Introduction
Prostitution is an age old profession existing in the world from immemorial time. In the US as per the estimation made by the Prostitutes’ Education Network, over 100,000 American women are involved in the profession (Dionne 2013). Women's right activists consider prostitution a sinful act that undermines the integrity and dignity of women by victimizing them to sexual, physical, mental and emotional abuse. In the context of millions of young girls and women being exploited all over the world for commercial sex trade, it is a matter of great dispute whether or not the profession should be made legal. Over 50 countries around the world including Canada, the UK, Mexico, Argentina and Italy have legitimatized prostitution by imposing some restrictions and regulations on the industry. In the USA, apart from Nevada rest of the 49 states bans prostitution as illegal. There are lots of debates going on the issue of legalizing prostitution for many years. While the opponents of legalization stigmatize prostitution as an immoral act that is likely to increase the rates of crimes and sexually transmitted diseases, I believe prostitution should be legalized because legalization would curb the crime rates, improve the health and safety standards of prostitutes and give economic benefit to our country.
What is Prostitution?
Prostitution is a profession in which sex is traded in exchange of money. The person providing the sexual services is referred as prostitute and the person receiving the services is called a customer or client. Prostitution can divided into two categories - direct and indirect forms of prostitution. Direct form of prostitution includes street, brothel, escort service, private, transport and CB radio. In street prostitution clients are approached on streets, parks and other public places and services are rendered in dark alleys, parked vehicles and short stay premises. Brothels are pleasure houses specifically dedicated to prostitution. In escort services, clients contact the call girls through phone or hotel staff. Services are rendered usually in the hotel room or at the client's home. Private prostitution is somewhat like escort having the clients contact the call girls over phone, with the only difference in sexual services being rendered at the premises of the prostitutes. In transport sexual practices prostitutes may board vehicles like truck, train and ship to provide pleasure to passengers. CB radio is a medium for sex workers to exchange dialogue with truck drivers and the services are rendered at parking lots and truck stops. Indirect forms of prostitution includes bondage and discipline in which weird sexual fantasies are fulfilled through infliction of pain, lap dance which is an erotic dance provided to titillate the customers without sexual contact and individual arrangement in which a single mother may give sexual favors to her landlord in lieu of rent or an older prostitute may entertain regular client by appointment or concubines (Harcourt & Donovan).
Should Prostitution Be Made Legal?
Opponents of legitimization of prostitution believe that legalization would lead to an increase in sexual violence and crimes. They believe that legalization would allow the continuity of the emotional and bodily abuse of women under certain state imposed restrictions. They opine that the pimps and women traffickers would become licensed to perpetuate their atrocity under the legal umbrella. But proponents of legalization believe that illegal prostitution is contributive to crimes as prostitutes and their patrons are looked upon by the criminals as attractive targets for fraud, robbery, rape and other felonies because they know that such people would be hesitant in reporting the crimes to police as the victims then would have to confess of being engaged in an illegal activity like prostitution during the time of the attacks. If prostitution was legal, then these victims would have been more willing to report the crimes to the police. Further, legalization would reduce the crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the pimps and women traffickers on the abused women because prostitution being illegal, prostitutes are randomly arrested, harassed and many a time prosecuted while the pimps and the abusers are completely ignored. Legal status of the profession would make these victimized women leave the profession whenever they want.
Opponents of legalization of prostitution believe that legitimization of the profession would increase the rate of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV or AIDS. Prostitutes due to having many partners are exposed to the increased risk of HIV. They can likewise spread the disease across to many partners. Proponents of legalization, on the other hand, share the view that legalization would impose certain regulations on people involved in this profession to get license and as part of the business to offer quality of service health and safety measures like STD screening, cleanliness, drug testing, visual genital inspection, prophylactic use, regular doctor checkups and pre and post pleasure hygiene would be taken by the legal professionals and brothels. An example of legal pleasure house where all the people involved in the profession maintain the health and safety standards is Bunny Ranch in Nevada where prostitution is legal.
Opponents of decriminalization of prostitution view commercial sex as an immoral act and therefore they believe, even if women themselves show willingness to come to this profession to make a career choice and earn financial liberty, they should never be allowed to do that because selling one's body for money cannot be a career choice. Proponents on the other hand believe that prostitution is a business like any other profession and therefore, it would be wrong to single out this profession for stigmatization. Legalization would remove the stigma from this profession and would add to economic benefits for the country. Dennis Hof who is the proprietor of Nevada's Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel is of the opinion that legal and taxed sex trade would economically benefit the country. He states, "The federal government receives $6 billion a year now, off of liquorThe prostitution industry in America is about an $18 billion business, and none of that money goes into the federal coffers or goes to pay taxes" (Kennedy 2012). If prostitution is made legal then the government of USA can earn the benefit of $6 billion as tax from the legal prostitutes and $2 billion more from licensing fees. Further, due to the stigma attached to being imprisoned for a sex crime, many women are denied normal employment and hence they are forced to continue with the sex trade longer than they intended and become involved in a life of drugs and sex crimes. If prostitution was legal then these women would never have had to suffer from the ignominy of imprisonment for a sex crime and they could easily switch to normal profession.
Conclusion
Over the years the issue of legitimatization of prostitution has raised a slew of debates with one party opposed to the legalization arguing that prostitution is a wrongful act the legalization of which would only increase the rate of violent on women and spread sexually transmitted diseases while another party in favor of legalization arguing that legalization would reduce the rates of crime by giving a voice to the abused women to fight for their rights, improve the health and safety standards of the profession and would benefit the country economically by introducing tax from another set of professionals. Taking into account the views of both the parties I believe legalization would destigmatize prostitution by introducing it onto the same platform as other professions and all the legal rights people of other professions enjoy would be applicable to prostitution too and thereby those involved in the trade instead of putting up with oppression and harassments at the hands of police and pimps would get a voice to fight for their rights.
Work Cited
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Hughes, Donna M. Legalizing Prostitution Will Not Stop the Harm. University of Rhode Island. Feb 1999. Web. 16 Aug 2013 <http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/mhvlegal.htm>
Kennedy, Bruce. Would legalizing prostitution help the US economy?. 13 Dec 2012. Web. 16 Aug 2013 <http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=49c1f746-9b02-4ba4-a60f-67d3ccc1a6b5>
Harcourt, Christine & Donovan, Basil. What Are the Different Types of Prostitution? ProCon.org. Web. 16 Aug 2013 <http://prostitution.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000096>
Dionne, Evette. Is It Time to Legalize Prostitution?. Clutch. 17 Jun 2013. Web. 16 Aug 2013 <http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/06/is-it-time-to-legalize-prostitution/>
Does Legalizing Prostitution Protect Reduce HIV/AIDS?. Debate.org. Web. 16 Aug 2013 <http://www.debate.org/opinions/would-legalizing-prostitution-reduce-hiv-aids>
