Karina Sobreira
Final Paper
SOC 3561
04/19/2015
Discussing the Legalization of Prostitution To better discuss the legalization of prostitution there’s a need to know its definition. Legalization of prostitution is where prostitution becomes controlled by the government and becomes legal under specific conditions. Legalization may include prostitution-specific controls chosen by the state, which could include licensing, registration, and mandatory regular health checks ups. Prostitution has been legalized in Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Senegal, Nevada in the USA, and many Australian states (Mossman, 2007). Prostitution has been shaped by economic, demographic, social, and ethical changes
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Expansion of the sex industry Though it is expected that the expansion of the sex industry would be controlled by legislation, it actually does the opposite. “Legislation leads to massive expansion” (Sullivan & Jeffreys, 2001). For example in Victoria, Australia, from when it first legalized brothels 1984 until 2004, “sexual service providers” increased from 40 to 184, not counting the growth of illegal prostitution, which was estimated to be four to five times the size of the legal sector (Sullivan, 2005). Also, the demand for sex services grows rapidly after legalization. Many men who before legalization wouldn’t risk buying women, see it now as acceptable; as prostitution becomes legal, treating women as merchandise also becomes ethical and socially acceptable. There is also an impact on the future generations of men and boys; they will now receive the message that prostitution is harmless and fun. Businessmen are now encouraged to carry out meetings in clubs where they provide naked women laying on the center of the table (Raymond, 2003).
Empowering women Continuing looking at prostitution in Australia, as legalization became a possibility, feminists believed they would have control over their clients, their working conditions, and would have a healthy and safe environment if working for an employer. They believed legalization would empower
Policies and laws fail to stop prostitution, and it will not stop. It is more costly to keep prostitution illegal. Prostitutes will be more vulnerable to getting criminal records, which then makes it harder for them in society, to obtain legal jobs. Also, with prostitution being illegal the workers may not be able to protect themselves from crimes against them. As prostitution is not legal, then they have to find discreet places to work, which usually is not in a safe environment. If some kind of crime against them did happen, they may feel that, they aren’t able to go to the police for help, as their work is illegal. It actually makes it harder on the worker, in turn making it harder for the client. There are all sorts of people who turn to prostitutes. From blue collar workers to high executives of companies, business owners and more. With prostitution being illegal, the clients are facing criminal charges as well. This does not only hurt the client, but communities as well. The author believes that people around the world have changed their older views and sexual norms to adapt to a more modern society. Brents, B.A., Jackson, C.A., & Hausbeck, K. (2010) concludes that prostitution is better being legalized than being criminalized (p.233). And with this change, people should reevaluate and learn from Nevada’s policies on prostitution being legal. While the author has shown many reasons why
Abstract: This paper explores the world’s oldest and most controversial occupation and puts forth a foundational plan for legalizing and regulating sex work in a safe way that satisfies both radical and liberal feminists ideals. To understand how prostitution has evolved to where it’s at today, this proposal travels through the history of prostitution in the United States (heavily focusing on the twentieth century.) Prostitutes were initially accepted and openly sought after. A shift in societal norms and values placed sex work in a heavy degradation. The regulation of prostitution in Nevada began in 1970 and resulted in the first licensed brothel in 1971. Fast forward nearly fifty years and prostitution is outlawed in 49 out of 50 states. Vast amounts of money are being spent annually in failed attempts to stop prostitution all together. Radical feminists are those who would identify as conservative. They are against prostitution on the belief that it victimizes and degrades women in poverty. Liberal feminists strongly agree that the government has no place in a women’s body and that the right to perform sex work is human right. This paper analyzes these different perspectives and incorporates a model that will resemble the current working regulation in Nevada. Stricter stipulations such as health requirements and the legal age should help influence radical feminist to expand their perspective and acceptance.
Though widely accepted throughout the course of human history, the approval of prostitution in today modern society seems to be a much more grey area. While once legal in every major civilization on earth, prostitution is now illegal in many countries, though sometimes tolerated for the revenue it generates. This cold shoulder toward prostitution began in the Middle Ages, when church officials began to preach of the sins associated with the profession. Their cries, however, fell on mostly deaf ears. Prostitution had become such a large contributor of public revenue in so many countries, that is was protected and regulated by law. In the centuries to come, however, things began to change. With the rise of stringent sexual morality standards associated with the Protestant Reformation, the increased transmission and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases and the implementation of such social movements as feminism, prostitution began to fall out of favor, eventually becoming illegal in many parts of the world. (Jenkins).
Abel, Gillian, et al. Taking the crime out of sex work: New Zealand sex workers fight for decriminalisation. Policy Press, 2010. Part two: Implementation and impact of the Prostitution Reform Act (2003): the first five years: Review of the PRA
Australian Sex Workers Association argued that the Bill only obstructs the implementation of health promotion initiatives and is contrary to the objectives of the Australian Government’s National Strategies on HIV and Sexually Transmissible Infections. Moreover, the fact that running Brothels in WA is banned completely has created some challenges to the society and the government itself (Kim, 2015).
