that seems even more distasteful than a handjob in a parking lot from a girl named Candee.

 

I don't know any young girl who's picked 'prostitute' as her future career.

So you think giving her a criminal record is going to improve her ability to provide herself with a decent lifestyle that doesn't incorporate exploitive practices?

 

I can assure you every girl that is arrested for prostitution returns back to it, not just because it's the only thing they know, but because you can't get a real job when you're arrested for being a prostitute. Do you think the male manager at Target is going to give you a job as a check-out girl and not at least hold you to the idea that you'd still blow him in the back office, that is should he actually give you the job.

 

Women are exploited regardless of being prostitutes, I'd suggest not arguing societies downfalls as the reason to avoid benefiting those that get hurt by the legality the most. Soliciting a prostitute carries far less of a legal fine than being the prostitute. So lets say your daughter gets kidnapped, drugged, raped, and sold for only a night to a man that happens to be an undercover cop. He smacks her in the head, sends her to jail and in 3 years should she behave well, gets released with a criminal record and is now trying to get a job legally at some place like Target. Her likelihood of being hired is pretty much zero. Her "pimp" is already a criminal and is not looking to legitimize his life, so he'll serve his sentence and get "respect" in his natural environment.

 

I suggest some of you step outside of your white-bread bubble and look at how society actual works on the other side of the road. Legalizing won't solve all of the problems, but at least it shows that we as a society recognize there is a problem. That people are being abused and they have no means to help themselves without losing everything. And even when they do try to help themselves and lose everything, it changes nothing. The people that are exploiting them are going to move on to exploiting others, meanwhile this persons life has been ruined, in both their options for career and in their health.

I'm not excusing evil, I'm looking to remove douchebaggery.

 

 

Also, Jae, for the record, more cases of marital infidelity take place with someone like a co-worker, student, or otherwise someone known even to the spouse themselves. Prostitution is so small in the scale of cheating that it'd be well to say just as many marriages are ruined by sex with animals.

 

 

Think of this like when they legalized homosexuality. Now that it's no longer simply a crime to be homosexual, homosexual couples find themselves capable of better recieving healthcare as well as illness prevention, they can report domestic abuse, and they can recieve their due rights to otherwise protect themselves as they no longer have to worry about being arrested for saying "I was with my boyfriend when..."

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Oh, please. The legalisation of prostitution would only increase the use of trafficking..

Maybe, although you can't prove this. In any case, trafficking and underage prostitution would still remain illegal, so your point is somewhat inapplicable. Your argument that prostitution is exploitative is null for a similar reason: legalized prostitution would have regulations, and any business that doesn't comply with those regulations would be illegal. This leaves your final argument, "I don't like it", left, and I won't bother with that.

 

Let's see who the typical prostitute is. A young girl/woman who is likely addicted to drugs, and has a high probability of having been sexually abused at some point in her life, usually starting at a young age. Prostitution just exploits the problems she already has and puts her in an unsafe situation on top of it.

And imprisoning her will solve those problems? Most likely the answer to that is 'no', and to add on to that, imprisonment will most likely agitate those problems.

 

Does anyone here honestly think that the johns (male and female) are going to confine themselves to safe sex practices?

If they don't that would appear to be a violation of the regulations mentioned earlier.

 

Does anyone here honestly think people with a variety of fetishes that could seriously harm the prostitute won't carry them out?

We're not talking about legalizing assault, attempted murder, rape, or anything else other than prostitution. And if you think that doesn't happen already, you are quite mistaken.

 

This is far more than just a 'business decision'. I don't know any young girl who's picked 'prostitute' as her future career.

This isn't an argument.

 

Furthermore, it contributes to breakups of family. If someone has an affair with a prostitute, it puts the entire family at risk, not only emotionally but physically. Just because the prostitute tested negative for STDs yesterday doesn't mean she won't test negative today. There is no guarantee that condoms are used 100% of the time even if they are 'required by law'. This is in addition to the emotional and financial problems it causes for the spouse who got cheated on, and the family's money being used to pay for the prostitute when it should be getting used to take care of the family.

There's no guarantee condoms will be used ever, but there is a guarantee that prostitution will be around, a percentage of married people will have affairs, and that some people will contract STIs. Secondly, marital infidelities aren't any of yours or the government's business.

 

I see absolutely no good in legalizing something that contributes to further abuse of an already exploited woman (or man), encourages human trafficking, and contributes to family breakups and spread of STDs--no contraceptive is 100% effective at preventing STDs.

