General Reference (not clearly pro or con)

The 2007 Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defined prostitution as:

"Prostitution:

1 : the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for

money
2 : the state of being prostituted : DEBASEMENT"

2007 - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 

Breaking Free, Inc., a Minnesota-based nonprofit, in its "Philosophy Statement"

posted on the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) website (accessed
Apr. 20, 2007), stated:
"We define prostitution as systematic sexual violence and oppression against
women and girls. This system is institutionalized in the sex industry: stripshows,
nude juice bars, massage parlors and saunas, brothels, adult book and video
stores, peep shows, live sex shows, sex rings, escort services, mail order brides,
streetwalking, and pornography. Each of these forms of prostitution provides men
with unlimited sexual access to women and girls based solely on their ability to
pay."

Apr. 20, 2007 - Breaking Free, Inc. 

Should Prostitution Be Legal?

Proponents of legalizing prostitution believe it would reduce crime, improve
public health, increase tax revenue, help people out of poverty, get prostitutes off
the streets, and allow consenting adults to make their own choices. They contend
that prostitution is a victimless crime, especially in the 11 Nevada counties where
it remains legal.

Opponents believe that legalizing prostitution would lead to increases in sexually

transmitted diseases such as AIDS, global human trafficking, and violent crime
including rape and homicide. They contend that prostitution is inherently
immoral, commercially exploitative, empowers the criminal underworld, and
promotes the repression of women by men.
Gillian Abel, an associate professor and head of the Department of
Population Health at the University of Otago in Christchurch, New Zealand,
argues in this Room for Debate piece that prostitution should be legal:

Sex work is an occupation that many women voluntarily choose. To deny that
prostitution is work not only infringes on women’s right to choose their work, but also
on that of men, transgender and gender-diverse individuals. And denying sex workers
the right to do their work legally infringes on other rights, such as their access to legal
aid and recourse.

— Should prostitution be legal?

— Is sex work an occupation that many women voluntarily choose? Does denying sex
workers the right to do their work legally infringe on other rights, including their access
to legal aid?

— Does making prostitution legal make women less vulnerable to abuse by criminals?
Does it give sex workers the same labor rights as other occupational groups? Would it
make women safer?

— Or, will making prostitution legal lead to higher rates of human trafficking without
solving the issues of abuse and exploitation?

— Ms. Moran recommends the “Nordic Model” (or the “Equality Model”) as a better way
of protecting prostitutes than decriminalization. She explains:

The concept is simple: Make selling sex legal but buying it illegal — so that women can
get help without being arrested, harassed or worse, and the criminal law is used to deter
the buyers, because they fuel the market.

Do you think arresting and inhibiting johns is a better approach?

Correction: November 9, 2015 

An earlier version of this post used the term "legalize" interchangeably with the term
"decriminalize." However, the two terms signify different approaches to making
prostitution legal, and so the word "legalize" has been replaced with "make legal" to
avoid confusion.

Prostitution law varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions

within a country. Prostitution or sex work is legal in some parts of the world and
regarded as a profession, while in other parts it is a crime punishable by death.[1] In
many jurisdictions prostitution is illegal. In other places prostitution itself (exchanging
sex for money) is legal, but surrounding activities (such as soliciting in a public place,
operating a brothel, and pimping) are illegal. In other jurisdictions prostitution is legal
and regulated. In most jurisdictions which criminalize prostitution, the sex worker is the
party subject to penalty, but in some jurisdictions it is the client who is subject to a
penalty.
Prostitution has been condemned as a single form of human rights abuse, and an attack
on the dignity and worth of human beings, while other schools of thought state that sex
work is a legitimate occupation; whereby a person trades or exchanges sexual acts for
money and/or goods. Some believe that women in developing countries are especially
vulnerable to sexual exploitation and human trafficking, while others distinguish this
practice from the global sex industry, in which "sex work is done by consenting adults,
where the act of selling or buying sexual services is not a violation of human
rights."[2] The term "sex work" is used interchangeably with "prostitution" in this article,
in accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO 2001; WHO 2005) and the
United Nations (UN 2006; UNAIDS 2002).[3]
Argument: Should prostitution be legalized?

APRIL 2013

Human rights lawyer Dianne Post and writer and filmmaker Bishakha

Datta go head-to-head.

Dianne

Legalized prostitution cannot exist alongside the true equality of women. The idea that
one group of women should be available for men’s sexual access is founded on structural
inequality by gender, class and race. Moreover, it is a violation of international law. In
fact, failure to challenge legalized prostitution undermines every human rights norm
mandating the dignity of the person and equality for all. As Melissa Farley says,
‘Decriminalizing or legalizing prostitution would normalize and regulate practices which
are human rights violations, and which in any other context would be legally actionable
(sexual harassment, physical assault, rape, captivity, economic coercion or emotionally
damaging verbal abuse).’

Dianne Post is an international human rights attorney who spent 18 years representing
battered women and children in family law, but since 1998 has been working
internationally in 19 countries on genderbased violence. She is based in Phoenix,
Arizona.

In Sweden, prostitution is officially acknowledged as violence against women and a tool

of oppression. ‘Legalization of prostitution means that the state imposes regulations
with which they can control one class of women as prostituted’ (Gunilla Ekberg).
Prostitution is not only individual discrimination, exploitation or abuse by an individual
man, but also a structure reflecting and maintaining inequality between men and
women. It requires ‘a devalued class of women… Prostitution is colonization of women.’
(Gunilla Ekberg) Legalization gives approval to violence, control and devaluation. When
violence is directed at half the world’s population – women – it undermines the entire
structure of human rights. The Swedish model calls for no arrests of women, no blaming
of the victim, no use of the criminal justice system to control women, but appropriate
use of the state system to control violence against women.

