Prostitution,_Legalization

Prostitution: Should it be legalized' Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in exchange for a payment of some sort, most likely money. The legal status of such acts vary from country to country, with some having harsher penalties than the others. People who commit these acts are called ‘prostitutes’. The estimated yearly revenue generated by the global prostitution industry is over 100 billion dollars. Prostitution occurs in a variety of forms. Brothels are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution. In escort prostitution, the act takes place at the customer's residence or hotel room (referred to as out-call), or at the escort's residence or in a hotel room rented for the occasion by the escort (called in-call). Another form is street prostitution. Sex tourism is travel, generally from developed to under-developed nations, to engage in other sexual activity with prostitutes. Prostitution is a victimless crime. Prostitutes are not committing an inherently harmful act. While the spread of disease and other detriments are possible in the practice of prostitution, criminalization is a sure way of exacerbating rather than addressing such effects. Morality and free choice are being affected if prostitution is remained illegal. "We chose sex work after we did a lot of things we couldn't stand. Sex work is better. For me, sex work isn't my first choice of paying work. It just happens to be the best alternative available. It's better than being president of someone else's corporation. It's better than being a secretary. It is the most honest work I know of." – Veronica Monet, author and prostitute. Criminalizing the sex industry creates ideal conditions for rampant exploitation and abuse of sex workers...It is believed that trafficking in women, coercion and exploitation can only be stopped if the existence of prostitution is recognized and the legal and social rights of prostitutes are guaranteed. Decriminalization would better protect people in the sex industry from violence and abuse. Police cannot and do not simultaneously seek to arrest prostitutes and protect them from violence.... Indeed, women describe being told, 'What did you expect'' by police officers who refused to investigate acts of violence perpetrated against women whom they knew engaged in prostitution. The consequences of such attitudes are tragic: Gary Ridgway said that he “killed prostitutes because he knew he would not be held accountable.” The tragedy is that he was right - he confessed to the murders of 48 women, committed over nearly twenty years. That is truly criminal. It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year. Sex work is legitimate work and problems within the industry are not inherent in the work itself. It is vulnerability, not sex work, which creates victims. Sex workers should enjoy the same labour rights as other workers and the same human rights as other people. Just imagine if the government would tax this industry after being legalized as a business. The revenue gained from this would benefit all around because it would be extra money to put to good use such as finding cures for things such as cancer, diabetes, etc. Prostitution is not merely an exchange of sexual favours; it is a financial exchange. At this point, individualist feminists rise to defend the free market as well as a woman's self-ownership. A viewpoint on legalization of prostitution by a former prostitute, Carol Leigh- "Decriminalization is not at all a solution to every injustice that exists in the sex industry; it is a starting point. If prostitution were not an underground activity it would allow us to much more effectively address the serious problems of forced prostitution and juvenile prostitution and the other abuses which are part of an industry that operates completely in the shadows. There are many who want other options and they should be given alternatives and assistance. And then there are also those who organize for their rights and are not quitting at the moment and they should be afforded options, their rights, and self-determination as well. Whatever ills are attendant to prostitution, criminalization of prostitutes exacerbates the abuse." Prostitution should not only be legalized, but it should be given the benefit of the doubt. Many people don’t even think, and just assume it is a bad thing. It should be promoted and made into a legitimized business. After providing the reasons above, it is the hope that you will realize prostitution has its’ place in the world just like everything else and should be completely legalized. Works Cited http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm'PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006521 http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/CIR/822-e.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution http://prostitution.procon.org/