Dog and Pony Show
Since laws against it demonstrably don't work, what's the argument against it being legal? That it's a sin? So is drunkenness. That women are exploited? That's because they work for criminals, genius.
“Love is the eternal law whereby the universe was created and is ruled.” — St. Bernard
To play devil's advocate, the argument is that legalizing prostitution ends up encouraging human trafficking. The Netherlands after all is a prime destination for human trafficking
. It's also suggested that various negative social effects such as drug use and organized crime will increase from implicitly condoning prostitution.
edited 30th Sep '10 12:41:45 AM by CBanana
and that's how Equestria was made!
In which case have a regulatory body for Brothels that looks into the problems and examines each individual area based on how many foreign workers it is employing and forcing management to fill out a form for each girl they use.
The Netherlands is also home to several busy seaports, and is centrally located within western Europe. Of course they're going to be a hub for traffickers.
and forcing management to fill out a form for each girl they use. Er, employ?
Sapient Blob of Tofu
Prostitution has been legal in Australia for as long as I can remember, possibly longer than I've been alive. From what I understand, we don't have an unusually high level of human trafficking here.
There is some, admittedly. But that is mostly amongst unlicensed brothels.
I must say that I also cannot see any compelling reason to have laws against prostitution. I'm not sure what sort of public good they're meant to serve.
Again with the data mining, dear Aunt?
Do it like Sweden does it and fine the men who buy the services and not the prostitutes. Most women who turn to prostitution do it out of desperation (or are forced to do it by traffickers), they should be helped, not punished.
edited 30th Sep '10 5:13:20 AM by fanty
Another reply of, "Yes!" And another argument of, "Duh!"
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Her with the hat
I'd say make it legal, but make sure it is well regulated (and that the regulations are enforced properly).
I'm another Australian, too. I used to walk past a brothel about once a week, it was just down the road from my university.
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Not Actually Indie
Do it like Sweden does it and fine the men who buy the services and not the prostitutes. Most women who turn to prostitution do it out of desperation (or are forced to do it by traffickers), they should be helped, not punished. And why punish the men who buy their services?
...eventually, we will reach a maximum entropy state where nobody has their own socks or underwear, or knows who to ask to get them back.
Sorry, employ is the better word.
I'd say it should be legalized, though fairly heavily regulated, along with required monthly Check ups. Should definitely be taxed.
My main concern is health, the possibility for some sort of AIDS epidemic coming from it would be terrifying. I'd feel terrible about a woman who had to work as a prostitute but no longer would be able to, due to an STD of some fashion. But that is a danger, and a sadness that will just have to come with the profession.
CAPS LOCK IS RAGE!!!
And why punish the men who buy their services?
Completely agree with OP.
Prostitution should be legal so that it could be regulated and the prostitutes themselves protected.
If we disagree, that much, at least, we have in common
And why punish the men who buy their services?To moralize. We introduced the same in Norway about a year and a half ago and while there were other arguments used to support it the law wasn't repealed when none of supposed goods of making it illegal actually materialized so it's obvious what the real reason was
Not Actually Indie
A much more effective way to stop prostitution. A fine is much more likely to deter a guy from buying sex services than it is to deter a prostitute from selling them (It won't start raining money if the prostitute decides to stop selling her services, while the guy can just go and masturbate). But, as Sweden demonstrates, it certainly won't halt prostitution, and it won't do as much to deter it as fining both.
Why is stopping prostitution a priority?
...eventually, we will reach a maximum entropy state where nobody has their own socks or underwear, or knows who to ask to get them back.
Our experience was that the law made the prostitution drop to almost none in the first 6 months, then it built itself up further underground with more drugs, violence and ties to organized crime over the next 6 months and by the end of the first year it was more or less back to original levels.
Since laws against it demonstrably don't work, what's the argument against it being legal? That it's a sin? So is drunkenness. That women are exploited? That's because they work for criminals, genius.What the...
Who are you and what have you done with the real Rottweiler?