Dianne

We need to listen to the voices of the women. In a five-country survey, over 90 per cent
said they wanted to escape prostitution immediately. Nearly 70 per cent of prostituted
women meet the criteria for a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and they
constitute 15 per cent of all completed suicides. A Canadian report on prostitution and
pornography concluded that girls and women in prostitution have a mortality rate 40
times higher than the national average. The average life span for a woman after entering
prostitution is four years, with 50 per cent of the deaths due to murder. 

In dangerous jobs, we fight to eliminate harmful conditions so people can work in

safety. The danger cannot be removed in prostitution because the act of prostitution is
the harm – Dianne

The average age of entry into prostitution is 13 or 14 years of age. Children learn very
young that their body does not belong to them but to others with power and money. In
Canada, 70 per cent of prostituted women are indigenous, despite those communities
making up only seven per cent of the population. It’s colonialism writ small on
their bodies.
In dangerous jobs, we normally fight to eliminate harmful conditions so people can
work in safety and with respect. The danger cannot be removed in prostitution because
the act of prostitution is the harm. Women in prostitution tell us clearly they want the
same options in life that others have: a decent job, safe housing, medical care and
psychological counselling. We need exit strategies that include drug treatment,
education, training, housing and other support. The answer is to demand equality and
equitable distribution of resources. 

Bishakha

I completely agree that we should listen to the voices of women in sex work. And here’s
what these voices are saying: in the first pan-India survey of 3,000 sex workers, about 71
per cent said they had entered sex work willingly. Many of these women, who are not
organized, said they left other occupations because of low pay or the absence of regular
work.3
The researchers say: ‘For those coming to sex work from other labour markets, they
have often experienced equally harsh (or worse) conditions of highly labour-intensive
work for much lower incomes. It is from these background cases that the significance of
sex work as a site of higher incomes or livelihoods emerges.’ 4
When adult women say sex work is a form of livelihood or commerce rather than
coercion, we need to put aside our discomforts and listen to them. When these women
say that the harm in sex work comes not from the act of selling sex, but from the stigma
and violence surrounding it because of its illegal and hidden nature, we must hear them.

When women say the harm in sex work comes not from the act of selling sex, but
from the stigma and violence surrounding it because of its illegal nature, we must
hear them – Bishakha

All over the world, women in sex work are demanding that adult sex work be
decriminalized and that they be given rights, respect and recognition. That they be given
the right to vote and access health services without stigma, that the cops do not harass
them, that their complaints of violence be recorded. That they be given the right to be
human, like anyone else.

Dianne

I believe that the answer to poor jobs, low pay and harsh working conditions for women
is not to consign them to a lifetime of abuse, but to fight for all women to have adequate
education for decent jobs and for all people to have decent working conditions. 

Prostitution is a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. The problem is

patriarchy, inequality, discrimination, inequitable distribution of resources, religious
control and fear of women. We need to turn our focus from the symptom to the
underlying problem. We can and must do better for women. We need to join hands and
together face the real enemy.

The focus on stopping demand is one method that is gaining traction and has been
proven successful. Equalizing political power is another approach. In countries where
women have a higher percentage of political power, violence against women is lower.
Boys must be raised differently. The White Ribbon campaign in Canada and a similar
campaign in Mexico are bringing the message to men worldwide. Child sexual abuse and
incest in the family and institutions like the church, sports clubs and the Boy Scouts
must be eradicated.

‘Prostitution isn’t like anything else. Rather, everything else is like prostitution because
it is the model for women’s condition’ (Evelina Giobbe, 1992). If we believe in a world
where human rights reign and women and men share equal power and dignity, we
cannot legalize prostitution and maintain structural inequality founded on gender, class
and race.

Bishakha

I fully agree that all human beings should be entitled to decent work, not in the sense of
morality, but in the sense of decent working conditions. As Richard Howard of
the ILOrecently asked: ‘Why is sex work not decent work?’ His answer: ‘I think
criminalization is a key barrier that we face along with misinterpretation of religious
doctrine and discrimination.’5
In Sweden, it is a crime to buy sex and this has adversely affected street sex workers. As
one report says: ‘Swedish street prostitutes experience a tougher time. They are more
frequently exposed to dangerous clients, while the serious clients are afraid of being
arrested… They have less time to assess the client as the deal takes place very hurriedly
due to fear on the part of the client… If the client demands unprotected sex, many of the
prostitutes cannot afford to say no. Harassment by the police has increased and the
clients no longer provide tip-offs about pimps, for fear of being arrested themselves.’ 6
In New Zealand/Aotearoa on the other hand, adult sex work is decriminalized. Without
making it sound too rosy, removing the ‘criminal’ label does make it possible for sex
workers to access rights and services. Removing this label makes it possible for a sex
worker to complain to the police if she is raped. It makes it possible to get health
services, like any other citizen. It seems such an obvious – and just – course of action
from a human rights perspective that I just can’t understand why sex work has still not
been decriminalized everywhere.

Business Insider's Dylan Love had his expectations shattered when he reported on a
Nevada brothel and observed that legalized, well-regulated prostitution can be bothsafe
and profitable.

