prostitution should be legalized

If it is legalized, it won't mean everyone should be forced to do it. It just means that they won't have criminal charges if they DECIDE to do this to survive and may have some basic rights protected.

Then, the cops would have better things to do.

Yea, legalize prostitution and have an epidemic of AIDS and STDS. That'll be great.

Herps anyone?

Prostitution isn't going anywhere. In a sense, the whole argument is pointless; its an almost geographic feature of every society, from the smallest hamlet with a dozen inhabitants to the world's largest cities, in all epochs of history and every location. Things like that can be contained and contorted, but they will never be eliminated.

reply to post by TheAmused


Prostitution is the oldest profession. There is nothing wrong with it.


There is something seriously wrong with this world considering what women have to do to be able to do/get the following:

Prostitute - Goodluck getting into that industry legally. If you're in it legally - goodluck getting any buisness. Noone wants to spend time with a beautifull woman when you cannot touch her. Nor when you have to go thru what you'd imagine as a scrub down you'd take before an operation before you even make it to the bed.

The Contraceptive Pill - We all know what this is for. Yet women have to repeatidly go to a doctor, every 3 months or less - to get a perscription for this bloody thing. It's something every woman gets. There's only 2 different versions of the pill, the standard one, and the one that contains slightly more of a 2nd female hormone - Progesterone - for people who need it as their bodies dont "stop" as they're missing that hormone. Yet - they needt o fork out $60 for the doctors visit then another $50 for the pill.

The Morning After Pill - A guy cannot go to the pharmacy on his girlfriend's behalf and pickup this pill. When the female goes to the pharmacy - they give her a 2 page questionare to fill out. They want to know why you want the pill, reason for contraception failure, when you were last on the rag, how heavy it was, like dear sweet god. Isnt it ok for people to get caught in the moment - realise after they dont want no baby then to ensure they never have to have an abortion by dealing with it then and there?


It makes total sense you have to repeatidly see a doctor for something, that isnt even a medical condition, it's just a fact of life.



What do these thigns have to do with prostitution?


Same idealogoly behind it- There's no reason for all that crap. There just is. The same kind of logic as to why its impossible to buy PURE tobacco. IE Tobacco that's straight leaves from the plant and dried - without all the chemicals. To be in posession of un-processed tobacco is illigeal.

Why is this so - when they go to all the trouble of putting gross images on you're pack of smokes in hopes of making you stop smoking because it's killing you. When you cant buy the pure product that is not going to kill you?

People are Screwd.

My opinion as a woman and mother:

Legalise it.
Regulate it.
Tax it.

It's the only way to try and keep the girls safe and make sure they contribute along with the rest of us, via taxes, as it is their profession.
Introduce a license for example. The workers must pass regular STD screening and use contraceptives at all times anyway. They must prove they weren't forced into it or trafficked for it. They can then pay a small annual fee for the license. They earn a fair wage so that shouldn't put much of a dent in their money.
That should work shouldn't it? You're NEVER going to get rid of it so may as well make it a proper job.

Some women really really like sex. So why shouldn't they get paid for doing what they love? As long as it is their choice to do so then it is not 'objectifying women'. In fact, women have the power in the prostitution profession

I don't understand how people could honestly sleep with a prostitute. It's not that hard to get laid. Id rather not get seven different types of stds just to bust a nut.

reply to post by MarcLawrence


Never heard of condoms I take it?

Originally posted by MarcLawrence
I don't understand how people could honestly sleep with a prostitute. It's not that hard to get laid. Id rather not get seven different types of stds just to bust a nut.

Who sleeps? Like I said, try it in a country where you don't speak the language and you have already gone 3 months or more without.

reply to post by sonofliberty1776

Id move then haha, like id never touch a prostitute. Maybe if the girl costs 5 grand and someone bought it for me i would. If you want to go out and have sex with one by all mean go for it. just me personally think its pretty gross

O.P.You obviously don't have daughters.This is a complete no-brainer and it scares me you came up with the answers you did.
Do you believe women in prostitution are there for the lifestyle benefits; hospitalization/vacation package?
women are forced into prostitution through economics or violencethe "slave trade")
WTF is wrong with people in this world. you think the prostitute enjoys her "job" they do it for fun and benefits?It is an option of last resort or they are forced into it by drug addiction or outright violence (kidnapped eastern europeans);.
spend sometime here(please read 'em all: I didn't just cherry pick the ones that back my position ;don't you do it either .) ):

Would legal prostitution better protect prostitutes from violence?