Once again, you're extending the discussion to the legalization of things that are illegal on their own, or would exist whether or not prostitution was legal.

 

In addition, neither you nor anyone else can prove that legalization of prostitution would cause an increase in marital infidelity, the spread of STIs, or even the number of people who solicit the services of prostitutes.

[Jae Onasi]

This is far more than just a 'business decision'. I don't know any young girl who's picked 'prostitute' as her future career.

This isn't an argument.

No, it wasn't. It was commentary for discussion.

And imprisoning her will solve those problems? Most likely the answer to that is 'no', and to add on to that, imprisonment will most likely agitate those problems.

This is missing the point. It's not just about the prostitute. Also, if incarceration gets her past the drug addiction and into some appropriate training and care, it can actually help. Ideally we'd identify these women for help _before_ they got into prostitution rather than after, but until that time, we need to help get the women and men who are stuck in this horrific situation out of it, not legalize it.

 

 

I never said legalizing prostitution would increase STDs/infidelity/etc, although the consequences would increase proportionally to the increase in the activity.

 

We know that prostitution is bad for the prostitute in terms of enabling drug addiction and other unhealthy behaviors, can be bad for the john (spread of STDs), is bad for the john's family (if s/he has any--destruction of family relationships and using money intended for the family to pay the prostitute instead), contributes to divorce, contributes to human trafficking and mob activity. Most activities deemed 'illegal' are in that category because those activities are destructive to a person, group, or entire society. Explain to me what possible benefits society gains by legalizing such a destructive behavior. If you want to talk money, the amount of tax dollars we'd end up spending on regulation and the negative social consequences from prostitution would far outweigh what the gov't would take in. There is zero benefit to legalizing prostitution, and plenty of negatives for both the people directly involved and the people around them who are indirectly affected.

[jrrtoken]

No, it wasn't. It was commentary for discussion.

This is missing the point. It's not just about the prostitute. Also, if incarceration gets her past the drug addiction and into some appropriate training and care, it can actually help.

The current correctional facilities in the US are focused towards towards confinement rather than rehabilitation. Even if years in prison would open the window for change, it does not enable it.

Ideally we'd identify these women for help _before_ they got into prostitution rather than after, but until that time, we need to help get the women and men who are stuck in this horrific situation out of it, not legalize it.

Why? If they are comfortable with their work, as long as it is a respectable, well-paying, and fairly low-risk, then why criminalize it even further? Shall we execute the offender for merely scraping enough spare change by any means whatsoever, in order to only survive in a uncaring environment? Where is the compassion, the justice in that?

I never said legalizing prostitution would increase STDs/infidelity/etc, although the consequences would increase proportionally to the increase in the activity.

You implied that prostitution alone, regardless of legality, contributes to the problem in question. I say that if it is legalized, and well regulated mind you, then those negative atrributes can be curtailed, if not outright prevented.

We know that prostitution is bad for the prostitute in terms of enabling drug addiction and other unhealthy behaviors,

Simple; enforce mandatory drug screenings. Every other licensed trade profession requires this by now, why should prostitution be exempt from this if it is legalized?

can be bad for the john (spread of STDs)

Require contraception; the city of Amsterdam does.

is bad for the john's family (if s/he has any--destruction of family relationships and using money intended for the family to pay the prostitute instead), contributes to divorce,

All of these can be caused by any co-worker, friend, or any other acquaintance; even today the amount of prostitution contributing to adultery is unnoticeable.

contributes to human trafficking and mob activity.

Again, Amsterdam has taken many measures to enforce the opposite of what you perceive as a side-effect.

If you want to talk money, the amount of tax dollars we'd end up spending on regulation and the negative social consequences from prostitution would far outweigh what the gov't would take in. There is zero benefit to legalizing prostitution, and plenty of negatives for both the people directly involved and the people around them who are indirectly affected.

So, to summarize, you're not willing to debate the topic at hand, and simply regurgitate your own currently baseless opinions. I, as with others in this thread, have given you arguments enforced with factual evidence; you have not addressed the points as of now, and have repeated your same arguments yet again. If you're not willing to actively counter the points made in opposition to your own, then you may kindly excuse yourself from this debate, please. Thanks in advance.

