Summary: Legalizing Prostitution In Ohio

By keeping prostitution illegal, it keeps the doors open for a victimless crime to have many victims. Many prostitutes are people looking for a way to get out of a certain situation they are in, but do not have the skill set for what society considers a better quality job. These people then turn to prostitution in hopes of making money, earning a living and getting an education (Reynolds, 13). Prostitutes could become victims of their own career choice. Prostitutes who are beaten or abused by clients are often scared to report the crime to the police in fear they will be charged with a crime instead. As Reynolds points out, there are no real laws

According to the Human Trafficking Commission, “thirteen years old is the most common age in Ohio for children to becoming victims of sex trafficking.” Exact statistics on human trafficking are hard to calculate because of the secretive nature of the billion-dollar enterprise. With Cleveland’s high rates of poverty, there are few job opportunities, resulting in a plethora of problems, including sex trafficking. Ohio’s five major highways are partially to blame for the rising numbers in the human trafficking enterprise. With a sufficient amount of connections to other states, and to the Canadian border, there are more than enough accessible routes for victims to be transported.

I believe the legalization of prostitution should continue to be decided by each individual state, but I believe each state should make it legal and allow the counties and individual cities to control its legality. The practice of prostitution is seen as a crime against morality, in that not everyone finds it to be offensive or believes it should be illegal. The diversity of our population allows for areas of a state to have drastically different morals and political beliefs. Texas is a prime example of this, with the majority of the state being made up of moral conservatives, but large cities such as Austin and Houston being quite liberal in their beliefs. By legalizing prostitution at the state level, these liberal areas could choose to allow

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.

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

Many believe the illegalization of prostitution today to be an antiquated view of the trade, and want to see it legalized. However, prostitution should not see legalization due to it will promote more sexual unacceptable activities such as child prostitution, expand the sex trafficking trade, and escalate poor treatment to those in the trade.

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,

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.

In his book Love For Sale, Nils Johan Ringdal wrote, “If nobody wants to sell sex, it is a crime to force anyone to do so. But when men or women do want to sell their bodies, they should have that full right without encountering punishment or discrimination.” Prostitution, often described as the world’s oldest profession is a legitimate criminal offence in 109 countries of the world today (“Human Trafficking Statistics”). Laws on prostitution vary considerably from country to country: in some countries it is punishable by death penalty ("Iran - Facts on Trafficking”), in some it is a crime punishable by prison sentence, while in other jurisdictions, it is a lesser administrative offense punishable only with a fine ("The Sentencing and

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.

Prostitution being illegal causes a rapid increase in rape and assault which causes trauma and domestic violence issues. Legalizing prostitution would help make the sex workers feel safer and more secure. Studies show legalizing sex work in America would decrease rape and assault roughly about 25%. Sex workers in licensed brothels can have someone to back up the violence if it was to occur. (Kirby

Regardless of prostitution status legal or illegal its physical location strip clubs, massage parlors, streets, escort, home, and hotel prostitution is extremely dangerous for women homicide death. Its also a cruel lie to suggest that decriminalization or legalization will protect someone whose source of income exposes them to the likelihood of being raped on average once a

Firstly, the value of prostitution is incredibly high in places where it is legalized or decriminalized. The legalization of prostitution in the United States will bring us well needed federal tax revenue. According to The Stanford Daily, the illegal sex trade in the state of Atlanta in only 2007 was worth around $290,000,000. The average weekly profit for procurers, defined as the manager of prostitutes, between 2005 and 2011 was $32,833 (Wicki). If America were to legalize prostitution, they would be able to claim a new source of

Today the United States will face many problems within law enforcement. Laws and crimes such as domestic violence, human trafficking and even rape are being committed every day in this nation. But what if there was a solution in the midst of even more crime, call it a compromise to end such violent crimes.Well there is and it’s referred to as Legal Prostitution categorized as a government regulated program. Legalizing prostitution nationwide could have a significant benefit in many people's lives, but only with proper implications surrounding the law to be in effect. If our nation were to pull this off it could drastically change the landscape of many communities in a positive way coast to coast.