Nevada only allows prostitution in licensed brothels that test workers routinely
for sexually transmitted infections. While Love is not the first to observe
legal prostitution can be relatively safe, Nevada's rural counties are the only place in
America where the world's oldest profession is officially allowed.

Here are seven solid arguments for why the rest of the United States should let people
sell sex in a well-regulated capacity, as they do in the Netherlands,Switzerland,
and parts of Mexico, among other countries.

It Would Reduce Violence Against Women

Prostitutes in America (mostly women) are vulnerable to violence from customers and
pimps.

A study of San Francisco prostitutes found that 82% had been assaulted and 68% had
been raped while working as prostitutes. Another study of prostitutes in Colorado
Springs found they were 18 times more likely to be murdered than non-prostitutes their
age and race.

Prostitutes who experience violence may be reluctant to call the cops since what they're
doing is illegal. Sex workers in licensed brothels, on the other hand, can have somebody
to back them up, according to a paper by Barbara Brents and Kathryn Hausbeck of the
University of Nevada. Brents and Hausbeck interviewed brothel owners and made these
observations:

Brothel owners have a clear interest in maintaining their image as law-abiding, trouble-
free businesses to keep their licenses and maintain good relations within their
communities. The owners we interviewed ensure this by making it policy to call the
police at the slightest hint of trouble to send a message that they don’t tolerate bad
behavior. "The whole name of the game is control. But that control also makes us get
along pretty well with the sheriff’s office," one owner told the researchers. "There are
two reasons for doing it, one, the sheriff’s office, but also the girls’ personal safety."
The study concluded that "brothels offer the safest environment available for women to
sell consensual sex acts for money."

Legalization Would Make Sex Workers Healthier

Illegal street prostitutes might face pressure from pimps and Johns to forgo condoms.
But states that legalize prostitution can require sex workers to use condoms and get
tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Sex workers in Nevada have to get monthly tests for syphilis and HIV and weekly tests
for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Nevada also requires condoms for all sex in brothels. This
law is posted on the outside of the state's brothels, according to the paper by Barbara
Brents and Kathryn Hausbeck of the University of Nevada.Susan Austin, the madam at
the Wild Horse Adult Resort & Spa outside Reno, poses outside the World Famous
Brothel in Nevada.Reuters/Adam Tanner
"All of the women we interviewed were passionate about expressing their support for
these law. For example, they insisted that they always use condoms, whether the client
prefers to or not," the report stated.

Making sex work a crime can drive prostitutes underground and make them less
likely to practice safe sex and get tested for sexually transmitted disease.

An April 2012 study by the Urban Justice Center found that New York City cops were
actually using condoms found on women as evidence in criminal prostitution cases
against them. It's easy to imagine how this practice might deter sex workers from
carrying protection.

The United Nations Development Programme published a report last year on illegal sex

work in Asia and the Pacific that highlighted just how damaging the criminalization of
sex work can be to women's health. Here's what it said:

Criminalization increases vulnerability to HIV by fueling stigma and discrimination,

limiting access to HIV and sexual health services, condoms and harm reduction services,
and adversely affecting the self-esteem of sex workers and their ability to make informed
choices about their health.

Prostitution Is Arguably A Victimless Crime

While some advocates argue that prostitutes are victims of Johns and pimps, sex
work can be a victimless crime if women sell their bodies of their own volition.
(Moreover, it doesn't make sense to arrest sex workers if they are their own "victims.")

As Cornell law professor Sherry Colb has written, "Prostitution should not be a crime.

Prostitutes are not committing an inherently harmful act. While the spread of disease
and other detriments are possible in the practice of prostitution, criminalization is a
sure way of exacerbating rather than addressing such effects."

Legal Prostitution Can Be A Source Of Tax Revenue

While brothels in Nevada pay no state taxes, they pay "significant amounts of tax" to the
rural counties where they do business, according to The New York Times. (Nevada
Republicansblocked a plan a couple of years ago to subject brothels to state taxes, as
they didn't want schools and other state services funded by sex work.)

Illegal prostitution businesses in America, of course, pay no taxes. If those brothels were
legalized, then state and county governments could gain significant revenue.

"Let government share in the revenue, but otherwise stay out of the affairs of consenting
adults," MSNBC political analyst Michael Smerconish has written.

Legalization Could Save Precious Law Enforcement Resources

The investigation into notorious John, and former New York governor, Eliot Spitzer is a
perfect example of how costly it can be to probe sophisticated prostitution rings.Ashley
 Alexandra Dupre, pictured here, was a high-priced prostitute who had Eliot Spitzer for a
client.Reuters/Carlo Allegri
"In this case, they wiretapped 5,000 phone conversations, intercepted 6,000 emails,
used surveillance and undercover tactics that are more appropriate for trapping
terrorists than entrapping Johns," famed Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz wrote
in the Wall Street Journal.

Dershowitz has also told MSNBC's Michael Smerconish, "Every hour spent going after
prostitution is an hour that could have been spent going after terrorists and going after
people who victimize."

Legal Prostitutes Could Get Labor Rights

Legally employed people in America get rights like a minimum wage, freedom from
discrimination, and a safe work environment. Since prostitutes don't work legally, they
don't get any of those rights.

The United Nations Development Programme's report on sex work in Asia and the
Pacific highlighted why it's problematic when sex workers don't have legal rights.

