*Close your eyes and hope it goes away* - 'New and Improved!' (Should prostitution be legalised?)

Member Name: Redhead23

Product:	Should prostitution be legalised?
Date:	08/02/01 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Safer for prostitutes and clients, control possible, less spread of HIV

Disadvantages: Where to draw the line, and who pays for it?

As with many somewhat controversial subjects, there are always a lot of people voicing opinions like

1)*It's illegal for a reason*
2)*I don't like it, therefore it should stay illegal* (or even worse *these people don't deserve to live, yadda, yadda, yadda*)
3)*Legalising it will make it more attractive*.

That, in my personal opinion (and that's all it is really, I'm not trying to convince anyone or make this the *ultimate truth*), is utter rubbish.

1) Many of our modern laws are based on some wacky ideas that people had a while back. For example, cannabis being illegal is partly due to nylon manufacturers wanting their product to sell better, and hemp fibre was their No 1 competitor at the time. There are a hell of a lot of laws around, and not all of them make perfect sense, thus not everything that is illegal or legal according to some law or other really deserves that particular status.
Drug use for example was fairly popular and fully legal in Victorian times (albeit in weaker doses) - you could buy cannabis drops and cocaine powder from your chemist - yet it was made illegal due to sometimes dubious circumstances. Opium for example was banned because of its association with the unwanted Chinese population, whereas cocaine was banned because of accusations that *prostitutes used it to lure soldiers into their arms, thus preventing them from fighting during the war*. These accusations and hints of racism may seem absurd to some modern citizens, yet many of our drug laws
are based on them!
(See BizArre issue 1/2001)

2) Different people have different opinions, but laws should not be based on what an INDIVIDUAL thinks but on the benefits or harms for the whole SOCIETY. Just because someone doesn't like a particular kind of people (be it prostitutes, their clients, drug users, homeless people, smokers and whatnot - I have read pretty mean Ops on most of these 'groups') or partic
ular activities doesn't make these people worthless or less of a human being.

3) Things like drug consumption, prostitution etc. happen, no matter whether you approve of them or not. The illegal status just makes them that little bit more attractive to certain people, it gives them a *kick* so to say.

That doesn't mean I think that *everything* should be legalised, but I personally think that nothing that poses danger or harm (like strong addiction which leads to drug-related crime, distress, physical and emotional harm/pain, financial loss, damage of goods etc.) to others - and thus to society - should be refused to people who choose to do it out of their OWN will - as long as the people who do these things respect others who chose to stay away from these activites and as long as they respect the general rules and responsibilites they have for the society they live in.

I have personally never had the desire to make use of the services of a male prostitute (as I am a straight female) , and I don't know anyone who admits to ever having made use of these services either. But just because I PERSONALLY don't feel this need, does this mean that EVERYONE ELSE has to think the same? Hell no! People have sexual needs, and they're not always in a position to satisfy them, be it through a disability, lack of a girl-/boyfriend etc. Legalisation would allow better control and safety measurements for both the prostitutes and their clients as well as free up valuable police time for worse *crimes*.

Unlike drug abuse in general, prostitution does not really HARM anyone (physically) as long as both prostitutes and clients are treated fairly and appropriate protection is used.

POSSIBLE EFFECTS ON THE *CLIENTS*:

There are various kinds of people who see prostitutes, be it as a one-off thing or on a regular basis.

1)
Some people are simply too insecure to find a *real* man or woman for their *first
time*, be it because they are disabled (and afraid of being turned down when they ask someone out), think that they're ugly (same thing - fear of being turned down), or just lack self-confidence and are afraid to put off their prospective partners because of their lack of experience. Another potential customer in this *category* is for example someone who hasn't had sex in quite some time (for example after a divorce/break-up or after their partner died) and, before *going back into circulation* (as some ad for washing powder or something once put it), they want to reassure themselves that they *can still do it*, as some sort of confidence booster, without involving any feelings, broken hearts or obligations.

I don't think these people should be jailed and regarded as *moral wrongdoers*. After all, they're not hurting anyone (because they're single and don't hurt their partner's feelings) in the process! Do you really think it is appropriate to jail/fine an inexperienced young person or a disabled
person for gathering some sexual experience for the *real world*? The same goes for a single guy or gal who hasn't had a partner in a while and would rather pay a prostitute to try out if they can still *do it* than have a one-night stand with someone who might actually put FEELINGS into the experience. What's so wrong about that?

