The Positives Of Decriminalizing Prostitution

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

“Why should it be illegal to sell something that it’s legal to give away?” is a question posed by Judge Carlos Bea in California’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to the state’s Attorney General. A lawyer representing the San Francisco-based Erotic Service Provider Legal, Educational, and Research Project filed a lawsuit in 2015 to change the 145-year old California law criminalizing sex work (Patch, 2017). The court is now allowing the legal challenge after a lower court threw out the case last year (Shugerman, White, 2017). In Washington D.C., there is a bill that also seeks to decriminalize prostitution as a way to help sex workers report violent crimes without fear of arrest (Mehlan-Orozco, 2017). There are those in California and throughout the country fighting the current laws with plenty of opposition.

Prostitution has long been known as, “the world’s oldest profession”. Some countries in Europe have even it a set further and made it a legal profession. The Netherlands and Germany are typically the most commonly known areas of the world with legal prostitution. In America we have taken steps in the direction of legalizing behaviors that do not fit with social norms with the legalization of marijuana in select states. This paper aims to explain the downside of legalizing prostitution. I will explain the arguments against legalizing prostitution and why taking it off the street and turning it into a profession would not be of any benefit. Decriminalizing brothels, pimps, and customers was the approach that Sweden and Denmark took while other

Prostitution is often referred to as the worlds oldest profession, so clearly it is well entrenched in our society and there has always been a supply to address the demand. And it's true that decriminalizing prostitution makes it safer for the prostitute, as it often brings this underground industry into the light providing controls to protect its workers. But, I don't think that the vast majority of sex trade workers made a conscious decision to pursue this line of work, regulated or not. I think it's possible that society and government are washing their hands of many who are marginalized and trying to feed their children or addictions. But what to do about the demand?

Prostitution is an issue that has plagued not only our country, but most countries around the world. Although this is a state decided issue, the need to be looked at on a federal level is apparent. What has been coined as “the world’s oldest profession” has displayed many problems and debates throughout history and subsequently continue today. The spread of sexually transmitted diseases has been prominent since the dawn of civilization. Human sex trafficking has skyrocketed in recent years and prostitution makes it easier for it to transpire. Drugs and illegal activity seem to go hand in hand with this issue as well, not to mention the conflict of morality in some citizens of the United States. These complications are just a few of the broad list that go into this topic. Nevertheless, these pieces of the controversy could become obsolete with the legalization of prostitution.

Giving power to the women selling their bodies is one of the main benefits of decriminalizing prostitution, because while working under a pimp or a john the ladies have no control of the acts they refuse or accept. If they’re being abused the women aren’t likely to call the police because the work they’re doing is illegal. Instead of punishing the women who are forced into prostitution the blame should be placed on the pimps who solicit the women and coerce young girls into working for them through scare tactics. Business Insider reports on a study done that shows just how risky it is to be a prostitute an author Erin Fuchs gives statistics that are devastating.

“A study of San Francisco prostitutes found that 82% had been assaulted and 68% had been raped while working as prostitutes” (Fuchs). Since prostitution is shunned and disregarded, many women are abused and killed because they are forced to work against the law. They cannot trust the police or any kind of governmental official which in turn forces them to accept the abuse and rape involved in their work. In our current society, tax dollars pay for police work, including the arresting of prostitutes. Although prostitutes do not inflict physical harm to their customers they are still arrested and prosecuted, wasting thousand of tax dollars. The only harm that could possibly hinder their customers health is the sharing of sexually transmitted diseases. This could easily be prevented by regulating prostitution because of the giving of contraceptives and testing to the women involved. “Law enforcement agencies in America's biggest cities spend an average of about $2,000 for each arrest of a prostitute, which amounts to more than $120 million a year in enforcement costs nationwide” (Becklund). Along with saving thousands from not prosecuting prostitutes, the government could receive enormous amounts of revenue from enforcing an income tax. If the act of prostitution is legalized, each legally licensed sex worker would contribute approximately $20,000 in income taxes per year (“Case”). The amount of money that

In this essay, I will be giving my arguments on whether or not prostitution would be more beneficial to society and safer it wasn’t illegal. I will be giving you background information on the history of prostitution at the beginning of civilization, and how it came to be illegal in the United States. Next I will state the reasons why prostitution is currently criminalized, and why people think it should remain that way. I will then reply to those arguments while stating my own thoughts and arguments. Lastly, I will provide alternatives to the criminalization of prostitution since there are multiple ways prostitution can become safer without it all being illegal. Within that, I will give examples and evidence from countries today that use some of these alternatives.