Sex workers in all countries of the region except New Zealand and the state of New
South Wales (Australia) lack the labour rights afforded to other workers, including the
legal right to a safe and healthy workplace and to reasonable terms and conditions of
employment ... Labour laws and social security laws that do not recognize sex work as
legitimate work contribute to stigma and marginalization of sex workers.

Prostitution Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon

There will always be lonely or kinky men in America who will pay for sex, and there will
always be women willing to rent out their bodies. As the anthropologist Patty Kelly has
written in the Los Angeles Times, prostitution has become a "part of our culture" in the
United States.

It's high time to legalize and regulate this part of American life, even if a lot of people
have ethical problems with it.

We legalize and regulate a ton of commerce that's morally controversial — like

gambling, alcohol, tobacco, lap-dancing, and pornography. Yes, women can be coerced
into prostituting themselves. But we're not helping them by making consenting sex work
a crime.

Violence Against Women October 2004

1. Melissa Farley
1. Prostitution Research & Education
Abstract
With examples from a 2003 New Zealand prostitution law, this article discusses the
logical inconsistencies in laws sponsoring prostitution and includes evidence for the
physical, emotional, and social harms of prostitution. These harms are not decreased by
legalization or decriminalization. The article addresses the confusion caused by
organizations that oppose trafficking but at the same time promote prostitution as a
justifiable form of labor for poor women. The failure of condom distribution/harm
reduction programs to protect women in prostitution from rape, sexually transmitted
diseases (STDs), and HIV is discussed. The success of such programs in obtaining
funding and in promoting prostitution as sex work is also discussed.
LEGALIZE IT

Why It's Time to Legalize Prostitution

Evidence shows that it would protect sex workers, reduce violence, cut down on
sex trafficking, and more. There’s no good reason not to.

CATHY REISENWITZ

08.15.14 2:45 AM ET

A prostitute has a 45 percent to 75 percent chance of experiencing workplace violence at

some point, according to recent research indicates, and a 32 percent to 55 percent
likelihood that she or he was victimized the past year. Worker safety, along with
concerns about exploitation and objectification, are behind much of the continued
support for keeping prostitution illegal.
But there’s a movement afoot to challenge conventional wisdom about prohibition. Or,
rather, to incorporate what we already know about black markets into our thinking
about sex workers and their rights.
As with the drug trade, much of the violence associated with sex work is exacerbated by
its illegality. Violent people are more likely to prey on sex workers, confident that they
won’t be reported to police. This leaves workers dependent on pimps and madams for
protection, which often leads to more violence. And then there’s abuse from police. In
Ireland, where prostitution is still criminalized, one study estimates that 30 percent of
the abuse that sex workers report comes from police. Some estimate that police actually
abuse American sex workers more often than clients do.
llegality also forces sex work outdoors. Craigslist and Backpage should be havens for
workers to connect with and vet clients from the safety of their homes. Instead, cops
monitor such sites to ensnare workers and their clients. Sex workers traded safety tips
and rated clients on My Redbook until the FBI seized the site, destroying the data and
forcing sex workers onto other sites, or the streets.
After Germany and New Zealand legalized sex work, violence against sex
workers decreased, while workers’ quality of life improved. There, occupational health
and safety laws protect sex workers. And the ability to screen clients and take credit card
numbers has reduced violence. “It’s been just fantastic, really,” said Catherine Healey,
national coordinator for the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective.
Some worry about legalized sex work leading to more widespread sexually transmitted
infections. But in reality, after testing began post-legalization in Germany,
researchers discovered no difference in sexually transmitted infection rates between sex
workers and the general population.
In fact, the data are pretty clearly in favor of legalizing sex work to improve public
health. The World Health Organization recommends that countries decriminalize sex
work. According to a recent WHO report, “Violence against sex workers is associated
with inconsistent condom use or lack of condom use, and with increased risk of STI and
HIV infection. Violence also prevents sex workers from accessing HIV information and
services.”
“The criminalization of clients has not reduced trafficking or sex work, but has
increased sex workers’ vulnerability to violence, harmed HIV responses, and infringed
on sex workers’ rights.”
Furthermore, it said, “Anti-trafficking discussions on demand have historically been
stymied by anti-prostitution efforts to eradicate the sex work sector by criminalizing
clients, despite protests from sex workers’ rights groups and growing evidence that such
approaches do not work.”
Human rights powerhouse Amnesty International concurs: “Amnesty International is
opposed to the criminalization or punishment of activities related to the buying or
selling of consensual sex between adults.” Thus begins a recently leaked document
calling for an end to prohibitions on sex work. Criminalization discourages sex workers
from reporting suspected sex trafficking to police.
Working with instead of against sex workers will lead to more slaves being rescued. In
Germany, it already is. While prohibitionists claim that legalizing prostitution has
increased human trafficking in the country, the data don’t support them. In fact the
opposite happened. Germany legalized sex work in 2001. Between 2001 and 2011, cases
of sex-based human trafficking shrank by 10 percent. 
Now most German sex workers, 74 percent, are foreign born. But these migrant workers
are hardly child sex slaves. The mean age of a sex worker in Germany is 31. A massive
study of the sex trade in New York revealed a similar pattern. Researchers found very
few underage sex workers actually working. When they started talking to pimps they
found many won’t work with underage sex workers, not because of fear of arrest or
moral qualms, but because teen workers don’t make enough money.