[Ztalker]

Let's see who the typical prostitute is. A young girl/woman who is likely addicted to drugs, and has a high probability of having been sexually abused at some point in her life, usually starting at a young age. Prostitution just exploits the problems she already has and puts her in an unsafe situation on top of it. Does anyone here honestly think that the johns (male and female) are going to confine themselves to safe sex practices? Does anyone here honestly think people with a variety of fetishes that could seriously harm the prostitute won't carry them out? This is far more than just a 'business decision'. I don't know any young girl who's picked 'prostitute' as her future career.

 

Furthermore, it contributes to breakups of family. If someone has an affair with a prostitute, it puts the entire family at risk, not only emotionally but physically. Just because the prostitute tested negative for STDs yesterday doesn't mean she won't test negative today. There is no guarantee that condoms are used 100% of the time even if they are 'required by law'. This is in addition to the emotional and financial problems it causes for the spouse who got cheated on, and the family's money being used to pay for the prostitute when it should be getting used to take care of the family.

 

I see absolutely no good in legalizing something that contributes to further abuse of an already exploited woman (or man), encourages human trafficking, and contributes to family breakups and spread of STDs--no contraceptive is 100% effective at preventing STDs.

 

Absolutely true. Now a story I heard:

Young girl went to college (20 years old) here in the Netherlands. She once said she enjoyed sex and if she could make money with it (prostitution) she would have no problem with it. If only for a couple of years.

 

It's not always the same as in your story Jae. And it sounds a bit prejudiced to be honest.

 

But anyways, I'd like to state I don't like the industry either...in my recent post I'm positive about the legalisation, but that's mainly because I see here in Holland that's it has become a viable job.

[Ray Jones]

Sex for goods is not uncommon throughout the whole wide world of living creatures on Earth. The reason why it's labeled shady and dirty and whatnot is that the fine people have issues with an ancient natural rite. Also, I don't see how it is a bad thing to have sex with a consent person, regardless whether I paid dinner and 6 cocktails, nothing but a charming smile, or 1000, 50, 10 bucks for it. Plus, I think there is no difference in cheating on your partner with paid or unpaid sex. Needless to say that not everyone who pays for sex is in an actual relationship, or in an relationship where having sex with others is not allowed, or that everyone who does not pay for sex is not in any relationship where sex with others is not allowed.

 

 

However, I too see a problem with prostitution often being connected to drug addiction, violence, poverty. These are reasons for "low standards" regarding hygiene and most of all protection against STDs. But then again, the problem of drugs, violence, poverty, low hygiene standards, even trafficking, is not caused by having, selling, or buying sex.

[Jae Onasi]

The current correctional facilities in the US are focused towards towards confinement rather than rehabilitation. Even if years in prison would open the window for change, it does not enable it.

Oh? Tell me how people get drugs in prison, PastramiX. They're forced to stay clean because of their incarceration, and they are required to see social workers. If you are not aware of that, then you need to research the prison system.

 

Why? If they are comfortable with their work, as long as it is a respectable, well-paying, and fairly low-risk, then why criminalize it even further?

You have done nothing to prove that it's well-paying for the average prostitute (high-end ones notwithstanding), nor have you proved that it's low-risk. In fact, stating that it's a low-risk activity is absolutely laughable. Respectable? Don't make me vomit, please.

 

Shall we execute the offender for merely scraping enough spare change by any means whatsoever, in order to only survive in a uncaring environment? Where is the compassion, the justice in that?

Tell me where the compassion and justice is in allowing women to be exploited and used like animals. It would be compassionate to work with them to get them OUT of that environment, to help them get real jobs as opposed to something that forces them to sell their bodies. You, sir, are the one showing an inordinate lack of compassion for the issues forcing women and men into prostitution in the first place and addressing THOSE problems, not whitewashing it by legalizing something that is a clear danger to a well-functioning society.

 

You implied that prostitution alone, regardless of legality, contributes to the problem in question. I say that if it is legalized, and well regulated mind you, then those negative atrributes can be curtailed, if not outright prevented.

That has to be one of the most naive comments I've heard you say in a long time. Do you honestly think abuse of these women will stop because the government says 'you can do X, but not Y'? What are they going to do? Watch everyone who's having sex that night? Good luck enforcing that.

 

Simple; enforce mandatory drug screenings. Every other licensed trade profession requires this by now, why should prostitution be exempt from this if it is legalized?

And how are you planning on paying for this mandatory drug screening? Are you going to require it every night for everyone? No? Then it's unenforceable.

