Prostitution Should Be Legal
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Prostitution is the act of having sexual intercourse with the sole aim of monetary reimbursement. It is the oldest profession with history showing that the vice began in the early Samaria kingdom, which is current Iraq. Here, maidens made favors that were sexual in temples to appease and satisfy the gods. The practice then moved to ancient Greece, where it was transformed into a business. The transformation allowed women to earn power and status. Currently, prostitution is manifested in two forms; prostitution in brothels and prostitution in the streets.
Furthermore, prostitution has more benefits than demerits. The main reason that has caused the vice to be criminalized isn’t a morality reason but more of potential safety and health threat. This leads to the vice being regarded as a monetary responsibility. Legalizing prostitution has been a controversial debate that has sparked emotions worldwide. Reasons as to why prostitution should be legalized vary from one to the other. Nevertheless, some countries have already legalized the vice, including; New Zealand, Taiwan, and the Netherlands.
Sex is a universal act; it is done under one’s entitlement, but if you choose to charge for sex, then are you committing a crime? In fact, in the Webster Dictionary, prostitution is the act of engaging in immoral sensual relations for monetary gain. In the United States, prostitution is illegal, but should it continue being so? Nevada permits prostitution is legalized and licensed hotels, but the people involved are required to test for STDs regularly, other states should join. Prostitution continues to provide income for many families, and legalizing it would make sex workers healthier. The well-being of the sex workers would further help improve the working conditions, and this, in turn, would have various economic effects on the country via taxation and reimbursements, which are directly interlinked to the thriving business.
On the other hand, those opposing the legalization of the venture argue that decriminalizing prostitution would give birth to human trafficking. Furthermore, they also believe that violence and discrimination would increase rapidly. Even though prostitution is a quarrelsome topic, legalizing it would not, in any way, violate the rights and, in turn, would significantly boost the economy of the country on a global perception. Nevertheless, those contradicting legalizing the business have several explanations to support their stand. First, prostitution is the main reason why the spread of HIV/AIDS is its highest. Commercial sex workers are the link and risk groups due to the nature of their business. Furthermore, most sex workers are lured by their clients into engaging in sex without proper protection such as condoms, which increases the likelihood of contracting the STDs.(Fairly et al.,2000).
Additionally, commercial sex workers have various sexual partners whose HIV status is unknown, and this further multiplies the chances of contracting these diseases. They also argue that prostitutes are money oriented and do not care whether customers use protection or not. However, the reason for linking prostitution to increased HIV/AIDS prevalence is not correct. The rates are high since there are no anti-prostitution laws and legislation aimed at protecting these prostitutes. Linking prostitution to STDs spread should be a topic that varies from one to the other.
In some states, the spread of STDs is in height while others it is low, and prostitution does not play a role in the spread. For instance, in the United States and Europe, the transmission of HIV/AIDS is not an issue of concern since it is negligible. However, in parts of Africa and Asia, many sex workers influence the spread pattern of the disease. Questionably, marginalizing prostitutes and further criminalizing them because they are responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS complicates the monitoring and tracking of the prostitutes, and this, in turn, hinders the exerted efforts of providing programs which are aimed at preventing the spread of the disease. A study done in Australia in the year 1998 discovered that the spread of various sexually transmitted diseases among illegal commercial sex workers was 90 times higher than legal sex workers in the brothels. (Loff et al.,2000). The disparity in numbers is because street commercial sex workers do not get screening services. In contrast, the sex workers in the brothels are entitled to monthly screening services, and the use of protection such as condoms is a mandatory requirement. Furthermore, occupational and safety procedures are applied to the legal prostitutes who are responsible for operating the legal brothels; illegal commercial sex workers who operate in the streets do not benefit from these procedures.
Therefore, legalizing prostitution is a significant process that would ensure that the spread of sexually transmitted infections is reduced tremendously among these sex workers. The key to curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS lies in legalizing prostitution. Supporting and advocating for prostitution rights would enable the reduction of HIV/AIDS infections. Labeling commercial sex workers as “high risk groups” is most rudely an act of stigmatizing prostitutes by people who are opposed to their nature of business. (Weitzer et al.,2011).
Others who are opposed to legalizing argue that legalizing the business would be an act of sexual harassment—because prostitution is often associated with violence against women. Illegal street prostitutes and brothels are largely controlled by pimps, traffickers, and other hostile customers. Due to this, prostitutes are more likely to suffer from beatings and rape. Furthermore, commercial sex workers refuse to report instances of violence meted against them because prostitution is illegal, and they fear being apprehended by the police. (Clemmitt et al.,2008).
