Drugs
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Introduction
Study on prostitutes documents a high pervasiveness of alcohol and drug abuse and as they drifted into prostitution and during prostitution. There is a dubious relation between substance abuse and prostitution, as one might lead to the other. Substance abuse alone may or may not be the factor that pushes these women into prostitution. The essay discusses the topic if prostitution was legalized, would it have an effect on female drug addiction? Before going into that subject, it would be essential to get more information on whey women take drugs or get into prostitution. It will also help to look at the results in those countries where prostitution has been legalized. Women get involved in prostitution for a number of reasons such as homelessness, poverty, child sexual abuse, mental ill health, drug and sexual violence. Women and children abused in prostitution face long-lasting physical and psychological trauma. It can be very damaging to women’s self-esteem and sexuality. Having to endure unwanted sex under unfair conditions creates the need to dissociate and motivate the women to take to drugs and alcohol. Women involved in street prostitution often are not able to take care of their children and their children may become a victim of the vicious circle.
Women, Drug Addiction and Crime The relation between drug addiction and crime is controversial, and this is because of the wide variances in the crime rates of addicts in different countries. The social patterns of drug abuse vary greatly within the same country. A trend of delinquency among young narcotic addicts is seen in the United States and Britain. The findings on female narcotic addicts in prison show that drug dependence is simply an extension of delinquent behavior. Both criminality and narcotic addiction are an expression of similar personality traits that further lead to social deviance (D’ Orbán 2011, p. 347). It is a common notion that drug addiction is a male phenomenon and females are not involved in substance abuse. In Muslim countries, it is surprising to see a woman who smokes cigarettes. Research shows that more than half of the female prisoners are there because of drugs and addiction. Addiction in women can expose them to cancer, high blood pressure, AIDS, and malnutrition. Vulnerable women often end up in extramarital sexual relations and substance dependency (Khajedaluee et al. 2015, p. 1). Poverty, high rates of divorce and need to get money for drugs push those women towards crime and prostitution.
Women and prostitution A wide-ranging body of literature points that individuals involved in prostitution often come from neglectful childhood backgrounds. It is still not very clear as to how childhood abuse and neglect leads to involvement in prostitution as most of the literature focuses on psychological mechanisms. There could be other risks and social factors associated with engagement in prostitution as asserted by Wilson & Widom (2014, p. 210). Substance abuse acts as precursors of sexual behaviors and it is the convergence of mental stressors, poverty and drug use that develops a fertile ground for psychological morbidity. There is a strong relationship between mental ill-health, drug use and sexual behaviors among sex workers. Prostitution is linked to a wide range of psychosocial vulnerabilities such as childhood sexual and physical abuse, violence in adulthood and substance use. Moreover, prostitution is often connected with low education level, low income, homelessness and ethnic minority status. As there are several complexities behind the multifaceted nature of prostitution, it can be a significant challenge to deal with the issue of drugs and sex workers (Pandiyan, Chandrasekhar & Madhusudhan 2012, p. 349).Substance abuse among prostitutes Earlier research on women engaged in prostitution finds a high rate of drug abuse among them. Drug addiction itself is considered one of the major causes of women entering into prostitution as this is an easy and fast way to finance their drug needs. Women who are lacking education and skills also enter prostitution. Use of drugs subdues prostitutes' dislike toward the degrading occupation. When studies were done to examine the degree of psychological distress among prostitutes, it was found that majority of the prostitutes meet the criteria for a post-traumatic stress disorder (Young, Boyd and Hubbell 2004, p. 790). However, it was also concluded that the high rate of PTSD was a result of violence rather than just the act of prostitution. Another study finds that drug-using prostitutes scored higher on measures of psychological distress as compared to drug-using non-prostitutes. They suffer from psychological distresses such as anxiety and depression. Women engaged in prostitution are more likely to report the use of drugs as compared to other women. Some research advocates that drug use precedes involvement in prostitution and a way to support the habit of drugs (Wilson & Widom 2014, p. 214). There is a growing literature that suggests that children exposed to abuse and neglect increase their risk for involvement in drugs and prostitution later on. Older studies document that prostitutes often used narcotics to ease the stress of their particular occupation. Drinking alcohol and using drugs mad them feel more detached from their work and thus helped them to deal with its pressures. The work conditions of prostitutes are particularly stressful. The power lies with the client of the women to subject them to various forms of sexual abuse. The degrading and violent circumstances make them suffer from psychological distress, and they turn to drugs to relieve their distress as stated by Young, Boyd and Hubbell (2004, p. 791). Studies indicate that prostitutes using crack cocaine are more severely addicted as compared to prostitutes using other drugs. This could be because crack cocaine is a highly addictive substance. The drug-driven form of prostitution is prevalent, and this lowers the cost of prostitution, because of the higher availability of women for sex in exchange for drugs or money. The humiliating nature of prostitution leaves these women to feel less confident and humiliated. Most of the prostitutes prefer to take alcohol and drugs so as to feel calm and more confident on the job as well as to suppress negative feelings. They want to appear relaxed and sociable and use drugs to decrease their feelings of sexual distress. Taking drugs makes their work easier for them. (Young, Boyd and Hubbell 2004, p. 767).