PRO (yes) CON (no)
Melanie Reid, former Columnist and Senior Assistant Editor of the The Herald, wrote in the Dec. 12, 2006 The Herald article, "Why are prostitutes allowed to be easy prey?" that:

"There is no doubt that deadly violence against sex workers is a recurring social pattern. Nor is there any doubt that serial killers know sex workers are afraid to seek protection from police; or that the public believe violence is part of a prostitute's job description. Until prostitution is legalized, these women will continue to toil down on the ocean floor, miles away from the light, in constant fear of predators."

Dec. 12, 2006 - Melanie Reid

Ronald Weitzer, PhD, Professor of Sociology at George Washington University, in the July 1, 2005 journal Violence Against Women article "Rehashing Tired Claims About Prostitution," wrote:

"In fact, there is evidence that some systems of legalization provide a relatively safe working environment. Although no system is risk free, women working in legal brothels and window units in the Netherlands experience very little violence. Workers and managers have instituted elaborate procedures to respond to violent customers quickly and effectively. Similarly, in Nevada’s legal brothels, the risk of violence is very low."

July 1, 2005 - Ronald Weitzer, PhD

Barbara G. Brents, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Kate Hausbeck, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mar. 2005 Journal of Interpersonal Violence article "Violence and Legalized Brothel Prostitution in Nevada," wrote:

"There is strong indication from the interview, document analysis, and ethnographic data presented here that legal brothels generally offer a safer working environment than their illegal counterparts. Regulated brothels offer particular ways of dealing with pragmatic safety issues and minimizing actual violence... Nevada brothels offer specific mechanisms to protect workers via the ways transactions are organized, the ways technology is ordered, the visibility of customers, the bureaucratic relationships among customers, managers, and workers, and the cooperation with police based on the mere fact of their legality. All of these mechanisms work to eliminate systematic violence and to discourage an atmosphere of danger and risk..."

Mar. 2005 - Barbara G. Brents, PhD
Kate Hausbeck, PhD

Melissa Ditmore, PhD, Coordinator of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, wrote in the Feb. 28, 2007 article "Debating Legalized Prostitution" that was posted on the Washington Post's PostGlobal website:

"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. Currently, under New York Criminal Procedure Law, sex workers who have been victims of sex offenses, including assault and rape, face greater obstacles than other victims. 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."

Feb. 28, 2007 - Melissa Ditmore, PhD


Mary Sullivan, PhD, author, wrote the 2005 report "What Happens When Prostitution Becomes Work?" which stated:

"No other workplace has to cover the range of health and safety issues that ensue from this sexual and economic exchange. Together with STIs [Sexually Transmitted Infections], verbal abuse, battering, sexual harassment and violence, rape and unwanted pregnancies are recognised occupational health and safety risks within the prostitution industry. This does not change because prostitution is legalised."

2005 - Mary Sullivan, PhD

Melissa Farley, PhD, Founding Director of the Prostitution Research and Education, in the Oct. 2004 Psychiatric Times article "Prostitution Is Sexual Violence," wrote:

"Regardless of prostitution's status (legal, illegal or decriminalized) or its physical location (strip club, massage parlor, street, escort/home/hotel), prostitution is extremely dangerous for women. Homicide is a frequent cause of death.... It is a cruel lie to suggest that decriminalization or legalization will protect anyone in prostitution. It is not possible to protect someone whose source of income exposes them to the likelihood of being raped on average once a week.

It is a cruel lie to suggest that decriminalization or legalization will protect anyone in prostitution. It is not possible to protect someone whose source of income exposes them to the likelihood of being raped on average once a week."

Oct. 2004 - Melissa Farley, PhD

Anastasia Volkonsky, JD, Founder and former Project Director of Prevention, Referral, Outreach, Mentoring, and Intervention to End Sexual Exploitation (PROMISE), in the Feb. 27, 1995 Insight on the News article "Legalization the 'Profession' Would Sanction the Abuse," wrote:

"Behind the facade of a regulated industry, brothel prostitutes in Nevada are captive in conditions analogous to slavery. Women often are procured for the brothels from other areas by pimps who dump them at the house in order to collect the referral fee. Women report working in shifts commonly as long as 12 hours, even when ill, menstruating or pregnant, with no right to refuse a customer who has requested them or to refuse the sexual act for which he has paid.... And, contrary to the common claim that the brothel will protect women from the dangerous, crazy clients on the streets, rapes and assaults by customers are covered up by the management."