Anyway, prostitution...difficult subject. I'll agree that outlawing the simple trading of sex for money is extremely silly in contemporary societies, especially when porn is legal. (So let me get this straight. Consenting adults may have sex with each other for any reason...except as part of a commercial transaction...unless someone films it and sells copies to the public?) But the problem with prostitution is not that people are trading sex for money, it's that men are paying other men for the privilege of abusing women for a few hours. The abuse suffered by prostitutes is legendary, and where prostitution is legal, regulated, and thus safe, black markets tend to spring up so that men who get off on abusing women can still pay for the privilege of doing so. So in practice it doesn't make the least difference whether it's legal or not, if your main concern is the welfare of the workers.
Long story short, I think the culture has to change significantly before prostitution will become an ethically neutral industry. But it's inconsistent to keep it illegal when so many other types of sex-related commerce are perfectly legal.
I see the Awesomeness.
Lost in Space
In the most basic sense, if people want to pay to have sex with each other, it hardly sounds like there's any moral or ethical reason to tell them they can't. I've seen some very strong arguments that the only difference between a man buying dinner/drinks for a woman in the hopes that she'll sleep with him and a man paying a pimp for the same privilege is that in the latter case, the woman doesn't have a choice. (And in the former, the woman is being a hypocrite. But that's a digression.)
Robert A Heinlein was very fond of the haetera tradition (but was also a believer in a Free-Love Future, so take that for what you will) of women (or men for that matter) honestly and willingly selling their services in a transaction agreeable to both parties. He considered it utterly sick, however, that a man would pay another man for sex with a woman, or that the women in question would be kept in conditions approximating slavery.
In a practical sense, however, we've got millenia of tradition telling us "prostitution is BAD" to deal with. That's not an argument for keeping it illegal, merely noting that there's a truckload of social cruft to dig through before it can be a truly free enterprise.
edited 30th Sep '10 7:18:52 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
As long as it's between consenting adults, I have no problems.
BEC is my copilot
The main problem is that prostitution is essentially using a human being as an object of sale. Legalize prostitution and you also legalize in theory organ farms and indentured servitude. I do, however, believe in decriminalization of prostitution - have it remain illegal "on the books" but remove any sorts of penalties for practicing it.
Fear is our ally. The gasoline will be ours. A Honey Badger does not kill you to eat you. It tears off your testicles.
Lost in Space
^ I don't agree. You aren't buying the person, you're buying a service from them. That this service happens to involve getting all sweaty and exchanging bodily fluids is merely a datum that affects price and availability.
In an open, free prostitution market, women would be able to choose whom they offer their services to. Much as you can kick an unruly customer out of McDonald's, you could refuse an offer from someone who's unhygienic or asks you to do things that you don't want to.
The only reason people feel like they can abuse prostitutes now is because the women often don't have a choice; they are effectively slaves, compelled to do whatever is wanted by the "terms" of their employment. Remove the illegality and the stigma, and you remove the leverage that pimps have over their women.
edited 30th Sep '10 8:59:16 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
^^I see what your saying, but I feel that the two aren't exactly the same.
I suppose its like going to see a massage therapist, or (in a very exaggerated sense) a doctor or sports game(really suspending disbelief for this one, but hear me out).
We're effectively paying them to use a skill that they have learned (Massage, Medical practice, Sportsball), that could, in theory, be done by anyone. The results might not be the same from Joe Schmoe, His messages might be terribly uncomfortable, He might attempt to amputate your leg when its not needed, and He might not run as far or as fast in sportsball as Pro Athlete, but he still can.
The difference is that anyone can posses that skill to a passable level with no training.
We've (American assumption here), Legalized the selling of plasma sales, and blood donation (Though I'm well aware that there is a large difference between the two), so long as its consensual.
I agree people shouldn't be selling their organs, but it doesn't seem to me that legal prostitution would have any bearing on that moral axis. Perhaps you could explain your connection to me? I'm really curious.
Edit: Ninja'd
edited 30th Sep '10 8:54:54 AM by Voot
CAPS LOCK IS RAGE!!!
This is an issue that's just come up in my country because of recent events
.
I'd say the most important factor here is the safety of the prostitutes themselves. Whatever effects it has on the rest of society are very minor by comparison. I tend to think that prostitution should be legal simply so prostitutes don't have to be fearful of the police and can report when they've been wronged or when they're in danger.
What are all your thoughts on this issue?
edited 30th Sep '10 12:02:52 AM by CBanana
and that's how Equestria was made!