    10.  It Would Make Sex Workers Healthier.

According to a new study presented at the International AIDS Conference in Australia,
the transmission of HIV among sex workers could significantly be reduced by around
33-46 percent if prostitution were decriminalized. It may sound contradictory to other
people’s opinions, but the study looks pretty sensible.
If the government of the United States and other countries will legalize the sale and
purchase of sexual services, it would substantially reduce the number of cases regarding
STDs and more importantly, make all sex workers healthier. Once legalized, we can
require every sex worker to use condoms and be medically examined regularly for HIV
and other related diseases to protect them and avoid causing of widespread health
problems. This will not be hard to execute because what sex workers want is money and
not disease. In Nevada, sex workers are required to get monthly blood test for HIV,
syphilis, as well as weekly blood test for gonorrhea and Chlamydia
trachomatis. Furthermore, the use of condom there is mandatory.

9. Legal Prostitution Would Reduce Violence And Sex Crimes.

There have already been lots of studies performed and evidence gathered proving that
legal prostitution reduces rape, sex violence, and other sex crimes. One study that shows
the correlation between legalizing prostitution and declining rape cases comes from
Rhode Island, wherein they accidentally legalized prostitution. In 1980, lawmakers
accidentally removed the section that defined prostitution as a crime, and it went
unnoticed until 2003. Technically, it had been in effect for almost 3 decades, from 1980-
2009. During those years, the number of women involved in prostitution and size of the
indoor sex market largely increased. But surprisingly, rape cases have declined by 31
percent. Researchers have also found a 39 percent decrease in the incidence of
gonorrhea. By listland -December 8, 2014 

We can think of a lot of reasons that might prove how decriminalization could reduce
sex-related crimes. Once legalized, sex workers would be empowered to approach a
police if they are in danger or having a problem with their clients and pimps.
Furthermore, sex workers would also be given an opportunity to conduct their business
on their own without the control of an abusive pimp, which reduces the possibility of
violence and abuse.

And when prostitution is already legal, people, who wish to satisfy their sexual urges,
would have their option readily available for them. So rather committing rape, they
could just hire a prostitute to satisfy their sexual need. Well, this idea may sound
repulsive, but if you think it over, you will find it also sensible. The late Indian novelist
and journalist, Khushwant Singh, said that, “The more you try to put down prostitution,
the higher will be the incidence of crime against innocent women.”

8. It Would Protect Minors.

Legal Prostitution Would Protect Minors.

Child prostitution is a significant global problem, both in developed and undeveloped

countries. According to research, there may be at least 10 million children
victimized through prostitution. In United States, more than 100,000 children are
enslaved as child prostitutes, and it’s continuously rising each year.

Sexual exploitation is profitable because its illegality brings legal risks that encourage
pimps to demand higher cost. In most developed countries, particularly in the United
States, the average profit per forced sex worker is nearly $70,000 a year. This is the very
reason why sex exploitation is so rampant all over the world that despite the actions that
the government do to stop it, children are still continually exploited.
Aside from the profit, another primary reason why the market for child sex slaves exists
is due to the criminalization of adult prostitution. When a man cannot find an adult sex
worker, he would definitely turn to pimps, who mostly use underage sex workers, to
satisfy his sexual urges. A lot of pro-decriminalization of prostitution believe that if
people can legally buy sex from women 18 years or older, it will significantly reduce
child exploitation. Since no one would want to be prosecuted and pay fines, those who
are in the commercial sex market will only legally employ willing adults, rather than
struggle to operate in secrecy. By legalizing prostitution and implementing more strict
laws regarding it, we can abolish child sex slavery. 

7. It Could Help Us Fight Against Human-Trafficking.

Legal Prostitution Could Help Us Fight Against Human-Trafficking

Another important reason why prostitution should be legalized is because it could be a
potential solution to fight human trafficking. While prohibitionists claim that
decriminalizing prostitution and related activities – including pimping and maintaining
of brothels – encourages the growth of human trafficking, recent reports and studies
don’t support them. In fact, they oppose them. In Germany, when they legalized
prostitution, cases of human trafficking significantly decreased by 10 percent from 2001
to 2011. But what’s better than this is the fact that only a few numbers of children are
involved in sex trades because young ones are not forced to join sex trade there. The
average age of sex workers in Germany is 31.

They key benefit of legalizing the buying and selling of sex is it can create an effective
relationship between the law enforcement officials and sex workers. If there’s a good
relation between them, law officials can use sex workers as key information sources to
uncover human trafficking. Contrary to what many people believe, prohibition of
prostitution only provide cover to human traffickers because it gives them the power to
use the law to threaten women victims, particularly the young ones. Women and
children, who are being forced against their will into prostitution, are afraid to go to
police because they think that, they too, will be punished and arrested.

If legal, women and children victims will become more willing to come forward and
report traffickers, abusive clients, and greedy pimps to the law officials.

6. Prostitution Is A Victimless Crime.

Prostitution Is A Victimless Crime.

Sure, some women in prostitution, particularly those who are kidnapped and held
against their will, are victims, but I believe that for the most part, prostitution is a
victimless crime. Just like what other people are saying, some women, who are in the
business, chose to offer their service willingly and no one forced them to.

Let’s all remember that every woman is different. While there are women who see sex as
a sacred thing that should only be given to the person they love and they will marry,
there are also women who view sex as an ordinary activity that you can do with anyone.
In fact, there are women who would rather have sex for an hour with someone they have
just met, than work in a restaurant taking orders and cleaning toilets for 10 hours. But
there are also women who would rather be in poverty than give their body to someone
unworthy. Not all women are the same.