Feb. 27, 1995 - Anastasia Volkonsky, JD

Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE) posted on its website "Frequently Asked Questions about SAGE and CSE" (accessed Mar. 9, 2007), which stated:

"...[L]egalization actually makes it more difficult to prosecute rapists, perpetrators, and traffickers. Because the sex industries are more legitimized under legalization, there is no basic presumption that buying or selling someone else’s body is a crime — and therefore the burden on victims of violence to prove that they are experiencing harm or exploitation is increased. When sexual exploitation is legalized, sexual abusers can use excuses like, 'she’s just a ho who wanted more money' to discredit anyone in the sex industries who tries to get legal support."

Mar. 9, 2007 - Standing Against Global Exploitation (SAGE)

More @:

prostitution.procon.org...

nevermind.

This thread has been amusing to say the least......would have to be to read 19 pages worth of it. Prostitution should be legalized period. For the reasons that so many have outlined. What it all comes back to is the people who believe it should stay illegal view it as such because of thier moral compass. Let me ask this hypothetical:

If prostitution were to be legalized would it change the way you and others with your same view see it and influence your decision to have a change of heart and partake of it? My guess is no it would not. That being the case what right does any body of people have to ostracize the people that choose this profession or to do the same to people that choose to partake of it?

If prostitution were legalized I think that the problems that are associated with it as it stands right now would lessen and/or disappear completely. With that being said all the negative aspects really have no basis even being used for a position to base an argument from. I am forced to wonder how many people that are against it would choose to disown someone close to them whom they know, if said person chose to pursue this career choice? The federal govenment really has no rights to make decisions about drugs, prostitution, abortion, gay marriage and a variety of other subjects yet people look to them to make blanket statements and/or legislation concerning these topics. Why? These are all things that the government should NOT be involved in. At least if the states make these decisions it is easier to overturn them if the representatives do not go with popular decision by voting them out of office.

Nobody should be able to tell others what is or IS NOT moral because the definition of immorality is a matter of perspective. I see nothing that makes me believe that legalization would make things worse than they already are with it being illegal. And to answer this because we all know it WILL be asked. Yes I am an adult (36). No I have not ever prostituted or been with a prostitute. No I would not have a problem with someone close to me choosing to be in that profession provided it was regulated and was a safe working environment. Same as I would have no problem if they wanted to go into pornography. It would not change the essence of WHO they are, so why should I care? It is not MY decision to make. Whether or not I share the same viewpoint has nothing to do with it.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
I beg to disagree
To many young girls are forced into prostitution...
far to often I have seen or heard stories children being forced into that life style...

Nope you just asking to for trouble and compounding to their exploitation...

the real answer laying in better education... give these kids the chance they deserve... rather than fall back on some lame old excuse...

Yep, you are right, young girls are abducted and forced into sex slavery. Plus, I read an article sometime in about 2001 or so that in India, even a girls father may sell her into sex slavery in order to have money to feed their families. How pathetic is that? It seems to me also that movies have been made which are based on the activites of abductions, and even some scams of modeling where young girls thought they were going to become famous models and ended up drugged out and slaved out and even killed eventually.

reply to post by ThirdEyeofHorus

On my first visit to Turkey, I went to a "prison" where women were sent to "work off" their husband's debts. Don't go on about the moral issues with that, I was 18 and didn't think about such things and would not have cared back then anyway. My point is that such things don't just happen in India.

Prostitution is legalized and a part of our society and popular culture, never heard of Sex in the City? Women are whores who dole it out depending upon what they perceive they can get back in return...What exactly is your point?

If Prostitution gets legalized then how is the government going to get any money? Its just like weed, its healthier then normal Cigarettes but its only illegal cause you can grow it and the government doesn't get any money for it. Atleast that's what it is in my own opinion. Also, that might cause a big increase in STI's and have a even bigger problem.

reply to post by Liberterius


Wow, harboring a little anger and resentment to women there? Do not think that can be healthy.....all women are different catagorizing them all as whores is a bit much don't you think?

Originally posted by Darkphoenix77
reply to post by Liberterius

 

Wow, harboring a little anger and resentment to women there? Do not think that can be healthy.....all women are different catagorizing them all as whores is a bit much don't you think?

IMO, women have much more in common with each other than there are differences between them.

Originally posted by sonofliberty1776
reply to post by ThirdEyeofHorus

 

On my first visit to Turkey, I went to a "prison" where women were sent to "work off" their husband's debts. Don't go on about the moral issues with that, I was 18 and didn't think about such things and would not have cared back then anyway. My point is that such things don't just happen in India.

Well, I never said it was just India, did I? I was merely giving an example I had read about. Going on about morality? Yah you Betcha!

reply to post by TheAmused


Lol when tax time comes ;

Contreceptives

Condoms