Prostitution, in a basic sense, is the act of receiving a payment, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for engaging in sexual activities. Within the article, “Legalizing Prostitution: Should prostitution be legal?” it denotes that this controversial occupation has been referred to as the world’s oldest profession. The statement’s truth is questionable, but it is undeniable that women, and men, have been prostituting themselves for centuries. Long ago, strong religious beliefs were the main reason that prostitution had been frowned upon, or outlawed altogether. In modern times, almost every state within our country has criminalized prostitution, with the exception of Nevada and Rhode Island. Within this thought-provoking article, it makes several indisputable points regarding the benefits of legalizing this act, which could be more benevolent than many might think. One of the most frequent arguments against the …show more content…
It states that prostitutes, or escorts, would be protected under the law if their occupation was no longer illegal. Currently, with their profession hidden in the shadows from the protection of law enforcement, prostitutes are at the mercy of their clients, and sometimes their “pimps.” Murder, rape, and other physical harm is a daily risk that they take just to earn money to survive in an economically-driven world (“Legalizing Prostitution”). This statement is irrefutable in the sense that the safety of prostitutes and escorts should be the primary focus of the legislature. Currently, physical abuse is rarely reported to the police because the prostitutes are already committing crimes. They let the harm go unnoticed in order to save themselves from self-incrimination. Decriminalizing prostitution will improve the safety of the participators from their clients and “pimps” by bringing them under the protection of
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
Prostitution is said to be “the world’s oldest profession” (Ramchandran par. 1). The Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines prostitution as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money” (“Prostitution” par. 1). Many people argue that prostitution should be legalized, but it hurts people more than it helps. Legalization of prostitution condones sexual behavior for profit. Not to mention, the increased risk of illness or infection via sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), or death. It also does not “enhance women’s choices” (Raymond par. 45). This means that whether
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,
The author develops this through explaining that by legalizing it, specifically in America, the corrupt law enforcement of prostitution could be corrected, as well as providing a healthier, safer system of prostitution. The author provides examples from countries that have a successful prostitution systems in order to support his claim that prostitution would be safer and better regulated. Bovard uses an informative tone to explain the often overlooked benefits of legalized prostitution. Bovard appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos throughout his entire essay. He strongly appeals to logos by presenting examples of other countries in the world that are currently practicing legalized forms of prostitution. He gives many specific examples of the problems that are happening in the persecution process of prostitution. When addressing the health outlook of prostitution, James Bovard provides statistics strongly emphasizing the point he is trying to address. His educated diction and useful choice of wording strongly appeals both to logos and ethos. It is visible that Bovard is educated about the topic of prostitution making his arguments seem valid. While there is little appeal to pathos in Safeguard Public Health: Legalize Contractual Sex, it isn’t necessary because it’s an informative and educational essay. The shocking statistics in regards to health and horrendous acts committed by policemen may slightly appeal to
Thesis: 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.
Prostitution is a profession that has been around for centuries and has a majority of negative stigmas toward it. People of different genders and sexual practices have found jobs within this industry. They face problems within their line of work due to many areas having this profession marked as illegal. These legal restrictions breed further problems for sex workers ranging from health problems, work environment dangers, and tough economic situations. The idea of legalizing prostitution within the United States has been pitched as a solution to these problems. The negatives ranged from all prostitutes being drug addicts or that legalization of this profession would create many more problems than it would solve. Further examination of the claims for and against the legalization of prostitution nationwide show that the pros of legalization outweigh the cons. If legalized nationwide the sex industry would solve many problems for sex workers and others within the country.
The paper has the following structure. In section, I will explain what critics have to say about legalization of prostitution. In section 2, I will argue for legalization and how it comes at a far less risk than keeping the law the way it is. In section, I will talk about possible objections my view and give a response.
