Sex Work: Elite Prostitutes Vocational Orientations And Experiences

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

It is rather odd to think that prostitution, which is considered to be the world’s oldest profession, would be illegal and harmful in nature. The issue of legalizing prostitution has entered public conversation around the world, which is severely divided. Many, like myself, consider prostitution to be a victimless crime. Despite such opposition to legalizing prostitution, many argue that legalizing it would result in decreased morality issues, increase the economic activity in the United States, and help decrease the number of sexually transmitted diseases among both prostitutes and those who patronize them,

However, prostitution does not only negatively affect the client, the prostitute endures negative side effects as well. Rape and abuse are very reoccurring side effects in the industry and are just as traumatizing at they would be to any women. Prostitutes have been known to have similar traits to a soldier coming back from combat (“prostitution statistics and rape”). To cope with the trauma and lifestyle, prostitutes tend to be involved in alcohol and drug abuse, using heavy substances on a daily basis. Evidence from (“Prostitution is a victimless crime?”) states, “62% of prostitutes have reported that they have been raped in the industry.” Furthermore, the article also showed a recent study that concluded that a vast amount of industry prostitutes suffered from PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder, a sickness that is also seen in war veterans and victims of all sorts of abuse. Also, (“ Prostitution is a victimless crime states? ”) States that In the industry 92 percent of prostitutes would like to leave business immediately.

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

(Jacobin, 2013). Prostitution is then commonly labelled amongst the low-lifes of society, such as alcoholics and thieves. It is ironic that prostitution, an act of consent from both parties involved, are categorized with those who actually harm and steal from others. Criminalizing sex workers in the United States was implemented at the same time there was the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920’s (Grant, 2013). Both industries faced legal battles and underground operations to continue to boom today, but unlike alcohol, prostitution was never legalized. The laws for prostitution has hardly changed since then, and these outdated laws reflect an impermeable pattern of controlling what a woman can do with her body, despite changing times that are supposed to promote acceptance of liberal sexuality. How people view prostitution as a crime (but not

In recent articles and news reports in the United States, many people are debating if Prostitution should be legalized or remain illegal. A lot of women are driven to prostitution to support their family or to satisfy their sex drive. There are a lot of comments made about prostitution on whether prostitution is considered a job or an sex offense to women. Many people don’t agree with Prostitution being considered a job because it is disrespectful to women, or some people see it as a way of support especially when they are the only family provider. But some people don’t understand that if Prostitution is Legalized that gives the sex industry a gateway to expand. In addition The United States Government should not legalize prostitution because

Feminists are concerned whether or not a prostitute controls her own sexual identity. Others believe prostitution is degrading, and sexual slavery towards woman while someone like Martha Nussbaum, believe its not threatening a woman anymore more than any other paid job. Where do you stand when it comes to prostitution? Personally I’m concerned with the moral factors and the harm it brings to women both physically and mentally. Throughout this paper I will examine the issues and questions which arise from Nussbaum’s paper, “Whether From Reason or Prejudice: Taking Money for Bodily Service” in order to help come to a conclusion on whether or not prostitution is something society should control through the use of the criminal law.

Opponents of legalization, contend that that prostitution is “a degrading and abusive practice that fosters crime, exposes prostitute to violence, and increases the spread of sexually transmitted diseases” (“Prostitution”). Some maintain that prostitution is not a victimless crime, and it damages women emotionally and physically; for example, street prostitutes experience high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder that are comparable to those among rape survivors, battered women, and survivors of torture, and have high rates of anxiety and depression. They also claim that there is no evidence to support the claim that legalizing prostitution would reduce the prevalence of assault; some analysts even claim that prostitution may foster attitudes that contribute to violence against women (“Prostitution”). The Coalition against Trafficking in Women claims that “prostitution affects all women, justifies the sale of any woman, and reduce all women to sex”,

It is noted, that arrests and fines are not much of a deterrent, since prostitutes quickly return to the streets to sell sex. (Ivie, 2013). By and large, during the 1980’s several of the larger cities in the United states spent more money on enforcing prostitution laws, than on education, public welfare, health care and hospitals (Raymond, 2013). This should be deemed as unacceptable in such a modern day society. Prostitution, whether done in the alleyways of downtown Columbia, or bedroom of a five star hotel, it is not going anywhere. Those who have no emotional or spiritual connection to sex, will never view it the same way as people who do. Criminalizing prostitution has failed to diminish or eradicate its existence.

