Human trafficking is an issue like no
other. It challenges the norms of security because there is no clear answer.
Most rational people in the world would agree human trafficking is wrong and
needs to be stopped, but what about sex trafficking? Personally I believe the
best response to sex trafficking, for the use of prostitution, should remain
illegal and be condemned because prostitutes would still have a stigma, disease
can still be spread, and it can only increase the number of brothels and
prostitution rings thus ruining the United States’ appearance on the world
stage.
Human trafficking, specifically sex
trafficking, forces one to wrestle with the moral, legal, and ethical aspects
of what is best for society and people. My argument is not so much that
prostitution should remain illegal as it should not become legal because of
adverse consequences. Legalizing
prostitution does not remove the stigma associated with sexual workers. Sex
workers will still feel embarrassed and people in society will associate brothels
with crime and disgrace. There is no simple way to reduce the stigma associated
with prostitution. In theory to reduce people becoming prostitutes, condemning
and stigmatizing the prostitution industry can be one way to decrease its
impact on people. From a prostitute’s perspective it seems the work is
unenjoyable because not only does it make them feel like an object but it ruins
their sense of relationships and love.
Prostitution should not be legalized because
prostitutes can still be susceptible to diseases or problems from potential
customers. It seems potential customers are not screened before they’re able to
buy services. Just because prostitutes can be screened not to harm potential
buyers does not mean customers do not have any diseases they lied about. Contracting
a sexual disease can follow a person for life, and in the case of a prostitute,
end their career.
A third problem with legalizing prostitution
is it will allow pimps and brothels to flood the markets. Just like marijuana
dispensaries are now being sold in gas stations and convenient stores across
Colorado, brothels can spring up in almost any area. This openness may be a
prime target for both illegal sex trafficking for more prostitutes and for the
illegal market. Pimps may still seek minors for their markets. There are
twisted people in the world that would want to have sex with minors, and pimps
would only care about making money and having more diverse assortment of women
to appease a wider array of people.
Instead of the United States being a vocal
opponent of illegal trafficking and an invasion of human rights, legalizing
prostitution would associate, in theory, the United States supporting human
trafficking. If the United States legalizes prostitution, it can no longer
criticize other governments that do not take an effective stance against human
trafficking because the U.S will become a main destination of many trafficked people.
How would the United States, a long time proponent of human rights and
equality, look to the international community to condemn human rights
violations if it supports a quasi- slavery system?
Joseph, from a moral and ethical perspective, I can absolutely understand where this entire post is coming from. However, I think you're making some vast assumptions throughout the post. Primarily, beginning a sentence "from a prostitute’s perspective" seems to be overgeneralizing and ironic, since, at least I am unaware of what a prostitutes perspective really is. Assuming that all prostitutes don't understand love/have no agency/view themselves as objects, is definitely not the solution here. Legalizing would allow prostitutes, who are then self-employed, to have agency over the decisions they are making, so they actually could reject servicing someone with a visible disease or, theoretically, have someone checked beforehand or require the use of a condom. Also, has the United States really been a long time propenent for human rights? Do you not imply only lines beforehand that the United States has one of the largest markets for sex trafficking in the world? Legalizing wouldn't "allow sex slavery," as you imply, but would rather allow women to be their own employers and regulate abuses within the system, while destroying the market for illegal prostitution.
ReplyDeleteI understand the issue with the "from a prostitute's perspective" because, like you said, that is overgeneralizing the issue of prostitution and it begins to enter a gray area of who would really benefit from legalized prostitution. I totally understand the issue with the United States sometimes being a hypocrite about human rights because there are several notable instances when the U.S was not a land "where all men (and women) were created equal".
DeleteAlthough there could be an upside to legal prostitution, there are stories of women who would have wanted to leave a legal prostitution industry, but their bosses would either blackmail or threaten them into staying. In a second sense, just because prostitution would be legal, does not mean all prostitutes or businesses would go legal. When the Department of Justice legalized the proper method of creating Moonshine to curtail illegal moonshining. When given the opportunity, not all moonshiners went legal, many continue to illegally distill for a larger gain. I feel as if prostitutes would not totally be individual employers because they need security and people to help them make the most money. Yes, many can and probably would, but I don't know if all would.
Joseph I would have to disagree with you on the reasons you state for not legalizing prostitution. We read Half the Sky for class and in those chapters we read about women who are in-prisoned for being forced into prostitution. This was not an active choice that these women made for their livelihood. Yes, there are many prostitutes who have chosen this industry, however many have not. Even prostitutes who have chosen the industry are controlled by pimps who have claimed complete control over these women.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Mary Grace. Allowing women to have control over their business is important. They could legally control their business by getting STD checks and providing a safe environment for their business to exist. By being illegal the industry is done underground and without proper restrictions in place to create a safe environment.
In my mind, the equality problem is not totally solved if prostitution is legalized. Yes it is their body and they can consent to the lifestyle, but if prostitution is legalized today well over a majority of the workers would be women. In my mind, prostitution does not solve the problem unless there become a high demand for all-male strip clubs, men to perform sexual actions for others, or do obscene acts because someone is paying them. On top of that, if prostitution is legalized, I believe it would only allow the demeaning stigma as women as sexual objects to grow until, like stated earlier, there is an equally high demand for men to perform sexual acts and there is an increased level of awareness that prostitution entails both male and female. Although yes, women could publicly consent to being a prostitute, it is very unlikely upper class women would want to grow up to become prostitutes. Similarly, sex traffickers do not prey on important, wealthy women as much as lowly, random people that, if gone, will go unnoticed.
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