Prostitution and human trafficking are taking place all over the world despite the legal restrictions put upon them. According to Ronald Weitzer, “The sex industry refers to the workers, managers, owners, agencies, clubs, trade associations, and marketing involved in sexual commerce, both legal and illegal varieties” (1). There are many questions that arise when discussing the sex industry. Should prostitution be legalized? If it were to be legalized, would anything change? Is prostitution morally acceptable? What is being done to stop human trafficking? There is not one correct answer for any these questions, but each question can be analyzed by scholars who have different opinions on the issue. Prostitution should be legal while
The discrimination and brutalization of sex workers is evident in the stories that they share. In the Human Rights Watch report, a sex worker named Brenda told her story stating that she “went into a car with a person. He said he was a police officer and said ‘if you help me I’ll help you.’ He said he wanted oral sex. He showed me a badge. He said if I didn’t have oral sex with him he would call the police and arrest me for prostitution” (qtd. in Human Rights Watch). Due to sex working being illegal, prostitutes are forced to do the bidding of others because of their lower station in life. Sex workers are unable to seek justice through courts because they have no solid ground to stand on from participating in the illegal act of sex working in the first place. The police, clients, and pimps are able to do whatever they want with the sex worker by dehumanizing them and reducing them to property that can be bought and sold. Legalization would bring a transparency to sex working that would permit a legal course of action against violent or coercive offenders. Crime would be alleviated in communities with the currently unknown corrupt and violent assailants going to
Some say prostitution is the world 's oldest profession. Yet, only a small percentage of the world’s government allows it. The legalization of prostitution is a very controversial topic due to many people’s moral beliefs. Prostitutes all over the world are treated as outcasts. A reason for people to be against prostitution could be due to their religious beliefs, moral standpoints, or lack of knowledge over the subject. Many religions state that sex outside of marriage is a sin and those who do it should be looked down upon. Due to these beliefs people tend to be against the legalization of prostitution. Though there are many facts that show that prostitution should be legalized. Prostitution should be legalized in the United States because then it can be regulated, would help the economy, and would lower the prison population and crimes against prostitutes.
On the issue of prostitution, some people argue that prostitution is unacceptable for the community and is harmful towards the woman in the act. Taina Bien-Aime of the coalition against trafficking in women, points out that “ there is a difference between prostitutes who are forced and are willing to sell themselves, and it’s hard to notice.” (353) Additional supports of legalizing prostitution argue that decriminalizing prostitution will cause an inflation in the market itself, make unprotected sex wide spread in trafficking, and competition for the market itself will become competitive.(p.342) finally, they claim that
Prostitution is the act of engaging in sexual activity for financial gain. It is described as one of the oldest profession and one of the most controversial issues in the modern society. In the ancient world, prostitution was allowed as part of religious traditions in some cultures such as Greek where prostitutes were dedicated to gods. Today prostitution has become more open, and some countries such as Bulgaria and Netherlands have legalized the practice. In the recent past, ethics of prostitution have been debated with many people claiming that it is morally wrong. However, like all other controversial practices, prostitution has continued to thrive in the society as evidenced by recent headlines. In this paper, I will argue that prostitution is not morally permissible despite being around for thousands of years. Prostitution is an immoral transaction that has brought many negative impacts such as community policy issues, health issues, and religious issues.
Prostitution has frequently been touted as the world's oldest profession, for the simple fact that it has been prevalent in society for quite some time. In order to properly discuss the many social ramifications of this particular crime and possible ways for dealing with them, it is first necessary to define prostitution and to explore the reason why it is a crime. Prostitution is the exchange of money or monetary assets for sexual favors and pleasure. It is the paying for sex in all of its myriad facets, from conventional coitus to a number of lewd and arcane acts from which people derive pleasure. Prostitution is part of the sex industry, which includes legal business such as strip clubs (Weitzer 7). There are a couple of different reasons as to why exchanging money for sex is deemed illegal. One principle reason is that if it were legalized, it would be exceedingly difficult for the government to tax and to capitalize off it, which is one of the reasons in which marijuana is widely considered illegal. More importantly, however, prostitution is illegal because it promotes the objectification of women and their bodies, and inherently reduces the degree of parity between men and women in which the latter are viewed as things simply for the fulfillment of men's sexual desires. Additionally, there are a variety of noxious activities that accompany prostitution such as trafficking in which the will of another is subjected to someone else's.
Prostitution has been a part of our world's culture since the beginning of time, and is the world's oldest profession. Ever since the beginning of time man has felt the need to pay for services of a sexual nature, whether are legal or not. In our culture; however, prostitution has become a topic of debate concerning the merits of this profession's legality. In viewing the legalization of prostitution one must take into account all the pros and cons of the situation, but more importantly what is currently being done to rid society of the problem of prostitution as well as the lack of effect of these so call solutions. One must ask one's self if outlawing prostitution, as a profession is the most effective or worthwhile way to deal with the
One of the oldest known jobs in history is Prostitution, otherwise known as the sex labor industry. It is a major part of our society as an illegitimate source of income and employment. The prohibition of Prostitution creates a larger number of issues in society. Before, prostitution was a more individual decision, where countless women picked it as a last resort in emergencies; whereas now these women are coerced into the industry and experience abuse, murder, etc. The involvement and trauma prostitutes experience results in mental disorders. Furthermore, I investigate how the prohibition of prostitution has greater drawbacks on our society and introduce three policies that may help resolve the social issue within sex workers. Some policies I believe will provide the most benefits are first, the legalization of prostitution, second, enforcing and strengthening the law enforcement for human trafficking, and third, development of availability of medical resources.