Require contraception; the city of Amsterdam does.

If you honestly think that people are going to follow that law every single time, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. What do you do if there's condom failure, too?

 

All of these can be caused by any co-worker, friend, or any other acquaintance; even today the amount of prostitution contributing to adultery is unnoticeable.

What information do you have to back up this claim that it's supposedly 'unnoticeable'? Look at divorce stats and you'll notice infidelity is one of the big reasons for divorce. Why should we support and legalize an activity that contributes to divorce? That is one of the most unwise things we as a society could do. We already have enough problems with divorce in Western society. We hardly need to create an environment where it's even easier for marital infidelity to occur.

Again, Amsterdam has taken many measures to enforce the opposite of what you perceive as a side-effect.

Facts, please. I note that you have not stated they have eliminated it. That's because they can't.

 

So, to summarize, you're not willing to debate the topic at hand, and simply regurgitate your own currently baseless opinions. I, as with others in this thread, have given you arguments enforced with factual evidence; you have not addressed the points as of now, and have repeated your same arguments yet again. If you're not willing to actively counter the points made in opposition to your own, then you may kindly excuse yourself from this debate, please. Thanks in advance.

You have clearly ignored divorce stats, which are available for anyone to view, and should be a no-brainer anyway. Don't waste the pixels telling me to politely gtfo when you've provided no proof for your claims whatsoever.

 

Make it any snarkier, and I'll infract you myself. There is no free pass for that anymore.

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Oh? Tell me how people get drugs in prison, PastramiX. They're forced to stay clean because of their incarceration, and they are required to see social workers. If you are not aware of that, then you need to research the prison system.

 

Are... are you serious?

[Q]

Yeah, I kind of did a double-take on that myself. I wasn't sure whether or not I was reading it right.

 

Drugs are very prevelant in jails and prisons. Employees and trustees smuggle them in all of the time. And yes, marijuana gets smoked in there. A lot. Worried about the smell? Bleach covers all.

 

But we're kind of getting off-topic...

[jrrtoken]

Oh? Tell me how people get drugs in prison, PastramiX. They're forced to stay clean because of their incarceration, and they are required to see social workers. If you are not aware of that, then you need to research the prison system.

I was discussing that incarceration wouldn't decrease recidivism among prostitutes, and wasn't implying anything concerning drug use.

You have done nothing to prove that it's well-paying for the average prostitute (high-end ones notwithstanding), nor have you proved that it's low-risk. In fact, stating that it's a low-risk activity is absolutely laughable.

Low-risk, when discussing legalized prostitution, is accurate, seeing as they won't have to deal with pimps and police, and the violence associated with that. If the alternative is a more mainstream business, the there is more accountability and awareness than an underground one.

Respectable? Don't make me vomit, please.

Pawn brokers, gun salesmen and abortion technicians aren't also considered "respectable" by many, and yet they're free to conduct business without fear of legal retribution from their occupation alone.

Tell me where the compassion and justice is in allowing women to be exploited and used like animals.

There is none; I feel that if there was some daily recognition of the business in general, then there might be less of a chance for exploitation than when it is underground.

It would be compassionate to work with them to get them OUT of that environment, to help them get real jobs as opposed to something that forces them to sell their bodies.

I concur, though having higher standards of working when legalized is better than the underground alternative; you cannot deny that.

You, sir, are the one showing an inordinate lack of compassion for the issues forcing women and men into prostitution in the first place and addressing THOSE problems, not whitewashing it by legalizing something that is a clear danger to a well-functioning society.

Not to sound self-righteous, but I feel that I am doing a positive by at least providing a safer and cleaner line of work for prostitutes. I find the practice to not be highly admirable myself, but that doesn't mean that we should eradicate it completely overnight.

And how are you planning on paying for this mandatory drug screening? Are you going to require it every night for everyone? No? Then it's unenforceable.

I agree that it will not be perfect in any right, but at least there would be some drug screening rather than none at all.

What do you do if there's condom failure, too?

It's a risk, and it should be privy to the worker and the client beforehand. It's much like enlisting in the military, IMO.

What information do you have to back up this claim that it's supposedly 'unnoticeable'?