Due to the fairly recent changes regarding the legality of prostitution in Canada, individuals who use and provide these services have been cautious (Warnica, 2015). Unfortunately, new laws may create more problems than benefits, such as, financial problems due to fewer people buying sex because it is illegal to do so. In this paper, I will explicate and assess the new changes to the law regarding prostitution in Canada, arguing that prostitution should be legal in Canada. Prostitution laws vary all over the world. Some jurisdictions are similar to Canada whilst others are extremely different. The United Kingdom is similar to Canada, as acts related to prostitution are illegal but prostitution itself is not. In Germany, Netherlands, and New Zealand prostitution is legal and so are brothels. However, in Argentina, France, Singapore and Greece brothels are illegal put prostitution is. There is no universal agreement on how governments should legislate or regulate prostitution.
Governments of Western nations are trying to change the appearance and the way prostitution is managed, little consensus exists but new laws are being adopted some met with fierce criticism. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services of oneself for money or goods and without
It is rather odd to think that prostitution, which is considered to be the world’s oldest profession, would be illegal and harmful in nature. The issue of legalizing prostitution has entered public conversation around the world, which is severely divided. Many, like myself, consider prostitution to be a victimless crime. Despite such opposition to legalizing prostitution, many argue that legalizing it would result in decreased morality issues, increase the economic activity in the United States, and help decrease the number of sexually transmitted diseases among both prostitutes and those who patronize them,
In addition to the rise of sex trafficking, the opposition believes that prostitution is degrading to women, and legalizing it will show regression for women’s rights (Sanders, O’Neill and Pitcher 34). Legalizing prostitution will only encourage more women to become a part of an industry that takes advantage of and hurts them (Perer
Throughout history, prostitution has been an issue of intense debates in the US and the larger global society. Many countries legally prohibit prostitution and associated activates. Except Nevada, the United States also illegalizes prostitution. However, the benefit of legalizing prostitution in the US would not only be for the workers but also for the economy as well. It is high time that prostitution be legalized for various reasons.
In his book Love For Sale, Nils Johan Ringdal wrote, “If nobody wants to sell sex, it is a crime to force anyone to do so. But when men or women do want to sell their bodies, they should have that full right without encountering punishment or discrimination.” Prostitution, often described as the world’s oldest profession is a legitimate criminal offence in 109 countries of the world today (“Human Trafficking Statistics”). Laws on prostitution vary considerably from country to country: in some countries it is punishable by death penalty ("Iran - Facts on Trafficking”), in some it is a crime punishable by prison sentence, while in other jurisdictions, it is a lesser administrative offense punishable only with a fine ("The Sentencing and
The sex industry is highly divided between those who call themselves “sex workers”, and former prostitutes who call themselves “survivors” (Glazer 340). Women should have the right to choose what they do for a living, including prostitution. The criminalization of prostitution does more harm than good when often women are left unprotected, both socially and legally, and therefore, the United States should make efforts to decriminalize and regulate prostitution instead.
Prostitution is said to be “the world’s oldest profession” (Ramchandran par. 1). The Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines prostitution as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money” (“Prostitution” par. 1). Many people argue that prostitution should be legalized, but it hurts people more than it helps. Legalization of prostitution condones sexual behavior for profit. Not to mention, the increased risk of illness or infection via sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), or death. It also does not “enhance women’s choices” (Raymond par. 45). This means that whether
The legal definition of prostitution has recently expanded in many Australian jurisdictions to encompass voyeuristic practices as well as non-monetary exchanges. Prostitution laws now make inclusions for massage parlours, phone sex and computer sex. Sullivan’s study into the politics of the sex industry in Australia since 1945, found that due to the shifts in sexual culture there have been discursive changes in society’s’ view of what constitutes as prostitution and what signifies as deviant sexual behaviour. Post war culture accentuated sexuality as the source of individual uniqueness, later progressing into the ideals of equality and mutuality between the sexes thus producing our sexual culture, as we know it today.
Prostitution has frequently been touted as the world's oldest profession, for the simple fact that it has been prevalent in society for quite some time. In order to properly discuss the many social ramifications of this particular crime and possible ways for dealing with them, it is first necessary to define prostitution and to explore the reason why it is a crime. Prostitution is the exchange of money or monetary assets for sexual favors and pleasure. It is the paying for sex in all of its myriad facets, from conventional coitus to a number of lewd and arcane acts from which people derive pleasure. Prostitution is part of the sex industry, which includes legal business such as strip clubs (Weitzer 7). There are a couple of different reasons as to why exchanging money for sex is deemed illegal. One principle reason is that if it were legalized, it would be exceedingly difficult for the government to tax and to capitalize off it, which is one of the reasons in which marijuana is widely considered illegal. More importantly, however, prostitution is illegal because it promotes the objectification of women and their bodies, and inherently reduces the degree of parity between men and women in which the latter are viewed as things simply for the fulfillment of men's sexual desires. Additionally, there are a variety of noxious activities that accompany prostitution such as trafficking in which the will of another is subjected to someone else's.