Just like gambling and drug use, prostitution is an activity that is participated in by
adults voluntarily. As what Sherry F. Colb of Rutgers Law School said, “What makes
prostitution a ‘victimless crime’ in the sense that no one is necessarily harmed by it is
that there are consenting adults involved.”

5. It Could Save The Country A Lot Of Money.

Legalizing Prostitution Could Save The Country A Lot Of Money.

In countries, where prostitution is illegal, billions of dollars are spent on dealing with it.
In the U.S., law enforcement agencies spend at least $2,000 for each arrest of a sex
worker – that includes the arrest, court, and imprisonment costs. And with the vast
number of sex workers in the country, it costs the government more than $120 million a
year on prostitution control.

And that amount, as we all know, is tax dollar, which is the money we pay in order to
fund government programs. Do you think it’s worth it? Of course, it’s not, because after
the police try their best to arrest sex workers and waste our money for the expense of
court and hearings, these sex workers will just pay fines or stay in jail for a couple of
days, and then get released to go back to their business. It’s a never-ending cycle. No
matter how much we spend to eliminate prostitution, it doesn’t just work.

So as what advocates of decriminalization suggest, legalizing prostitution is much better

than keeping it illegal. Technically speaking, prostitution can have positive effects if it is
legalized and properly implemented. When prostitution is legalized, the government will
no longer have to spend cost for hiring additional law officials to hunt down sex
workers, enforcing laws against prostitution, and caring for sex workers in jail. After all,
don’t we have more pressing matters to spend tax money on?

4. Legalization Could Benefit A Government Through Taxes.

Legalization Could Benefit A Government Through Taxes.

Just like in any other industry, legalization of prostitution could lead to a chain effect
that would significantly benefit a country – primarily through tax revenue. Once the sex
workers and brothel owners obtained a license, they may participate in the business and
enjoy their legal income that is taxable. As we already know, prostitution is a lucrative
business. According to reports, each sex worker in Nevada earns as much as
$3,000 per week. And let’s not forget the fact that there are others who earn more. If
all sex workers are licensed and required to pay taxes in the U.S., just imagine how
much tax revenue will the country get by this industry.

Furthermore, a government could also charge an annual fee to the license they provide
for sex workers, brothel owners, and clients so they can continuously operate their
business legally, which is also an additional income. Of course, when prostitution is
properly regulated, people who patronize this industry will feel safer and thus, the
demand for it will increase, which can also be an added benefit to the economy. More
tourists will then visit the country to pay for sex service, which can significantly
increased foreign exchange earnings.

3. It Would Give The Sex Workers Employment Rights.

Legal Prostitution Would Give The Sex Workers Employment Rights

Everyone, who is legally employed, has minimum rights and entitlements given by law,
such as safety rights, minimum wage, health benefits, vacation pay, and protection
against unlawful discrimination. And since sex workers don’t work legally, especially in
countries that do not consider prostitution as a legitimate work, they don’t get any of
these rights.

So, if an illegal sex worker is abused by her pimp or client and not paid accordingly, she
can’t complain to the law officials because she is excluded from federal employment
standard legislation. And even if she is forced to conduct the sexual activity in an unsafe
place and the client demands an unprotected sex, she can’t afford to resist. And worse,
sex workers with HIV/AIDS are denied to get health treatment, which they terribly need
in order to survive.

If prostitution will be legalized, sex workers will be able to get access to the rights and
services that they deserve. If a sex worker is raped or abused, she can complain to the
police and even file lawsuit. Furthermore, she can get access to basic education and
health services, just like anyone else.

Everyone deserves to be protected by law no matter of type of work people do, and that
includes the sex workers.

2. Prostitution Can’t Be Prevented.

Prostitution Can’t Be Prevented.

There’s an obvious reason why prostitution has been called “the world’s oldest
profession”. It’s been around since almost the beginning of time, and it will always be.
Even if all the nations around the world will unite to abolish it, they will never succeed.
No matter what we do, there will always be people, who will pay money to get sex for
pleasure, and there will always be women or even men who will offer their body for
money. Prostitution has been a part of the many cultures all over the world, and it will
not be easily eradicated. So rather than wasting time and money in regulating ineffective
solutions, the best thing to do is to just legalize it. If we can legalize other controversial
things, like gambling, tobacco, and alcohol, why can’t we do it on prostitution?

1. Sex Workers Have The Right To Their Body.

Sex Workers Have The Right To Their Body

Every human being has the right to use their body according to their will. If a sex worker
would want to rent out her body in exchange of money, then fine. That’s her right. And
no one has the right to tell anyone what to do with her own body and life, especially just
because it doesn’t adhere to other people’s moral principles or beliefs.

No matter what reasons of sex workers for involving in such activity, whether it’s for the
money or pleasure, we don’t have the right to question or stop them. It’s their choice,
and according to law, everyone has free choice of employment. They have the right to
decide for themselves whether they want to participate in sex work in exchange of
money. After all, aren’t we all using our bodies to earn?

But of course, it would only be a lot better if the government will legalize prostitution
because it will give the sex workers rights and protection on their job.