To be wholly honest, I don't have any in solid facts, but all from common knowledge. I know that 36% of all affairs are with co-workers, but as for the percentage inlcuding prostitutes, I can not find, though I feel that it is in the minority.

http://www.infidelityfacts.com/infidelity-statistics.html

Look at divorce stats and you'll notice infidelity is one of the big reasons for divorce. Why should we support and legalize an activity that contributes to divorce? That is one of the most unwise things we as a society could do. We already have enough problems with divorce in Western society. We hardly need to create an environment where it's even easier for marital infidelity to occur.

You are correct, but what about all of the others who actually want the service? A spouse is one thing, but a single person is another. If we are to restrict one service to curtail the negativity of one portion of the population, then we alienate the others. This is the foundation of a democratic structure featured within the U.S. Constitution; to provide a service for those who want it, and for those who do not deem it to be acceptable, they must abide it. The same principle is endowed in abortion and gun control, for example.

Make it any snarkier, and I'll infract you myself. There is no free pass for that anymore.

Fair enough, I'll comply; exercising your moderator rights when debating someone isn't very honorable, however, especially when you've included similar tactics that border flamebait into your reply.

The exercise of moderator rights was in response to the tone of your comment, which was neither on topic nor civil. The moderation had nothing to do with the rest of the content of your argument. There is a big difference.

[JediAthos]

There definitely valid points on both sides of this debate. Prostitution is a profession that many find distasteful which probably contributed to it being made illegal yet it still remains despite that fact.

 

There is no doubt that illegal prostitution provides an outlet for any number of other crimes including drug use, abuse of the women, and human trafficking among others.

 

Nevada is the one example in the United States where it is legal but must be confined to licensed brothels. Workers are tested for drugs, STD's, and condoms are required otherwise the worker and the owner could both lose their licenses and consequently their jobs.

 

At the same time, workers in Nevada are still subject to problems. There is a good article here: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/02/09/resisting-sex-panic-sex-workers-struggle-evidencebased-regulation-nevada which disucusses some of those issues.

 

I'm not really going to address the effects on society that have been presented suffice to say that infidelity, despite statistics, is not caused by the existence of prostitution. Infidelity is the result of a troubled marriage, not the existence of prostitutes.

 

Despite the fact that the legalized industry does have its issues, I said it in an earlier post that I would much rather see the business conducted in a licensed, regulated environment than not. At the same time though, the regulations would definitely need to be better than what is currently in place in Nevada.

 

I also think that in the United States this issue should be left to individual States to decide.

[Jae Onasi]

Sure, infidelity is the sign of a troubled marriage, but having a legal brothel in town just makes it easier for someone to commit adultery. Why make it easier to do that by legalizing prostitution? That's equivalent to taking an alcoholic to a bar.

[Det. Bart Lasiter]

Sure, infidelity is the sign of a troubled marriage, but having a legal brothel in town just makes it easier for someone to commit adultery. Why make it easier to do that by legalizing prostitution? That's equivalent to taking an alcoholic to a bar.

 

No, it's the equivalent of not imprisoning an alcoholic for falling off the wagon.

[JediAthos]

Sure, infidelity is the sign of a troubled marriage, but having a legal brothel in town just makes it easier for someone to commit adultery. Why make it easier to do that by legalizing prostitution? That's equivalent to taking an alcoholic to a bar.

 

Jae, I understand what you're trying to say but at the same time I don't feel like it's a good reason against the issue at hand. It would be like using your alcoholic analogy as a reason for banning bars...which I guess to me doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but that's the way it seems to me.

 

If someone commits adultery they have to deal with that...and frankly if they do so then they probably shouldn't have been married to begin with. Someone who is going to cheat will cheat regardless of the presence of a brothel.

[Darth Avlectus]

I realize I'm not really in a position to take a moral high ground on this issue in a general sense.

 

Still, can anyone tell me how this is necessarily going to reduce underage trafficking? Or at least how it would improve the situation? I'm having a hard time understanding that. Probably due to the fact that as time changes, so do people and their views.

 

 

I'd think the logic of people would compromise their standard over time:

In the current status in America it is a reprehensible thing.

 

Were it legalized, then over time people would say "Well, it's not illegal to do, just th underaged thing is wrong. Meh, bound to happen anyway so why should I care?" That's not slippery slope, that's just plain reality b/c human nature is that "path of least resistance" as the saying goes. Age standards are there for a reason. I only see easier (legal) access eroding that age level as society adjusts to the new acceptability.

 

Further: "it already happens" is not a good reason nor an excuse for it or the rationale that condones it.

 

How is legalizing going to reduce and/or improve the situation of this?

 

I think it simply can't.

