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Should prostitution be illegal?

I feel that our society's disdain of prostitution is derived from irrational religious morality so I'm curious to learn what you heavens think about this topic.

Here's what I think-
The exchange of sexual services for money between consenting adults is not immoral and should not be illegal. Porn actors are paid to have sex and that is legal but if a sex worker is paid to have sex he/she has committed a crime. How does that make sense?

Legal prostitution is safer/healthier because it can be regulated and is not pushed into back alleys and seedy places. Currently, prostitutes work under the thumb of often brutal and manipulative pimps who take advantage of them. They can not go to the police for help so they must rely on a pimp for protection. If it were legal, they would work in regulated brothels and would be protected by the law rather than persecuted by it. They would also be tested regularly for std's which would help control the spread of disease.

Regardless of how you feel about prostitution personally, the freedom of others to make their own life decisions should not be infringed upon if those choices do not cause harm to others.

Prostitution is as old as civilization itself. People always have and always will exchange things for sexually services and attempting to end it is folly. The prohibition of it causes much more harm than prostitution itself.

Prostitution prohibition is a result of a paranoid society sexually repressed by irrational religious beliefs. I see no detriment to allowing prostitution to operate freely and in fact I think it can be beneficial for people to have the choice of gaining sexual release without a need for commitment to a relationship. There have been lots of societies throughout history that allowed and even encouraged it without issue.

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RoboGraham 8 Dec 30
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114 comments (51 - 75)

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1

There is a reason why it's the oldest profession on earth. Its been around as long as homosapians and that'll never change..

2

Legalized prostitution would be a huge boon for low-income people. It would offer better protection from sources like the police, and largely take out the abusive pimps from the picture. I'm all for it!

1

There are many facets to this topic. Its a women's rights issue- their body they should be able to do what they want. However, many problems regarding consensual sex and young women or sex trafficking. If prostitution was legal and regulated there would be no demand for sex trafficking.

1

Legalize it. While we at it legalize all drugs (the main ones not the off brands). We are adults we can deal with this. Prostitution go for it. Drugs if legal will help a lot of things out and you will not have to deal with the off brand stuff like croc and so on. Of course, do the stuff from across the pond and give the prostitutes some schooling so they can aptly do it. We have sex bots for fucks sakes why not this.

You do you. If you want 3 prostitutes while sniffing crack off ones back do it. If you OD your stupidity and thanks for taking yourself out of the gene pool moderation learn it.

Malus Level 4 Feb 14, 2018
2

Prostitution is as old as civilization, but that doesn't make it moral. Slavery, child labor, forced marriage, etc. are also as old as civilization, and they are not moral, either. Prostitution is a feature of patriarchy, and is bolstered by the belief that sex is a commodity, and that men are entitled to sex. The problem with prostitution, from my point of view, is the power imbalance. In countries where prostitution is legal and promoted, such as Germany and the Netherlands, human trafficking has increased and the criminal element has dug in hard. Most of the prostituted women in both these countries are poor women of color, from other countries, who have been brought in to satisfy what is becoming the demands of an ugly industry. In a recent study, researchers in Germany were unable to find a single German woman selling herself in the brothels they visited. Even in the Netherlands, authorities are rethinking the situation. (See link.)[independent.co.uk]

Good point, legal prostitution is far from perfect. But do you think it's better as is, in it's illegal form?

Also, I think that putting consenting adults in jail for engaging in prostitution is much more immoral than prostitution itself.

You can go to backpage.com and find thousands of women offering themselves up as sex workers. And there are many other site that do the same. Craigslist has recently stopped offering personal ads in compliance with a new law to curb sex trafficking.

1

I accidentally voted keep it illegal. I meant to vote for legalize.

Noted. I forgive you

2

The prostitute is an archetype we all have. We prostitute ourselves for money, for self-gain, for power. In the sense of a female prostitute she is doing the same thing.

1

Wow I am totally impressed with the people who have participated in this debate. 117 for legalize, 4 for other and only 4 for keep illegal. We have some very enlightened people among us here and a great many good points were made. Thanks all for a great debate.

4

Yes, I don't understand why we are so infatuated with deciding what other adults should do with their bodies. I'm a libertarian-socialist so of course it should be legal.

2

Legalise & regulate. Look toward those countries that have done this.

2

I don't think there's any sensible and effective way to criminalize prostitution.

I won't call it a victimless crime right now, although the basic transaction of sex for money is not the problem. It's all the other crap that's associated with it. Legalized prostitution would have less harm associated with it -- less likelihood of the prostitutes being trafficked or enslaved; less likelihood that STD's would be spread; less likelihood of violence being done against either the trick or the john; less stigma and shame and thus less likelihood of self-medication and addiction as a coping mechanism.