Since time began, women have been selling sex through prostitution, men have been buying it, and society has been debating the legitimacy of the oldest profession in the world. The prevalence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases have cast a new light on the old moral and victimless crime arguments against and for legalization of prostitution throughout the United States. There are convincing arguments on both sides of this issue, points on both sides that cannot be ignored. However, when all is said and done, it is those who argue for the legalization of prostitution who are most convincing.

Prostitution is defined as the act of “providing or receiving sexual acts, between a prostitute and a client, in exchange for money or some other form of remuneration” (Hock 557). The idea of exchanging sex for valuables has been around since the beginning of human society. The first reported data about prostitution was reported around 3000 B.C.E in one of the first known civilizations, Mesopotamia (Caraboi and Fierbinteanu 362). It is often referred to as “the world’s oldest profession.” Today, even though prostitution is illegal in most parts of the world, it is still prevalent worldwide with different ways to exchange sexual services for payment and many different types of prostitutes. One of these types of prostitutes are brothel workers; brothel workers work in “a house of prostitution,” a brothel, which are normally in areas where prostitution is not criminalized or is legalized (Hock 560). Like prostitution, human trafficking has been around for thousands of years and is still present today.

At first glance, the idea of selling a male or female body for sex seems to be a horrendous crime, and when one looks closer, it’s undoubtedly evident that prostitution is a horrendous crime. This is not just because of the obvious unethical reasons of producing sexual pleasure for a indiscriminate John, but also for the question of rape as a side effect of illegal prostitution. The majority of the world would say that rape is far worse than prostitution due the non consensual factor, but they are wrong. In many situations, prostitution is rape, and considering what sex workers have to endure in this line of work, it might as well be emotionally rape. Sex workers are only soliciting what seems to be consensual sexual activity because they have been forced into the profession. Either they have to produce and ends to a means, to provide for themselves or their families, or they have been forced or coerced against their will by a deceptive and seemingly caring boyfriend or girlfriend who then turns into their pimp. They are victims of abuses, violent and heartbreaking abuse, as: “90 percent of prostituted women have been physically

Criminally charging prostitutes makes their lives harder and ensures they don’t get out of the “profession.” In New York City, “50 percent of the sex workers interviewed said they’d never been offered any social services after an arrest (O’Hara1).” Officials only try to put prostitutes on a safer path half of the time, effectively wasting the time of sex workers and not showing any interest in stopping prostitution. The arrests are pointless, and they only can make a prostitute’s life worse. For example, the sex workers mentioned previously “all had criminal records that could prevent them from successfully finding other employment (O’Hara1).” As this country currently has limited interest in changing the lives of these people, unlike the interest in changing the lives of other “criminals” like drug addicts or alcoholics with rehab, the time and money spent on arresting these sex workers is wasted at best. Their lives made harder and careers as prostitutes are only set in stone by criminal charges.

Prostitution has been a growing concern on a global scale. Supporters of legalization argue it is a person’s right to decide how they want to use their body, while opponents argue that most people in the sex trade are trafficked, sold, bought, and do not have a say over their own bodies. It seems the world is split on the right and wrongs of this issue. Many countries seem to have no definitive answer to the illegality of this issue. While some countries (such as most of Europe, Australia, and even her in the U.S. in parts of Nevada) have “legalized” prostitution, many strongly condemn the practice. While many people strongly condemned due to cultural and religious factors, many others have no problem in hiring prostitutes for sexual pleasure, creating a multi-billion dollar industry. So what is the right answer? Prostitution shouldn’t be legalized, not because of a morality issue, but because like with many aspects of legal acts it would get abused since it would be easy to obtain and legal to participate in, and unfortunately we are not talking about sodas, or alcohol, or marijuana, we are talking about human lives.

A major concern with prostitution and sex trafficking is a negative trend that occurs with the health of women. One significant aspect is the deteriorating emotional well-being of former and current prostitutes. Both forced and voluntary prostitutes experience trauma that affects their mental health. An investigation done by U.S. Branch of Well-being and Human Administration's national symposium analyzes the impacts' prostitution has on women. The outcomes resulted in the pervasiveness of PTSD,