Prostitution is one of the largest controversial issue facing the United States. The definition of prostitution, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, is the act or practice of engaging in sexual relations especially for the money. Prostitution has been constantly bashed by the media and is currently legal in only one state. In this state, only one county has banned prostitution. Why is it illegal? What is wrong with prostitution that has made it illegal? These are the important questions that people have to answer before identifying and judging whether it should remain illegal. Prostitution is a social controversy based on moral values and the controversy is often times construed among moral values. Many people often feel that prostitution can be compared to pornography, and that is why it should be legalized. Prostitution should be legalized even if it is not morally right because prostitution is a matter of whether or not people’s safety is in harm’s way. Prostitution is safe when it is legalized. This is because government regulation is an influential part in the safety of the citizens.

Prostitution has existed in history since before most people can remember. In our time, prostitution is hotly debated as to whether it should be a professional working job, or whether it is immoral and oppressive to women. This debate has existed since the dawn of time, and there is still no clear answer. Society demands that police should stop certain illicit activities from happening in their neighborhoods, but should law enforcement be made to waste their time and effort to arrest those that may or may not be prostitutes? While some believe legalizing prostitution will only encourage more people to buy sex, making prostitution legal will protect those who work in the sex industry.

According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary, prostitution is defined as “the work of a prostitute: the act of having sex in exchange for money” (cite). Underneath this definition is one that follows as, “the use of a skill or ability in a way that is not appropriate or respectable” (cite). Prostitution is a pressing matter in the United States and, as one can assume after reading the second definition given, implicated negatively throughout society. Many view this topic in an undesirable manner, and fail to recognize the positive aspects of prostitution; prostitution brings about so many positive aspects that progressive countries have enacted the legality of its practices. The legality of prostitution would (encourage individuals to practice in a profession in which epitomizes our freedom of body and rights or enacts a profession in which allows us to practice our basic human/civil rights), yield many economic benefits, and decrease the amount of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) throughout their community, and Opponents, on the other hand, believe that prostitution should not be legal because the act is physically and emotionally devastating to all those involved, creates a higher number of human trafficking victims.

Prostitution is the selling of one’s body in exchange for money, and it is the oldest occupation in the world, beginning in the early society of Mesopotamia (Fanni, 2014). Prostitutes were seen as inhumane and disease ridden since in the early 1980’s, when prostitution was most prevalent, there was an increase of HIV/AIDS because of the transferring of disease from prostitutes to their clients (Carrasquillo, 2014). Although there is such a negative perception of prostitution, it is a source of continuous income for some women in America, even though it is illegal in almost every state except some regions in Nevada. Views of the legalization of prostitution in America differ. When evaluating the social stance of prostitution, there are two

Prostitution is often referred to as the oldest profession. It is not a new topic in criminal justice and has remained controversial throughout history not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world. Prostitution, as stated in lecture, is defined as the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with a person for payment. There are many different types of prostitution ranging from street and brothel to virtual prostitution. Some prostitutes enter into this line of work willingly, whereas other women are forced into this field. Most of the controversy deals with violence and coercion associated with prostitution. Both sides make valid points as to why prostitution should or shouldn’t be legalized, however I personally think that prostitution should not be legalized. Over the past decade, the term sex trafficking has become commonplace. If prostitution were to become legal it would make penalties less severe for pimps and criminals who deal with prostitution, giving them more of a safe haven (Weitzer, 2011).

The criminalization of prostitution is harmful to sex workers and sex slaves alike, but creating a system where sex is no longer traded underground would give sex workers more control over their bodies/ profession and would help trafficked individuals find a voice to get the resources they need to escape their oppressors. Willfully turning a blind eye to the actual criminals parading around helps them to continue hurting anyone unfortunate enough to be caught up in their twisted paths. Pimps and sex traffickers get away with abusing and forcing their “employees” into sex slavery. The benefit of decriminalization is that it, “will bring in stronger laws to protect individuals against coerced sex work, human trafficking and sexual exploitation…” (Yingwana). Shifting the focus away from those who willingly choose this profession and onto those taking advantage of the system would help get the real perpetrators off the streets. Because decriminalization will allow lawmakers to reform attitudes towards sex work by targeting the pimps, the sex traffickers, and the abusive clients and will free up resources currently used to criminalize prostitutes, the truly disgusting individuals forcing, trafficking, and abusing innocent people can be more easily identified, detained, and jailed for all of the horrible crimes they commit. Every dollar the United States wastes on criminalizing a prostitute is a dollar that could have been used to put an end to terrible crimes against humanity,