Criminalization of prostitution, including other things that surround sex work, is not the
real solution. Sex trade is here to stay, and by recognizing it as a legitimate form of work,
all involved parties can receive guaranteed benefits. It would effectively lessen the
burden on the government in terms of executing anti-prostitution laws and paying
additional law enforcement. In addition, countries would increase their revenue through
taxes, foreign exchange, and increased employment rate. Countries would also ensure
safety environment for their people because sex workers will be required to undergo
medical tests and receive adequate medical care. More importantly, legalization of
prostitution would protect the rights of sex workers and give these people a chance to
live a normal life they deserve.
 PRO Legal Prostitution CON Legal Prostitution

1. Victimless Crime?

PRO: "Prostitution should not be a crime. CON: "MYTH 2 - Prostitution is a victimless

Prostitutes are not committing an inherently crime.
harmful act. While the spread of disease and
other detriments are possible in the practice of Prostitution creates a setting whereby crimes
prostitution, criminalization is a sure way of against men, women, and children become a
exacerbating rather than addressing such commercial enterprise.... It is an assault when
effects. We saw this quite clearly in the time of he/she forces a prostitute to engage in
alcohol prohibition in this country. sadomasochistic sex scenes. When a pimp
compels a prostitute to submit to sexual
...What makes prostitution a 'victimless crime' in demands as a condition of employment, it is
the sense that no one is necessarily harmed by exploitation, sexual harassment, or rape -- acts
it is that there are consenting adults involved." that are based on the prostitute's compliance
rather than her consent. The fact that a pimp or
Sherry F. Colb, JD customer gives money to a prostitute for
Judge Frederick Lacey Scholar at Rutgers Law submitting to these acts does not alter the fact
that child sexual abuse, rape, and/or battery
School 
occurs; it merely redefines these crimes as
E-mail to ProCon.org  prostitution."
Dec. 17, 2006
National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children
Female Juvenile Prostitution: Problem and
Response
1992

2. Prostitution & Free Choice

PRO: "We chose sex work after we did a lot of
things we couldn't stand. Sex work is better. For
me, sex work isn't my first choice of paying
work. It just happens to be the best alternative
available. It's better than being president of
someone else's corporation. It's better than
being a secretary. It is the most honest work I
know of."
Veronica Monet
Prostitute and Author
in Gauntlet  Magazine  July 1999
1994
CON: "The ILO [International Labour
Organization] report admits that most women
'choose' prostitution for economic reasons.
Surely no one can argue that this is free choice
any more than the cattle in the squeeze chute
choose to go to their death."
Diane Post, JD
Attorney and Human Rights Activist
"Legalizing Prostitution: A Systematic Rebuttal"
in the journaloff our backs

3. Morality of Prostitution

PRO: "Why is it illegal to charge for what can be
freely dispensed? Sex work is no more moral or
immoral than the chocolate or distilling
industries."
Catherine La Croix
Founder of Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics
(COYOTE) chapter in Seattle
"Love For Sale" in the magazine  Internet
Underground
Oct. 1996
CON: "Prostitution as an institution is evil. It
doesn't matter if it is the 'world's oldest
profession', it is still wrong."
Dorn Checkley
Director of the Pittsburg Coalition Against
Pornography
"Legalized Prostitution?" on Wholehearted.org
Jan. 22, 2007

4. Human Trafficking

PRO: "Criminalizing the sex industry creates
ideal conditions for rampant exploitation and
abuse of sex workers...[I]t is believed that
trafficking in women, coercion and exploitation
can only be stopped if the existence of
prostitution is recognized and the legal and
social rights of prostitutes are guaranteed."
CON: "I believe that we will never succeed in
combating trafficking in women if we do not
simultaneously work to abolish prostitution and
the sexual exploitation of women and children.
Particularly in light of the fact that many women
in prostitution in countries that have legalised
prostitution are originally victims of trafficking in
 Marjan Wijers women."
Chair of the European Commission's Expert
Group on Trafficking in Human Beings Margareta Winberg
in her article in the book Global Sex Workers Former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
1998 Speech in Stockholm
Nov. 5-6, 2002

5. Prostitution & Violence

PRO: "Decriminalization would better protect
people in the sex industry from violence and
abuse.
...Police cannot and do not simultaneously seek
to arrest prostitutes and protect them from
violence.... Indeed, women describe being told,
'What did you expect?' by police officers who
refused to investigate acts of violence
perpetrated against women whom they knew
engaged in prostitution. The consequences of
such attitudes are tragic: Gary Ridgway said
that he killed prostitutes because he knew he
would not be held accountable. The tragedy is
that he was right - he confessed to the murders
of 48 women, committed over nearly twenty
years. That is truly criminal."
Melissa Ditmore, PhD
Coordinator of the Global Network of Sex Work
Projects
Washington Post's PostGlobal website 
Feb. 28, 2007
CON: "Regardless of prostitution's status (legal,
illegal or decriminalized) or its physical location
(strip club, massage parlor, street,
escort/home/hotel), prostitution is extremely
dangerous for women. Homicide is a frequent
cause of death....
It is a cruel lie to suggest that decriminalization
or legalization will protect anyone in prostitution.
It is not possible to protect someone whose
source of income exposes them to the likelihood
of being raped on average once a week."
Melissa Farley, PhD
Founding Director of the Prostitution Research
and Education
"Prostitution Is Sexual Violence" in the
Psychiatric Times
Oct. 2004

