Column: Legalize prostitution for safety's sake
by Hannah Nelson l Massachusetts Daily Collegian (University of Massachusetts)
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: News
Like it or not, prostitution is a business and efforts to make it harder for the business to exist will only create harsher conditions for the women who work in it.
In Nevada, where the only legal United States brothels exist, there are reports of human rights abuses where the lines between rape and consensual transactions blurred. This is not the form of legal prostitution I'm advocating, but it is evidence to what actions are necessary in order to fix what broken laws do exist and institute laws where they don't exist.
Some who advocate abolishment claim that there is no safe and legal way to go about this, but I believe it is possible. It starts with admitting that prostitution will continue to exist and that trying to sweep it under the rug will not solve anything or protect anyone.
About 4,000 UK prostitutes are trafficking victims, though the number is estimated to be larger. In 2003, New Zealand joined the likes of Amsterdam when decriminalization action was taken, and the action has helped uncover trafficking rings. Prostitutes now feel as though they have greater rights, and freedom of choice in choosing clients and how they wish to operate.
According to Belle on the UK's latest scheme: "The initial idea is to 'name and shame' curb crawlers, and to impose harsh sentences on men who use the services of trafficked women. As opposed to the more logical route of, say, imposing harsh sentences on those doing the trafficking, which would be difficult but worthwhile."
Generation Y has been put through the old song and dance about safe sex by this point in our lives more times than we can count.
As college students, we see the signs every day for Plan B, sexually transmitted disease and free condoms in our dorms. We are the best educated generation to date on sexual health, so it's only natural for us to be among the first willing to realize and recognize the necessity of safe working conditions for prostitution through appropriate legal measures.
In order to be in favor of legalized prostitution it is automatically assumed that as a female, you are a backward-thinking, anti-feminist and as a male, you're a womanizer.
Prostitution certainly isn't going anywhere, so why try to make it harder for the individuals who lead this lifestyle, whether it is by choice or circumstance?
Feminism is all about choice; the rights for women to choose how to live their own lives and make their own bodily decisions.
If a woman chooses to pursue a career in medicine, she can, pending she has the right socioeconomic background to pay for it. If a woman is a prostitute, let's face it: chances are she comes from the lower half of the spectrum, and that is exactly why it is important to ensure choice in both entering and/or leaving the profession legally.
In Nevada, where the only legal United States brothels exist, there are reports of human rights abuses where the lines between rape and consensual transactions blurred. This is not the form of legal prostitution I'm advocating, but it is evidence to what actions are necessary in order to fix what broken laws do exist and institute laws where they don't exist.
Some who advocate abolishment claim that there is no safe and legal way to go about this, but I believe it is possible. It starts with admitting that prostitution will continue to exist and that trying to sweep it under the rug will not solve anything or protect anyone.
About 4,000 UK prostitutes are trafficking victims, though the number is estimated to be larger. In 2003, New Zealand joined the likes of Amsterdam when decriminalization action was taken, and the action has helped uncover trafficking rings. Prostitutes now feel as though they have greater rights, and freedom of choice in choosing clients and how they wish to operate.
According to Belle on the UK's latest scheme: "The initial idea is to 'name and shame' curb crawlers, and to impose harsh sentences on men who use the services of trafficked women. As opposed to the more logical route of, say, imposing harsh sentences on those doing the trafficking, which would be difficult but worthwhile."
Generation Y has been put through the old song and dance about safe sex by this point in our lives more times than we can count.
As college students, we see the signs every day for Plan B, sexually transmitted disease and free condoms in our dorms. We are the best educated generation to date on sexual health, so it's only natural for us to be among the first willing to realize and recognize the necessity of safe working conditions for prostitution through appropriate legal measures.
In order to be in favor of legalized prostitution it is automatically assumed that as a female, you are a backward-thinking, anti-feminist and as a male, you're a womanizer.
Prostitution certainly isn't going anywhere, so why try to make it harder for the individuals who lead this lifestyle, whether it is by choice or circumstance?
Feminism is all about choice; the rights for women to choose how to live their own lives and make their own bodily decisions.
If a woman chooses to pursue a career in medicine, she can, pending she has the right socioeconomic background to pay for it. If a woman is a prostitute, let's face it: chances are she comes from the lower half of the spectrum, and that is exactly why it is important to ensure choice in both entering and/or leaving the profession legally.
Be the first to comment on this story