For centuries, many individuals view prostitution as something immoral and others view differently saying it’s just the norm to pleasure another individual needs. There’s been many debates on the topic of prostitution, if it should be legalized or decriminalize. What can governments and activists do to protect sex workers from dangerous situation such as trafficking, slavery, abuse, and much more.
Different authors, journalists, writers, and etc carefully look over the issues of prostitution and make a position if prostitution should be legalized or decriminalized, and if different laws and regulations really do rotects sex workers human rights. In the article “Why it’s Time to Legalize Prostitution,” journalist Reisenwitz (2014) emphasis that prostitution should be legalized because it can “protect sex workers, reduce violence, cut down on sex trafficking, and more.
Legalizing prostitution can lower violence that are against sex workers such as the risk of HIV and STI infections and giving sex workers access to health informations and services. Criminalizing can be more expensive than legalizing because of the high rate of underground business. Activist like feminist are pushing the legalization to protect and defend women’s right. There’s are other activists like radical feminist, evangelical christians, and sex-positive feminists, who view sex into different categories such as sex being sacre between a women and men and sex work is exploitive.
In “What’s Wrong with Legalizing Prostitution,” article talks about why legalizing prostitution is not what others thinks it will be, like giving sex workers freedom, protection, reduction of violence, but it’s the total opposite. Author Crouse says that the prostitute’s pimp are in control of them, “80%-95% of all forms of prostitution” (2010). Pimps and gangs control many of the rostitution that most of the sex workers are being coerced, abused, assult, and take more than half of prostitution earnings.
Resulting in the sex workers to be stripped off from getting healthy services because of pimps disapproval and many sex workers end up being drug-addicted and many more. Legalizing prostitution won’t change or protect sex worker because different violence, injuries, diseases will continue to happen and that police usually don’t take crime against prostitution serious. Also legalizing prostitution will only create greater issues such as pimps, johns, and other trafficker will increase sex trafficking nd slavement because of greater demand for younger girls when prostitution is legalized.
The article “opposition’s opening remarks,” explain what prostitution is and reasons to why legalizing prostitution will not benefit but rather harm the sex workers. John or clients of the sex workers compared prostitution to an organ where individuals rent it for couple minutes and almost like using it. These johns or clients takes away sex worker’s dignity and worth as an individual. According to Farley (2010), “Prostitution is sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, often worse. His payment does not erase what we now about violence and rape. Prostitution being legal or not, it is creating harm for women because prostitution has the highest rate of rapes, abuses, and assaults. Since prostitutions are regularly abused and assaulted, not much can be done about it.
Most of the womens who goes into prostitution are there by being forced into the business and so legalizing prostitution will only increase trafficking and pimps forcing these women to cooperate or further violence occurs. The article “Legalizing Prostitution- A Solutions? addresses the important aspect of how legalizing prostitution are different in ther parts of the world and not all regulations and laws are protecting sex workers right. Writer Kristof explains that in parts of the world such as Brazil, South Africa, and China, women chooses to be prostitutes because of economic pressures and opportunities. But in India, all women who goes into prostitution are being forced (2007). Different countries view prostitution differently, it’s either respecting women’s choice of occupations or shaming them for it.
Legalizing will work in some countries but not in others, countries like India are involved with criminal gangs, trafficking, and forced slavery and so controlling it will be uch more difficult. Otherwise countries like Cambodia, legalizing protects sex workers and reduces harm in ways where condoms are handed out and women are educated about sexual transmitted infections. The article “A personal choice,” explains that government should change their policy on prostitution and recognize that online prostitution websites doing businesses are safer than on the streets.
Government should not just legalize but rather decriminalize prostitutions because doing business online is safer and is more private. According to Cunningham and Shah (2014), “the web will do more to make prostitution safer than ny law has ever done and pimps are less likely to be abusive if prostitutes have alternative route to market. ” Doing business online is easier and safer because prostitutes can view details about their clients and let them confirm clients identities and health tests. Government should decriminalize prostitution because if selling sex online is safer, it will be easier for government to regulate the sites.
The article “Prostitution Humanism and a Woman’s Choice,” emphasis women’s right and should decriminalize prostitution because woman should have there own choice in occupation. Most prostitutes has no choice into prostitution, whether it’s by force because limit options or because it suits them, prostitution are just trying to do their job to earn a living. Legalizing prostitution would only do more harm like no protection, socially and legally for the women. But decriminalizing prostitution will protect prostitution from assaults and abuses.
Decriminalization would enforce law strictly against fraud, coercion, violence, abuse, rape, and many more. It will give prostitutions all human rights and civil liberties, freedom of speech, travel immigration, health insurance, rights are rotected and many others. While legalization usually gives prostitution licensed and required to work in a specific way (Klinger, 2013). Decriminalizing prostitution would be a key point in humanistic feminist perspective where fighting for women’s rights in not being forced into the business of prostitution.
The main point of the debate on prostitution is viewing the different opinions to see if prostitution should be legalized or decriminalized. Journalist Reisenwitz (Why It’s Time to legalize Prostitution), among the other authors is the only one who is in favor of legalization because she talks about how legalizing will rotect sex workers human rights and reduce violences. Activist will be more in favor of legalization because these activists like feminist would defend and acknowledges women from being forced into prostitution.
Both author Crouse (What’s wrong with legalizing Prostitution? and Farley (The opposition’s opening remarks), are not in favor of legalizing prostitution with a stance that it will increase more crime and violence against the sex workers. Both author emphasis that if legalizing prostitution, pimps who are mainly in control of the prostitutes would force more women and especially younger girls into prostitution, aking profits from them while the prostitutes get less to nothing. Also legalization won’t protect or help prostitutes because police don’t take crime against them seriously and that being labeled as prostitutes, not many will offer to help becuase other’s sees them as less important.
Journalist Kristof (Legalizing Prostitution-A Solution? ), is either favoring and not in favor of legalizing prostitution. Kristof talks about how legalizing will work with reducing violence such as educating women about aids and use of condoms in some countries. The legalization laws and policy will not work in some parts of the countries ecause it’s difficult to control those areas that are associated with criminal rates, gangs, trafficking, and coerced prostitution.
Author, Klinger (Prostitution Humanism and a Women’s Choice), and author Cunningham and Shah (A Personal Choice), are not in favorable of legalization but rather decriminalization. These authors talks about the choices a woman’s can make, if it means being a prostitute. Sex workers should have the rights to do whatever they can to earn a living without hiding as criminals. Criminalization will cost more for them and the government. Decriminalizing prostitutes will protect their uman rights, freedom of speech, and enforces law against harms, violences and so much more.
I think that prostitution should be decriminalized rather than legalized because it would protect women and enforces laws more. Legalizing prostitution could reduce violence where if a prostitution is in danger, she can easily report it to the police. But the thing is, does police actually take prostitution cases seriously. Most of the time police take cases lightly and will sometime overlook it. Legalization will potentially increase sex trafficking in the world because according to Crouse (2010), 80% to 90% of prostitution are controlled by pimps.
Pimps can forced women and especially younger girls into prostitution and can abuse them if they go to the police. Also legalization won’t work in many of the different parts of the world and where government’s regulation won’t be easy because of high crime rates in those countries. Decriminalization will be easier and safer for prostitution because of economic stress, most women goes into prostitution to earn a living. When decriminalizing prostitution it will be safer for prostitution to reports crime such as being harass or abuses because prostitution will be treated better than if it is legalized.