2)
Some people find the idea of doing something illegal attractive, or regard prostitutes as glamorous. After all, there are a lot of glamour stories ranking around brothels etc.

Making prostitution legal would take out the temptation of the illegal, and would at the same time increase the quality of the establishments, as they could be controlled by regulations, could be established in less seedy areas and the prostitutes would have rights and minimum wages of some sort.

3)
Others have fetishes or sexual preferences that they don't want to force upon their pa
rtners or they simply can't find a partner that shares their fetish. Many prostitutes specialise in role plays etc. and cater for just about every sexual quirk there is.

Yes, I'd be somewhat shocked if my boyfriend told me he used the services of a prostitute to be tortured, nipple-clamped, weed on or whatnot. But at the end of the day, forcing someone to do something AGAINST their will is a very bad thing and can mess up relationships no end. Apart from that, there are a lot of somewhat disturbed individuals around, like men who have a *thing* for a certain type of woman (say long black hair) or specific situations (hospitals etc.) and get insanely obsessed about their passion.
Yet, in the case of some seriously disturbed individuals, their morals are so screwed that visiting a prostitute specialised in role-playing does, because of its illegal status, appear *immoral* to them, so they take out their games on innocent members of the public, resulting in rape and abuse.

4)
Also, people who are abroad or on business trips often used prostitutes because they *need* sex but are far away from their partners. Others simply can't get enough sex (sex addicts) or feel the need to have sex with people other than their partners.

Of course this causes distress for the partners of these people, BUT there is always the subject of trust and openness in a relationship, but be it with prostitutes or mistresses - faithfulness has to do with AN INDIVIDUAL'S CHARACTER, not with whether or not they visit a prostitute. I am a very faithful person when it comes to relationships and it would definitely be hurt if I was cheated on. But not everyone else is faithful (obviously, otherwise we'd all be a society of happy couples), and
even if we *burnt down* all brothels and *locked up* all prostitutes (as I have read in some of the Ops), they'd just get a mistress, and then there would be feelings involved too, and not *just* sex.


POSSIBLE EFFECTS FOR THE PROSTITUTES AND BROTHELS:

Dedicated institutions would be safer, simply because having to operate in a seedy area, afraid of being bust, limits one somewhat in the quality and level of service. As a result, many prostitutes have to live in tiny quarters under bad conditions and brothels are often situated in buildings without appropriate fire protection.
Just like in the porn industry, prostitutes could have HIV tests and could be provided with social insurance (yup, and they'd pay taxes too) and sufficient protection (condoms etc). Licensed brothels could be controlled regularly for health & safety standards and would have to fulfil certain
criteria (concerning pay, prices, conditions etc.).
People with desires that are regarded as *wrong* (I don't mean child abuse, more about that later) could use the services of specialised prostitutes to live out their fantasies without being tempted to take out their desires on women they get drunk at a bar etc.

WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE:

Of course there would have to be age limits (someone said 21 as a minimum age for prostitutes, which sounds fairly reasonable), and I agree that making prostitution legal wouldn't stop illegal activities such as child prostitution, pimps who get prostitutes hooked on drugs, human trade etc. BUT if there were legal brothels, then it would make it a hell of a lot easier for the police and authorities to spot the *foul eggs*, as a large part of the *professional* prostitutes and their *serious* clients would be in controlled establishments so they could concentrate their efforts on the minority of pimps who don't play according to the rules and break far more laws than just that against prostitution.

I do believe that giving licenses to controlled establishments would be the best solution, as it would make regulations and supervision a lot easier than just legalising it in general or licensing whole st
reets or areas for prostitution.
Of course all this supervision etc. would cost money, but the government is currently losing out on millions of taxpayers money that goes to pimps and seedy brothels, after all, pimps are not very likely to just keep their earnings in a bank account and pay taxes on it, are they? Apart from gaining tax income from LEGAL prostitutes, licensing fees from licensed brothels could be used to finance the supervision of these institutions and pay for the bureaucracy connected with it.

My conclusion is that SEX (there, I said it!) is a natural, wonderful thing for those who can enjoy it, and nobody should be deprived of it.
Prostitution is, as voiced in many opinions, the *oldest profession in the world*, and it is happening every day, no matter whether it is legal or not. Just looking away and ignoring it won't make it *go away*, and it most certainly doesn't make it any safer for any of the parties involved!

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