6. HIV/AIDS Prevention

PRO: "For HIV/AIDS prevention to succeed, the
conditions of risk have to change. The context - week for HIV, she will test negative for at least
legal, social, economic - of sex work has to
change, with repeal of criminal laws, access to
visas and work permits, freedom of movement
and association, and occupational safety and
health regulations, to reduce the imposition of
risk from above. Until then, it will be heroic,
strong individuals that can insist on safe
behaviours, leaving those who are less heroic,
those who are more timid and afraid, to suffer
the consequences of the context of risk."
Priscilla Alexander
Co-founder of the National Task Force on HIV/AIDS we should focus our efforts on
Prostitution
"Contextual Risk Versus Risk Behaviour"
in Research for Sex Work
2001
CON: "Even if a prostitute is being tested every
the first 4-6 weeks and possibly the first 12
weeks after being infected.... This means that
while the test is becoming positive and the
results are becoming known, that prostitute may
expose up to 630 clients to HIV. This is under
the best of circumstances with testing every
week and a four-week window period. It also
assumes that the prostitute will quit working as
soon as he or she finds out the test is HIV
positive, which is highly unlikely. This is not the
best approach for actually reducing harm.
Instead, in order to slow the global spread of
abolishing prostitution."
Jeffrey J. Barrows, D.O.
Health Consultant on Human Trafficking for the
Christian Medical Association
"HIV and Prostitution: What's the Answer?" The
Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity website
Sep. 9, 2005

7. Prevalence of Rape

PRO: "It is estimated that if prostitution were CON: "Prostitution cannot eliminate rape when it
legalized in the United States, the rape rate is itself bought rape. The connection between
would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease rape and prostitution is that women are turned
of approximately 25,000 rapes per year...." into objects for men's sexual use; they can be
either bought or stolen. A culture in which
Kirby R. Cundiff, PhD women can be bought for use is one in which
Associate Professor of Finance at Northeastern rape flourishes[.]"
State University
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW)
"Prostitution and Sex Crimes" 
 Apr. 8, 2004
8. Prostitution as a Legitimate Business
PRO: "Sex work is legitimate work and
problems within the industry are not inherent in
the work itself. It is vulnerability, not sex work,
which creates victims. Sex workers should enjoy
the same labour rights as other workers and the
same human rights as other people."
Ana Lopes, PhD
President of Britain's General Union (GMB) Sex
Workers Branch
"Stigmatising Sex Workers" in the  Chartist
Mar. 2006
9. Prostitution as a Career Option
PRO: "Prostitution is not merely an exchange of
sexual favors; it is a financial exchange. At this
point, individualist feminists rise to defend the
free market as well as a woman's self-
ownership. This is expressed by the question:
'Prostitution is a combination of sex and the free
market. Which one are you against?'
Feminists of all stripes should speak with one
voice to demand the safety of these women by
granting them the same protection as any other
woman can expect. Only decriminalization can
provide this."
Wendy McElroy
Research Fellow at the Independent Institute
"'Solutions' to Prostitution" on Ifeminist.com  most oppressed and vulnerable groups in
Feb. 13, 2001
10. Former Prostitutes' Viewpoints on Prostitution
PRO: "Decriminalization is not at all a solution to
every injustice that exists in the sex industry; it
is a starting point. If prostitution were not an
underground activity it would allow us to much
more effectively address the serious problems
of forced prostitution and juvenile prostitution
and the other abuses which are part of an
industry that operates completely in the
shadows. ...[T]here are many who... want other
options and they should be given alternatives
and assistance. And then there are also those
who organize for their rights and are not quitting
at the moment and they should be afforded
options, their rights, and self-determination as
well. Whatever ills are attendant to prostitution,
criminalization of prostitutes exacerbates the
abuse."
Carol Leigh
Founder of Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy
"Frequently Asked Questions About
Prostitution" on the CATW-Australia Website
Mar. 8, 2007
CON: "One needs to completely rid oneself of
the voracity for cash to see that prostitution,
although legalized, can never be a legitimate
business because it will always be associated
with crime, corruption, class, mass sexual
exploitation and human trafficking."
Virada Somswasdi, JD
President of the Foundation for Women, Law
and Rural Development (FORWARD)
Speech at Cornell Law School
Mar. 9, 2004
CON: "Some prostitution defenders argue that
prostitution is an acceptable solution to
poverty....
What they mean, but do not say, is that
prostitution is an acceptable solution for women
living in poverty. Seldom do we see proposals
that poor men should make their way out of
poverty by welcoming the insertion of penises
and other objects into them on a regular basis or
dance naked on a stage in front of ogling and
masturbating males.
The prostitution industry exploits to its
advantage the fact that most women and
children who are in prostitution come from the
society."
Gunilla S. Ekberg
Special Advisor on prostitution and trafficking in
women at the Swedish Division for Gender
Equality
Speech in Stockholm
Nov. 2002
CON: "As long as we point the finger away from
ourselves, away from the institutions that blame
and criminalize women and children for their
own rape, sexual abuse, trafficking and slavery,
away from the men who we normalize as -
Johns, - and as long as we disconnect adult
prostitution and the exploitation of children and
disconnect prostitution and trafficking in human
beings for the purposes of rape and sex slavery;
then we are to blame and we have assisted in
creating well-funded transnational criminal
networks - dollar by dollar."
Norma Hotaling
Executive Director of the Standing Against
Global Exploitation (SAGE) Project and former
prostitute
Testimony to U.S. Congress
Apr. 28, 2005
Network (BAYSWAN) and former prostitute
"Justice Talking" on National Public Radio
(NPR) 
Mar. 4, 2002