Impacts of legalizing prostitution Prostitution was legal during Greek and Roman periods and was strongly discouraged later by the Christian Roman emperors. Christianity and its morals placed a ban on prostitution. However by the medieval era, prostitution was again accepted in major cities in England (Trifiolis 2012, p. 3). There are numerous nations where Prostitution is legal, for example in Netherlands, where stricter measures are for those who wish to do the work voluntarily and to prevent exploitation. Another country where prostitution is legalized is Australia and the purpose behind is to make sex industry regulated and safer for women. However what has happened is that pimps are luring Asian women to Australia to set up illegal brothels with lower prices and trafficking is 'booming' here. The legal brothels in order to compete cut their costs and this involves cutting benefits for women or make them work under unfair conditions (Trifiolis 2012, p. 9).
Although there are many risks of legalization prostitution, there are pro-legalization advocates who fight for prostitution being legalized. The supporters argue that by legalizing sex industry, it will remove prostitution from the street and regulate prostitution activities. Children and women get protection in the industry from abuse and violence. They will not be forced to work against their will as asserted by Trifiolis (2012, p. 13). Legalization prostitution would also bring down the number of rape cases. Moreover, the Sex workers should enjoy the same labor rights and human rights as other people. The Dutch government is facing the unintended consequences by legalizing prostitution in 2000 and drug use. Netherlands certainly made things easier for pimps and traffickers by legalizing the brothel trade. Their logic behind was simple and to make prostitution a job like any other. The drug dealers and people traffickers would go away once the women were liberated. However, a decade later, the sex industry has spilled out all over Amsterdam, and the pimps remain as brutal as ever. Under legalization, the Pimps are now reclassified as managers and businesspeople. Amsterdam has become the brothel of Europe and women are getting forcefully imported from Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia to meet the demand. Trafficking and violence have risen. Illegality has simply taken a new form, and clearly, the experiment had been a disaster (Veith 2013). Legalizing prostitution, however, will not help promote women's health. A recent study shows that majority of men expected without a condom and were willing to pay more for sex without a condom. Sex workers get abused if they insist that the men use a condom. The safety policies even in legal brothels do not protect women from harm (Trifiolis 2012, p. 19). Prostitution for most women is a way to make ends meet. There are risks involved with their work such as violence and having unprotected sex with strangers. Women who are often prostituting tum to drugs to escape the guilty feelings of their profession. Thus, many women begin to prostitute looking for money and drugs, but their drug use and nature of work adds to their psychological distress. Few women would choose prostitution if they had plentiful of resource or the chance to lead bette4r lived with good education (Young, Boyd and Hubbell 2004, p. 797). While there has been education on behavior-change and risk-reduction strategies for HIV among sex workers, there is little attention paid to the vulnerabilities faced by their children. The vulnerabilities of children of female sex workers and drug users need to be addressed (Beard et al. 2010, p. 1). However, it is challenging to understand the vulnerabilities faced by the families of sex workers as their work is considered illegal. The ecodevelopmental theory states that family as the most powerful influence on the behavior patterns of a groin child. Family relationships impact other social contexts such as the school and peer groups. Childhood abuse can impact his psychological and social functioning in a negative way. Stress can lead to weaker social and emotional development and these further social and emotional development negatively. Those neglectful early environments lead to problem behaviors in adolescence such as running away from home, early sexual initiation, school problems, early drug use and involvement in prostitution (Wilson & Widom 2014, p. 211). A strong association between drug abuse and prostitution cannot be denied. The majority of drug users are prostitutes and majority of prostitutes take drugs. The most damaging impact of legalization of prostitution is that it turns individuals into commodities that are bought and sold like objects, based on their gender, age and looks. Under this circumstances, the pimps and human traffickers get encouraged and grab more power to control the activities of the prostitute and her money. Many young women are faced with poverty, lack of education and poor financial situation that forces them into the prostitution trade in order to survive. It is easier for them to fall into the trap of drugs because of the low self-esteem and harsh working conditions of their trade. Entry into prostitution and its relation with poverty, sexual abuse, and drugs are apparent.Conclusion Preventive interventions can help control drug consumption and prostitution. It is essential to focus on reducing risk factors and stimulate healthier environments right from the childhood. Legalizing prostitution is not likely to curb drug abuse among women as there are so many other societal factors connected and working behind. Mover, there is sufficient evidence to show that by legalizing prostitution, bigger issues and problems develop, which are even harder to control. However, legalization of prostitution promotes illegal sex trafficking and unfair conditions for the sex workers. It will lead to a massive expansion of the sex industry and become a sideline of the tourism and casino. The current proven ineffective to deal with the problems of prostitution and controlling drug abuse. Clearly, women take to prostitution for different reasons and later seek solace in drugs to cope with the stressful impacts of their profession. Some women take to prostitution to support their drug addictions. Although many communities have implemented different practices to control prostitution and its negative effects as well as protect sex workers and their children, there is no concrete result seen in this direction. Prostitutes are susceptible to carry criminal records, low self-esteem, and bear with drug addictions. These factors and realities work together to prevent the prostitute from leaving the trade. Legalizing prostitution is not the solutions and will not guarantee to have any effect on female drug addiction. The society has a responsibility to educate their masses and make the sex workers and their children aware of the increased risks of disease and violence associated with prostitution. It should acknowledge prostitutes as victims and make stricter laws dealing with pimps and traffickers, or those who force sex workers to work under illegal conditions. Drug addiction and prostitution are intrinsically related, and the chances are that a sex worker who is not into drugs, may eventually start relying on them to cope with the stress of their occupation.
Bibliography
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