[jonathan7]

The following is me speaking for the UK though I can't imagine the situation being too different in the U.S. My issue more than any other is I cannot see of another way of helping those stuck in a vile industry, I'm not much interested in being progressive or morally relativist. Leave yourself under now illusions that I think prostitution is a vile and abhorrent thing.

 

I realize I'm not really in a position to take a moral high ground on this issue in a general sense.

 

Still, can anyone tell me how this is necessarily going to reduce underage trafficking? Or at least how it would improve the situation? I'm having a hard time understanding that. Probably due to the fact that as time changes, so do people and their views.

 

Because if the industry is regulated, you would first have to register as a worker; registration means you would have to have legitimate reason to be here. As such if an individual was trafficked from elsewhere they would not qualify to get a licence. Furthermore if the industry is regulated, the prostitutes have to have weekly STI and drugs checks; failing these results in the licence being taken away. Personally I would like to see a system which would not allow foreign nationals to be prostitutes; thus this should help even further to stop people trafficking.

 

Further: "it already happens" is not a good reason nor an excuse for it or the rationale that condones it.

 

How is legalizing going to reduce and/or improve the situation of this?

 

Alright, fine I wasn't going to post this, but I will do - over 2 years ago one of my friends was raped; to escape what was done to her she turned to drugs and got onto using harder and harder stuff until she tryed heroin. She dropped out of university, and turned to prostitution to feed her habbit, then a vicious cycle ensued where to escape what she was doing she used drugs, but then to get the drugs she would need to sell her body. She was taken advantage of by so many people, the police can't really do anything, they are understaffed and vice would be a horrifically numbing expierience for anyone. Through her I got to know a few of the other girls who also worked on the streets and they were stuck in similar circumstances with equally harrowing stories.

 

The government does nothing to help, and in my expierience the only people trying to help are Christian charities who are hopelessly underfunded and under staffed. There are a lot of at risk woman on the streets right now, stuck in a horrific cycle and something needs to radically change to help them. Currently they are the forgotten victims of western society. They get taken advantage of by pimps, who will often get the hooked on drugs for the purpose of getting them into this industry.

 

Generally there seems to me to be a divide between those of you who have noble intentions and are arguing against legislation and those of us who have seen what life is like on the streets. (I will leave the moral relativists or the randy out of this as I don't have time for them).

 

It is not that I agree with prostitution, it is a horriffic industry which takes advantage of an awful lot of people, and any woman who would actually want to do it, I think needs a psychologist. You want to argue against legalisation, well then propose something which will help these girls, then because so far, you haven't proposed anything which is going to change the situation.

 

Legalisation, would make the industry safer, hit pimps, drug dealers and reduce people trafficking. It would not stop all the things listed former, but it would allow the Police to concentrate more resources on catching the former; who are really the nastiest of people we want behind bars. It would also allow a system where we could help get these girls out of the cycle they are involved in.

 

I think it simply can't.

 

Go to your nearest city, then find the red light district, then take a walk down its worst areas and I think you may change your mind; or perhaps develop a different solution to the problem - which I'm more than happy to hear!

[JediAthos]

J7 I think you just managed to say what I was thinking, but couldn't come with the words to express it.

 

The situation in the U.S. for many prostitutes is likely very similar to the experience of your friend. I would very much like to see these women helped, but it seems many would rather see them put in jail and don't acknowledge that for many of them time in jail isn't fixing the problem.

 

I like the idea of the stipulation that foreign nationals cannot obtain a license meaning in the U.S. they would have to be citizens which means either born here or naturalized. Beyond that the brothel owners would be responsible for keeping up the regulations or be shut down, fined, jailed, or all of the above.

 

I said it before and I'll say it again, I don't however, believe the U.S. government should handle things here...it should be left to the individual States and localities where the brothel would be opened.

[Jae Onasi]

Regulating the trade is not going to stop the illegal activities going on. We'll end up with the same exact situation, except we'll now have legal brothels to go along with the illegal ones. So you don't license women on drugs? OK. It just means they'll still be working as illegally as before. A lack of license isn't going to stop a man or woman from prostituting themselves.

 

Legalizing this isn't the answer. In your friend's case, she needed counseling for the rape before she got to the drug addiction/prostitution stage. You have to address the root cause of the problem, not whitewash it with a federal rubber stamp.

