Prostitution Persuasive Essay Outline

Prostitution has been a part of our world's culture since the beginning of time, and is the world's oldest profession. Prostitution is defined by the Webster dictionary as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money.” If prostitution were legalized, there would a reduction in sex crimes, American citizens would have the freedom to choose any profession within the sex industry and it would provide economic benefits for the local and federal governments, as well as the population.

Prostitution is defined as “business of exchanging sexual services for martial compensation or financial befits” (Weitzer, R. J, p8). The practice usually happens legally in modern cites like Vegas, Berlin and

Prostitution was made illegal in most states in 1910 to 1915 due to the influence of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. In the United States, Nevada is the only state that allows some legal prostitution. Nevada has eight counties that have active brothels, and prostitution outside the licensed brothels is illegal throughout Nevada. There is no specific reason why there is some legal prostitution in Nevada. However, it is suggested that there was a long history of fighting and protesting for brothels and hence, prostitution became legal in some rural areas of Nevada. According to the “U.S. and State Prostitution Arrests, 2001-2010” article, California is the state that has the most prostitution-related arrests with 11,334 persons in 2010.

One of the problems with prostitution is the spread of STDs, or sexually transmitted diseases. Due to prostitutes having sex

This will also make it easier for people involved in prostitution to seek out for help without being criminalized. In addition to legalizing prostitution to address the spread of STIs, it is important to

Prostitution in its legal sense is defined as sexual intercourse of some kind in exchange for some kind of payment, usually money (Adriaenssens and Hendrickx 665; Perer 826).As of 2013, there are an estimated 1 million to 2 million prostitutes active in the world wide sex work industry today (Adriaenssens and Hendrickx 666). Prostitution is illegal in the United States; however, many experts think that should change. Most European and Asian countries have legalized prostitution (Agustín 74). Some believe that the legalization of prostitution could increase economic stature, decrease sexual violence, and decrease the amount of sexually transmitted diseases spread (Agustin 76; Bruckert and Hannem 43). Others believe that illicit acts such as

Looking at Nevada a state that has legal prostitution might help answer that question. It is the only state that has legal prostitution in the United States. A quick overview of history of Nevada’s prostitution history and where they are now. Nevada in the 19th century was a railroad town and in the early 20th century prostitution on the economy was beneficial and was allowed by the local government. The time the United States was active World War II the tolerance for prostitution in Nevada had changed and policies by the local government began to effect prostitution on Nevada; there was a change from 1905 where there was acceptance to 1955 where there was disparagement views on prostitution. (Rowley 2012) There have been laws passed for the

From everything that people have heard over the years many would believe and think that the job is dirty and by dirty I mean semen, used condoms, and cigarette butts everywhere, can you picture it? I can definitely assure you legal prostitution is nothing like that. Would you believe that everything is clean from the sheets to the entire facility? The brothel house has health inspectors come in and perform inspections once a month just like they would for a restaurant, a tattoo shop, or any place that is licensed to perform a service in a healthy environment. ("Work–Life Management in Legal Prostitution: Stigma and Lockdown in Nevada’s Brothels.") When they come in they will check the facility and make sure everything is clean and running efficiently. From checking the brothels business records, updating health records, and making sure the establishment meets health expectations. The women that work in the business get tested every two weeks for sexually transmitted diseases and use condoms all of the time to protect themselves from being potentially harmed. (“Moonlight Bunny

Policies and laws fail to stop prostitution, and it will not stop. It is more costly to keep prostitution illegal. Prostitutes will be more vulnerable to getting criminal records, which then makes it harder for them in society, to obtain legal jobs. Also, with prostitution being illegal the workers may not be able to protect themselves from crimes against them. As prostitution is not legal, then they have to find discreet places to work, which usually is not in a safe environment. If some kind of crime against them did happen, they may feel that, they aren’t able to go to the police for help, as their work is illegal. It actually makes it harder on the worker, in turn making it harder for the client. There are all sorts of people who turn to prostitutes. From blue collar workers to high executives of companies, business owners and more. With prostitution being illegal, the clients are facing criminal charges as well. This does not only hurt the client, but communities as well. The author believes that people around the world have changed their older views and sexual norms to adapt to a more modern society. Brents, B.A., Jackson, C.A., & Hausbeck, K. (2010) concludes that prostitution is better being legalized than being criminalized (p.233). And with this change, people should reevaluate and learn from Nevada’s policies on prostitution being legal. While the author has shown many reasons why

Another argument to legalize prostitution would to be to regulated it, and take the woman off the street and place her into a safe environment, for instance: women who are in brothels in Nevada are screened monthly for STD’s and are given birth control. Sexually transmitted diseases are a major concern for the women as well as the men and should be a major reason why legalization of prostitution should be pushed. Legalized prostitution has shown that prostitutes who work in brothels practice safe sex and are less likely to contract and transmit STDs. As indicated in the article entitled, "Prostitution": George Flint, director of the Nevada Brothel Association, points with pride to the 20,000 monthly AIDS tests that have been performed on legal prostitutes since tests were required in 1986, with HIV showing up only among job applicants. Similarly, not a

Prostitution would be much safer in the United States if it were legalized. A study was done in the 1980’s that found that around 124 sex workers were murdered every year in the United States (“Atlantic City Prostitutes Taking Precautions as Death Toll Rises”). If the states would legalize prostitution within brothels only, measures could be taken to keep the prostitutes

Prostitution has been around as long as human beings have engaged in sexual activities, and it is even touted as the world’s oldest profession. Despite these proclamations, the subject of prostitution continues to spark controversy in the United States in moderns times as it is a hot debate topic. Off and on, throughout the years, various states around the country have proposed that the practice should be decriminalized; however, it remains illegal nationwide, except for a few counties in Nevada. The reasons for this stem from both sides of the argument, as anti-prostitution advocates claim decriminalization of prostitution is immoral and sexually exploitative, while pro-prostitution advocates want to keep the government out of the bedrooms of consenting adults. No matter the stance for or against prostitution, the current legal construction surrounding it is undeniably harmful. Regardless of the arguments against prostitutes, it is time to decriminalize the laws against this practice to protect the rights of sex workers.

The sex industry is highly divided between those who call themselves “sex workers”, and former prostitutes who call themselves “survivors” (Glazer 340). Women should have the right to choose what they do for a living, including prostitution. The criminalization of prostitution does more harm than good when often women are left unprotected, both socially and legally, and therefore, the United States should make efforts to decriminalize and regulate prostitution instead.

Weitzer explains that legalization of prostitution would require some regulation such as, “vetting and licensing business owners, registering workers, zoning street prostitution, mandatory medical exams, special business taxes, or officials’ periodic site visits and inspections of legal establishments” (22). If prostitution was legalized it could create numerous jobs such as doctors, nurses, and inspectors. It could also raise money by businesses purchasing licenses and paying taxes.

Sweden treats prostitution as legal, however pimping is illegal. Canada bans soliciting for prostitution, but not the act themselves. Except for a few places in Nevada, the United States bans prostitution but permits its advertisement and tolerates massage parlours or bars that