How should societies deal with prostitution? Legalize it, Outlaw it or a Mix of the two? Violence vs women?

Question

UK Ministers are considering outlawing paying for sex, to try to counter international human trafficking. They're looking at what Sweden did in 1999: Sweden made it illegal to buy sex, but decriminalised the sale of sex. Why? The idea was that prostitution should be regarded as an aspect of male violence against women and children and therefore tackled. Swedish men are arrested if they are caught buying sex, but prostitutes are not arrested for selling sex.

The US has outlawed prostitution in most states. Some US states and countries have legalized prostitution. Sweden has a mixture of the two. What do you think should be done about prostitution?

BBC Article titled "UK 'should outlaw paying for sex'" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7153358.stm

BBC Article titled: "How Sweden tackles prostitution": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6343325.stm

Answer 1

i would love to know men's opinions if sex workers were primarily male. would women be given wide open doors to pursue sex - even to rationalze that it could save their marriage (maybe her husband has erectile dysfunction). of course there are male prostitutes, but they often cater to men.

i see no reason to condone prostitution b/c i would not be able to allow a daughter of mine to do it - how could i allow another daughter to do so? sex is not a commodity. to me it is a result of poverty, disparity, malfunctioned societies.

it has lead to teen prositution and sexual trafficking --slavery--the selling of human bodies -- women shackled and forced into sex with unknown countless men.

to each their own, and i respect women for the choices they make in life overall, but i cannot say i condone prostitution.

Answer 2

I'm with Twilight. If it can be legalized, it will be regulated - which means its workers will have the support of the law and thus protection against trafficking, violence and to some degree, drug abuse.

In the UK prostitution is legal! But living off the income of prostitutes is not. This applied to pimps but also to the 'prostitute's maid' - usually a retired hooker herself. There is also a 'disorderly house' law which forbids more than one of them working in the same property. Because prostitution is difficult without breaking some of these laws that's the reason most of it is currently outside the law.

Legally operating UK prostitutes do pay taxes - I know, I'm in the Revenue (HMRC) myself.

Answer 3

If you leagalize it, it will not decrease or increase the practice.
If you outlaw it, it will not decrease or increase the practice.
To regulate or not...it really does not matter in the long run as not everyone will register if it were required and they will do just what they are doing now...selling sex on their terms...the threat of legal action does not stop them now why would it make a difference if it were required in the future? Tax it? Yeah, ok...refer to my following explaination to understand the difficulty with the application and collection of taxes in this trade.
Bottom line?
People will always want sex...they have since the start of time...there has to be a reason why prostitution is called the oldest profession in the world...have fun out there...be safe...

Answer 4

Because I live in NSW Australia, I agree with Twilight's assessment of the NSW situation.

While I personally view prostitution as an essential aspect of patriarchal exploitation of both women and men, I am not silly enough to believe people are just going to stop doing it.

The decriminalisation and licensing of prostitution in NSW has seen a steep decline in sexual assaults against prostitutes and 'roll and rob' type assaults on customers, as well as decreased opportunities for systemic corruption.

Additionally, the general health of women (and men) engaged in sex work appears to have improved as a result of mandatory STI testing.

This can only be good news for the many children and families supported by sex workers.

Legitimising prostitution is not something I had ever planned on as part of women's liberation, but if sex workers are less reliant on drugs and thugs to earn a decent living, feed their children and support their lifestyles, that can only be to the good.

Unsurprisingly (to me anyway), decriminalisation has also seen some progress in the unionising of sex workers, fights for better wages and conditions and publicising of abuses within the industry.

Hopefully this trend will continue to enable sex industry workers to become empowered to live full and happy lives, free from fear.

However, there is a long way to go, as the continued trafficking of women for sex work around the globe shows.

Recently a gang of people trafficking women was uncovered in NSW, and harsh sentences were handed down. Hopefully this sends a strong message.

Anther way trafficking can be curbed is to make sure women (and to a lesser degree men) have access to real chances of earning a living in their home towns and countries, and do not have to take huge risks with traffickers to go to non-existent jobs and wind up being horribly exploited in the underbelly of our rich societies.

Also, those who use trafficked women for sex, whether IRL or through porn, need to realise what it is they are doing. It has taken many years for our society to be made aware that behind the images in child porn are real children who are really subjected to horrible abuse.

Users of trafficked women need to understand the reality of just what they are doing, too, and face community and legal sanction for their part in the cycle of abuse.

Cheers :-)

Answer 5

I've long supported legalizing it - why not? It's not going away; it's been against the law for ever which has done nothing to stop it and I'm not even sure I think it should be stopped. It serves a purpose for a lot of people so if no one is forced to do anything they don't want to do and if all players are of legal age and participating willingly, I say take the stigma away, legalize it, tax it, and free the cops up for more serious crimes against society.

Answer 6

All the legislation in the world wouldn't get rid of prositution completely. How would the Swedes attempt to enforce that law? They might it well legalize and regulate it; it would keep the prostitutes safer, and the government could make some good money off it.

Answer 7

Legalize it, tax it, regulate it. Make the women go through a screening process and then have them take regular medical exams. That way, there would be no underage girls working as prostitutes and women would be working in this profession on their own free will instead of being forced to.. Also, if they take medical exams, they aren't nearly as likely to be carrying sexually transmitted diseases.

Answer 8

While in Costa Rica once on vacation, a bunch of us went to a legal whorehouse just to "watch" everything going on. There was this HUMONGOUS bouncer that men had to meet and talk to first when they wanted to engage any of the women's services, and the women are tested, the guys have to wear condoms, etc. So it's nice to see it regulated like that.

What was really interesting though was to watch the guys there. Some of them were major geeksters with a woman on either side of them laughing at all their jokes, or white guys who were "curious" about black or hispanic women.

But the bottom line was that the women chose to work in this profession, and take all the precautions necessary to protect their health.

So I say legalize it and regulate it.

Answer 9

I would make it legal. It is the government messing into something that they know nothing about. Their wives want it to be illegal and they think a law will stop it. Sex is a natural act and there are times when a prostitute might save a Marriage.I see nothing wrong with paying for sex if both parties agree. It could be a lot better if legal. criminals cause ost of the trouble now.

Answer 10

Men and women are always paying for sex. The terms of payment may vary. The payment may be in terms of coins, service, emotions, ritual, norm and law. The prostitution in any form existing in the society should be accepted. The only thing which requires to be addressed is its forceful transaction.