Nevertheless, prostitutes do not report cases of violence due to the fear of being penalized by pimps or the fear of losing these pimps. Moreover, opposers of decriminalizing prostitution allude to various studies that reveal that many prostitutes undergo Post Traumatic disorder which is a disorder linked to many rape victims. The trauma these prostitutes suffer is similar to both rape and prostitution, regardless of whether prostitution is legal or not. A study done in Canada revealed that most of the women in the prostitution business have contemplated committing suicide at one point in their lives. In countries where prostitution has been legalized, such as Cambodia, abuse and harassment cases have been largely reduced. Most victims who suffer from the vice have come forward and received proper medical help and have helped them avoid contemplating suicide. We cannot deny the fact that prostitution as a job requires tolerance of various abuse from their clients. Most clients also pay exorbitant rates to sex workers who are generally desperate for money, and this may, in turn, increase rape cases and other forms of abuse. In this regard, prostitution isn’t the only risky business venture with high desperation rates. Still, countries that have legalized abortion with the sole aim of reducing rape and abuse cases have reported a decline in the number of abuses since victims have the courage to come forward and report abuse cases. It is also important to minimize other factors that promote human traffickings, such as fighting poverty rather than criminalizing prostitution as the main cause of human trafficking and sexual abuse.
There is also the need to improve the general well-being and other factors such as the working conditions of these commercial sex workers who voluntarily get into the business. Even though there are exists a small number of assault and rape cases in the prostitution business, eliminating and criminalizing the venture does not hinder prostitutes from involving themselves in the vice. Furthermore, illegalizing prostitution pushes commercial sex workers to engage in even more hazardous activities, which are even more complicated when it comes to regulation, which subjects them into even more maltreatment (Berger et al.,2012).
Another argument that hinders opposers from accepting the legalization of prostitution is based on the linkage of the vice to increased drug and substance abuse. Many commercial sex workers, especially those in the streets, abuse illegal drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine. It is evidenced that prostitutes normally use these drugs due to the assault and violence that they suffer as a result of abuse from clients and owners of the brothels they operate in. Others also turn into prostitution to finance drug addiction. Furthermore, prostitutes are the customer base and market for drug dealers. Research done in the United Kingdom in 2001 discovered that close two-thirds of prostitutes in the cities of the United Kingdom are into prostitution to finance their addiction. Prostitution Law review committee conducted an examination of the common assumptions about prostitutes and the industry at large. (Miller et al.,2004). The committee established that these insights are purely based on stereotypes and little information about the prostitution business. The main reason prostitutes engage in the vice is purely financial and that only 18% of prostitutes are in the business to finance their drug addiction, whereas 82% are in prostitution to look for money to finance their household needs.
Opposers of this legalization are religionists, and they base their reasoning on morals an opposed to having facts to support their arguments. Morality is purely subjective, and prostitution bears no victim. For this reason, prostitution should not be regarded as a crime. Therefore, legalizing prostitution would ensure that commercial sex workers are immune to any stigmatization and further grant them the sole right to use their bodies as they so wish (Hayes et al.,2010). Prostitution is consensual between the prostitute and his/her client, and this does not breach the rights of the two partners in the vice. Furthermore, prostitution does not directly harm any other third party. Prostitutes deserve the right to enjoy their labor entitlements just as other workers, and they also have equal human rights like any other person. Furthermore, every adult has the duty of fending for his or her family, and prostitution has, for the longest time, been able to pull people from abject poverty. Instead of stealing or begging, prostitutes have chosen other avenues of providing their daily needs. (Decker et al. 1995). Anti-prostitution laws continue to perpetuate and further encourage violence on prostitutes. Many prostitutes who suffer from acts of violence do not come forward due to the fear of being arrested and profiled since no one is likely to believe their innocence hence making them lesser beings(Hayes et al.,2010). The funds being channeled towards opposing the legalization are immense, and instead, they should be diverted to preventing crimes against prostitutes and pursuing justice for the victims.
References
Clemmitt, M. (2008). Prostitution Debate. CQ Press.
Weitzer, R. (2011). Sex Trafficking And The Sex Industry: The Need For Evidence-Based Theory And Legislation. Journal Of Criminal Law & Criminology, 101
Legalization Of Prostitution Is A Violation Of Human Rights. National Lawyers Guild Review, 68(2), 65-108.
Hayes-Smith, R., & Shekarkhar, Z. (2010). Why is prostitution criminalized? An alternative viewpoint on the construction of sex work. Contemporary Justice Review, 13(1), 43-55
Batsyukova, S. (2007). Prostitution and Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation. Gender Issues, 24(2), 46-50
Loff, B., Gaze, B., & Fairley, C. (2000). Prostitution, public health, and human rights law. Lancet, 356(9243), 1764.
Wiechelt, S. A., & Shdaimah, C. S. (2011). Trauma and substance abuse among women in prostitution: Implications for a specialized diversion program. Journal of Forensic Social Work, 1(2), 159-184.