Underground danger (Should prostitution be legalised?)

Member Name: helgro1

Product:	Should prostitution be legalised?
Date:	07/12/00 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Much safer

Disadvantages: Ease of access for clients

Whilst I don't necessarily agree with prostitution that doesn't mean that I automatically condemn it. Prostitution is the world's oldest profession and will probably be around long after all other industries have been forgotten. Men want sex - that's a fact, and as long as they're prepared to buy it there'll be women prepared to sell it.

Women working as prostitutes are not immoral or whores, many have been forced into it by men. These pimps then go on to take most of the profit made - leaving little financial reward for the women involved. Prostitutes forced to work by pimps are often kept in appalling conditions and made to work constantly. This is not a choice most women would voluntarily make. Even those women who work without pimps have usually been led into prostitution by others, or because they feel they have no other opportunities to raise money.

Prostitutes, whether you approve of them or not, get a rough deal. If they manage to get away without constant abuse and beatings by their pimps then they will probably get these from their clients instead. The current illegality of prostitution means that working conditions are terribly unsafe - in what other job would you be made to get into cars, go down alleys, etc with complete strangers?

Legalising prostitution would make it safer for women - surely that cannot be a bad aim. Women working in regulated brothels would be far less likely to end up beaten and murdered than those currently working on the streets. Legalisation would also go some way towards removing the role of the pimp - this would dramatically improve women's safety. Another possible advantage of legalisation would be that some men might be put off using the services of prostitutes whose activities are regulated. The sheer formality of brothels run as proper businesses might hopefully take away the thrill for some clients.

Ignoring something because you don't like it
does not make it go away. Politicians need to realise that prostitution will always be around - illegality has driven it underground and made it far more dangerous than it needs to be. I believe that prostitution should be legalised - for the sake of the women who will always be involved in it.

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