[Web Rider]

Regulating the trade is not going to stop the illegal activities going on. We'll end up with the same exact situation, except we'll now have legal brothels to go along with the illegal ones. So you don't license women on drugs? OK. It just means they'll still be working as illegally as before. A lack of license isn't going to stop a man or woman from prostituting themselves.

 

Legalizing this isn't the answer.

 

And yet, we still have the rights to do many things. Despite the fact that this argument has been applied to just about everything under the sun. If there is a law to break, some people will break it. If people can do something, there are some people who won't do it, or willfully do it wrongly. Most people however, will be inclined to do things the profitable way. Considering that prostitution makes you money and drugs are expensive, it can form a very vicious circle. However giving people an "out" of drug-free prostitution is a way to break that cycle. Should they clean up, get off drugs, they can still be a prostitute, and now not have to buy drugs.

 

In addition, many people get ON drugs while prostituting, standing out on streets, waiting around after dark in unsavory neighborhoods, you have no idea what to expect and what could happen to you. Legalization would provide safe locations for controlled scenarios for people who like sex, want lots of sex, and don't care for a relationship. It would also provide a filter to prevent young girls who think sex is "cool" from getting into the market. Instead of some shady "pimp" taking any pair of legs that comes to his door, we would have rules and regulations about it. As well, people could quit any time they tire of it. Options that are NOT available to prostitutes now.

 

Yes, some people would still operate illegally, but the numbers would be FAR less, and it would make it much easier on our crime system to separate the people who just want some quick sex, and the people who want to break the law. I doubt most prostitutes want to break the law, and that most of them are stuck in the profession against their will and have no other place to go. I also doubt most people who solicit them are bad people, they're just people who want sex with no strings.

 

You have to address the root cause of the problem, not whitewash it with a federal rubber stamp.

Ah! The root cause. A society that advocates sex and violence. Maybe if we stopped treating sex like it was so hush-hush, we'd stop being so obsessed with it. Sex: Everyone knows their parents had it.

[Jae Onasi]

Ah! The root cause. A society that advocates sex and violence. Maybe if we stopped treating sex like it was so hush-hush, we'd stop being so obsessed with it. Sex: Everyone knows their parents had it.

I don't treat sex 'hush-hush' in my family. We use the correct terms, any question is fair game (better they have correct info than half-truths learned on the playground from classmates), and we treat the whole subject with respect since it's important part of Point Man's and my love life. I also recognize not everyone does that.

 

The root causes--sexual abuse, especially child molestation, and drug addiction. We need to do a much better job of identifying victims of sexual abuse and get them appropriate help, and we need to do a better job of preventing drug addiction in kids. If we could help prevent one girl or guy from abuse, or get them help before they turn to drugs, alcohol, or sex abuse themselves in an attempt to get rid of their pain, and thus prevent them resorting to prostitution to get those things, we would be doing that individual a huge service, along with protecting society from the inevitable illegal activities.

[Web Rider]

I don't treat sex 'hush-hush' in my family. We use the correct terms, any question is fair game (better they have correct info than half-truths learned on the playground from classmates), and we treat the whole subject with respect since it's important part of Point Man's and my love life. I also recognize not everyone does that.

As you note, this is not a common way, and even when it is, the problem is still that socially we glorify rule breaking, and we've got pretty solid rules against sex.

 

The root causes--sexual abuse, especially child molestation, and drug addiction. We need to do a much better job of identifying victims of sexual abuse and get them appropriate help, and we need to do a better job of preventing drug addiction in kids. If we could help prevent one girl or guy from abuse, or get them help before they turn to drugs, alcohol, or sex abuse themselves in an attempt to get rid of their pain, and thus prevent them resorting to prostitution to get those things, we would be doing that individual a huge service, along with protecting society from the inevitable illegal activities.

And what of people who simply want to have sex without relationships? Why do I have to wine and die a girl to call it not prostitution when all we want to do is have sex and get paid for it? Prostitution is bad specifically because of it's illegality. Not because of the nature of the profession. Applying legal, moral, and social protections to it would only make it safer for all parties.

 

People don't get into prostitution because they're abused, broken and alone. They can, but that is only one of a huge number of reasons. A high desire for sex and a high desire for money lead to a logical outcome: prostitution. It's a perfect business venture for anyone who enjoys sex and money. I have no doubt that people would happily pay to have sex with Donald Trump or Bill Gates, assuming they were selling.

 

The idea that sex should only occur in relationships is silly as sex has existed LONG before relationships have.