The Case Of Criminalising Prostitution

Prostitution is, and has always been a topic of debate and great controversy in society. The definition and practice of prostitution has changed over time, as a result of social, moral and political influences. Sociologist Ronald Weitzer defines prostitution as, “The exchange of sexual services for material compensations” (Weitzer 2012, P: 3). Generally sex work takes place in many different places, which can include streets, parks, washrooms, brothels, hotels or private homes (Frontline Consulting, 2009 P: 5). That being said it is currently too difficult for the government to control or totally abolish prostitution. The topic of prostitution has always created room for controversy due to ethical, religious and traditional beliefs. As a result, women have become constant victims of public criticism and attack.

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

People may not believe that there is a positive outcome of prostitution when first thought of. In fact, there are multiple ways that prostitution can benefit the sex workers, society, and even the economy. A quantitative and qualitative study was made by Lutnik and Cohan in San Francisco on prostitutes in the area. Although the sex workers that were interviewed are not part of the Canadian society, the United States is also part of the Western Civilization and the results reflect those of Canada as well. In the study, women spoke about the beneficial factors of having “police protection, the ability to build community with other sex worker, and obtaining rights as workers” upon the legalization of prostitution (Lutnik and Cohan, 2009: 41). Overall, the prostitutes that were surveyed preferred the “removal of statutes that criminalize sex work in order to facilitate a social and political environment where they had legal rights and could seek help when they are victims of violence.” (Lutnik and Cohan, 2009: 39). This research provides evidence that majority of people in the sex worker industry would like to feel safer as they are working as every person is entitles to feel safe when they go to work. Considering the health of the sex workers, a study was presented at the International AIDS Conference in Australia which showed results of the transmittal of HIV/AIDS among sex workers would decrease by 33-46% if prostitution is either legalized, or at least decriminalized (Listland, 2014). Another factor that is considered regarding sex workers and the legalization is the diminishing of violence and sex crimes. In the same research study conducted by Lutnik and Cohan, it was found that 91% of prostitutes desired laws that protected their rights in specific, and they also wanted more police protection, create safe houses, and would be safest under a regulated system (Lutnik and Cohan, 2009: 41, 43). Lastly, a

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 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.

Legalizing prostitution would likely decrease AIDS, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Certain conditions would be encouraged to make the profession more comfortable and safer for most prostitutes. “‘The commission of global leaders and specialists, backed by the United Nations Development Program and Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, spent 18 months discussing sex work, drug use and laws criminalizing HIV status. Its report concluded that laws against prostitution should be repealed because they fail to protect women and instead drive at-risk people away from health care services. ‘Rather than punishing consenting adults involved in sex work, countries must ensure safe working conditions, and offer sex workers and their clients access to effective HIV and health services and commodities,’ said the commission’s report. It added that laws against all forms of child abuse and human sex trafficking still should be enforced (Wetzstein)”. Countries, or states will assist in the safety of prostitutes and sex

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.

Releasing laws on prostitution … specifically, legalizing this area of the sex industry, will create a profound impact on society. While halotry (as it was once commonly called) has its detractors and negative connotations, the benefits outway the problems society consistently point out. Society at large questions the merits of legalizing prostitution, when in fact there are several advantages legalization could create. At a minimum, legalizing harlotry will make the job significantly safer and keep sex workers and clientele healthier. By placing a public and government spot-light on prostitution, the public can expect to see less violence, for fear of prosecution and fines. If the government and or an organization stays on top of the work prostitutes do, there’s a likely chance sexually transmitted diseases will decrease; human trafficking and illegal children in relation to prostitution will also diminish. On an even higher note, this “new” occupation will assist in dropping unemployment and benefit the economy, tax payers, and government. While there are certainly strong points as to why legalizing prostitution is wrong and unorthodox, there’s powerful evidence that supports the concept of legalization. For instance, if one looks at the history of prostitution, they’ll learn how long prostitutes have been around and how they were all but welcomed and accepted in older societies! Existing laws on harlotry, pertaining to the majority of the U.S, must be converted; not only

The police corruption that accompanies prostitution criminalization further drives women into submission when their attackers are the authorities who can arrest them at any moment for their profession. Furthermore, the murder rate for prostitutes was 18 times higher than non-prostitutes under Colorado’s criminalization policy from 1967-1999, so criminalization does little to protect the safety of prostitutes (Mathieson 377). This, combined with the fact that criminalizing sex work results in inadequate healthcare for prostitutes and therefore higher risks of untreated STDs in the profession, indicates that criminalization would be detrimental to the physical health and safety of people in the sex trade. The legalization and regulation of prostitution, however, may be more effective in preventing the spread of STDs. If all prostitutes are required to pass an STD screening test to get their prostitution license, it could significantly reduce the spread of diseases within the industry; however, the existing legalization regimes in the Netherlands and

The act of prostitution has been a leading topic of moral and legislative debate for centuries. Sometimes referred to as the ‘world’s oldest profession’ because it dates back to around 2400 B.C., prostitution is the practice of exchanging, selling or trading of sexual acts for payment. Although this service is forbidden amongst the world more often than it is not, the debate of its legalization has remained a heated issue (ProQuest Staff).The legalization of prostitution and whether or not prostitution should be considered a victimless crime are two of the main controversies that surround the matter of prostitution.

In order to have a clear understanding of what events may occur with the interrelated topics such as prostitution, and sex trafficking prostitution has to be clearly defined. Also, given the broad term of prostitution there are different distinctions for prostitution, and they will be explained further within this proposal. Next, the substantial information that will be imperative for this proposal is as follows in chronological order.

The public health issues that the legalization of prostitution seeks to address are those faced by the sex workers themselves. These issues include: higher prevalences of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (compared to the general population), limited accessibility to health services, sex trafficking, workplace violence, and poverty. Sex workers are at a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections due to a lack of education regarding safe sex, condom use, and access to health care services for testing (1). Criminalization can discourage sex workers from actively seeking education and access to health care services due to fears of arrest or harsh judgement (1). Moreover, criminalization does not eradicate prostitution, but rather forces it to be done in underhanded ways, hence encouraging the elusive recruitment of unwilling participants into the sex industry (3). With the government only targeting those openly involved in sex work, the focus is shifted away from eliminating sex trafficking (1). In addition, the criminalization of prostitution forces the act to be done in areas away from the public. As a result, sex workers are at a higher risk of violence and death at the hand of their customers (1). They are also less likely to report

If we were to make prostitution legal we will eliminate the practice of unsafe sex in brothels. Beyond economic gains, legalizing prostitution could significantly reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including AIDS. With prostitution as a back alley business, it is impossible to impose any safety precautions for the industry. Condom use and testing for diseases are solely at the discretion of the individuals involved. Given the absence of health insurance for most prostitutes and the need for business, decent health care is rarely pursued, and condoms are often foregone according to the desires of the clients”(prostitution should be legalized). Clients usually wear no protection. Exposing the chance of getting a disease. Clients prefer the usage of no condoms. And as a back alley business then the workers think they have no choice to oblige to the command of no condom. And we as a state need to ensure that workers have a

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.

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