Let's not fool ourselves that legalized, regulated prostitution would eliminate these problems (and probably others I haven't thought of off the top of my head). But less of them is better than what's going on now, and when confronting public policy questions, it's often better to not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

2

It is a victimless crime - all prostitution is, is an exchange of money and services just like any other manual labor job - anything that is "immoral" surrounding prostitution is a byproduct of its illegality and lack of regulation: drugs, abuse, people becoming trapped, etc. Legalize it, regulate it, and set up systems to help people who are in it to find other jobs if they so desire. Just like drug use - if we legalize it, regulate it, and set up systems to help people addicted we are all going to be much better off.

2

It’s ludricous to arrest 2 consenting adults for something that’s been going on for thousands of years and is never going to go away no matter what you do to try to stop it.

0
2

As per me - While I would never use such a service myself, I see no reason for it to be illegal. As long as the people engaging into such an occupation are not driven to it by force, coercion, deception or other means that infringe their own right of consent.

1

It is legal in the form of escorting, nearly all escorts are up for that. And if you're that worried about it, just set up a video camera and call it porn...

2

Wow. I expected to come to the discussion and leave a smart-ass comment to throw a little silly into the mix, but this is actually quite a fascinating topic discussion. Thank you all for your insightful perspectives. It is again clear to me why I wanted to join this group.

2

It is already legal in some parts of this country. It is widespread in much of the rest. It should become legal to reduce the influence of the criminal element.

1

No. Legalize it.

1

I get the impression most of the people posting or commenting to this post act in a responsible manner regarding their sexual activity. It HAS been an interesting discussion.

Yes, a lot of people have made a lot of good points. Where do you stand?

@RoboGraham legalize it. I posted my thoughts days ago. Then someone commented on my post and I scolled thru all the posts after mine and posted the comment you queried me on.

How much do you charge?

@Zoidburg for what? tracking posts?

@silverotter11 Indeed! Sorry, should have been more specific!

1

Well, again, I live in Nevada, so.....not really an issue here. Legalize, of course.

2

One of my big problems with organized religions is their unmitigated gall in telling others how to live! Legalize it so the pimps are OUT & women can choose this career path if they wish!

1

As someone who wouldn't be here if not for my biological mother being a prostitute, getting knocked up and not believing in abortions, I say legalize it! She made a lot of money doing it, but a good handful of it went to her pimp who was abusive and when she left him so she could lead a better life, he promised he would find her and kill her. She lives with fear because she saw one of his boys (I assume one of his thugs?) and one of his girls (another girl that worked for him) after she moved states away, she was for sure he was gonna find her. But she has not heard from him since and hasn't seen them. So, I hope she will be okay, but I'm sure she will as long as he doesn't bring a gun. She took self defense classes to protect herself in case something with a client went wrong. If they do regulate it though, they should teach self defense as something mandatory, in my opinion.

Good for your mom, I'm glad she alright. No one should have to deal with that kind of shit though. The police should protect sex workers rather than persecute them.

2

Of course it should be legal, and regulated. Here in Australia, the laws vary between the states. Brothels are legal only in some states, where prostitution is regulated. In other states. independent sex work is legal, but brothels aren't.

It seems like you Ozzies have really got it together. Gun control, legal prostitution, riding kangaroos everywhere to cut down on carbon emissions. Have you guys legalized cannabis yet? I think we did beat you to the punch on homosexual marriage though.

@RoboGraham Medicinal cannabis only, so far, and not in every state. Gay marriage, though, is nationwide now. Do you have it in all states? Kangaroos give an incredibly bumpy ride, although the pouch is handy for the shopping (providing Joey's left home).

@Coffeo Our Supreme court ruled in favor of marriage equality a few years ago so it applies to all states. Although many states would rather not have it. The red ones particularly. Are there many holy rollers in Australia? Do you guys have a bible belt?

@RoboGraham There is one of those Hillsong churches a few kilometres away, and I think they are a bit pushy. But I've never encountered them around here. There is no bible belt, thank god (or whoever) 🙂

@Coffeo Wonderful. Although Ken Ham is one of yours. I thought it was pretty funny how he blamed the atheist when his arc museum failed. That guy is delusional.

1

I think we should be careful with how we approach this issue. Particularly with the difference between legalization and decriminalization.

[newrepublic.com]

Liam Level 3 Jan 3, 2018

Ok so yeah full legalization is the way to go then.

Only if you want to keep causing trouble for sex workers.

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