Legalizing Prostitution Essay Example for Free

Legalizing Prostitution Essay â€Å"Prostitution may be the worlds oldest profession, and laws prohibiting prostitution may well be the oldest example of government regulation, government sex discrimination and overall government control. Recent research indicates that over one million women in the United States earn their living by full-time prostitution† (The Case for). Over half of the world’s population has experienced, participated or heard of prostitution. This shows that many people, buyers and sellers, are in some way a part of the prostitution profession, so for the United States government to ban prostitution for only a moral reason, and wasting hard working Americans tax dollars on fighting prostitution seems ridiculous and an overall waste of time. Since we live in a free society it makes no sense for the government to be telling people that they cannot charge a fee for harmless services. Such proof is why Prostitution should be legal. For more reasons than one, prostitution is popular in areas where the crime rates are very high, due to these police officers and courtrooms are overwhelmed with prostitution cases; which is very costly. Every other day there is a case about prostitution being brought in front of a judge and what does it do the business? , absolutely nothing. Just think about it, if prostitution were legal, police officers would have less work with trying to â€Å"eliminate† prostitution and more time protecting the community from the REAL crimes such as, murder, rape, and robbery. â€Å"It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year† (Prostitution and Sex Crimes). Other countries have already figured this out; it boggles the mind to why the U. S. just can’t get with the program. If prostitution were to become legal, it must be looked over and done in safe fashion, not just for the prostitute or employee but for the customer. Due to prostitution being illegal, it has been forced into the streets. Since most of these streets have high crime rates, this puts most of the prostitutes in danger. Prostitution thrives at night, it involves them getting into cars with strangers which is easy pickings for serial killers and other sociopaths who will cause them harm. America can look at European cities for a little bit of inspiration. In many European cities prostitution is allowed designated areas like brothels and areas called red-light districts. People who are interested in getting their â€Å"needs met† can go to one of these places where such acts are permitted. Therefore, the prostitutes can work in safer environments. Many Americans feel that allowing prostitution into society will increase the STD rates in the U. S. But in reality, it may help delete these huge statistics drastically. If prostitution was to be legalized and made a taxable business, there can be health and safety precautions made. Like mandatory STD checks and blood tests run on every single client and employee. This eliminates the fear of catching a disease slim to none. But if prostitution is still going to be illegal, then honestly the rates will continue to rise. Records show that the cities with the highest STD rates are Washington, D. C. , and New York City. â€Å"Prostitution is an institution of male domination and exploitation of women. †(Raymond) Men coming in willing to buy â€Å"favors† from these women means actually puts them on a pedestal. It shows that women still have the say so in society, in life, and in a â€Å"man’s world†. But people seem to forget the males roll in all this. â€Å"Research, programs, and legislation related to sex trafficking are often premised on the invisibility of the male buyer and the failure to address men’s role in buying and abusing women in prostitution. †(Raymond) None of this can be done without a man. But still, it seems that everyone wants to place the blame on the prostitutes who are simply just doing their job. So it’s safe to say that there is some kind of a double standard that is related to this matter. Human beings as a species always want to destroy something that they can’t really understand. The people who are trying to get rid of and/or ban prostitution do not know the person’s situation. This could be all they have left in order to supply for their family. But if the prostitute is willing to face these acts, then let them. It’s their life. A sensitive issue to some, but it’s an issue nonetheless. Prostitution is something that isn’t just going to go away. Why political leaders are trying to ban/abolish it is mind boggling. Since pretty much the beginning of time prostitution has been broadcasted to the world; it was never a secret. But the media describes it as something that is just plain wrong. But the real question is why? Many opinions are based on personal preferences and moral reasons, which shouldn’t be a deciding factor on such a broad and debatable topic. The media shows how media how prostitution is wrong, but little do they know it’s showing why it should be legalized. Prostitution is defined as the engaging in, or agreeing to engage in, sexual conduct for a fee. Women are pushed into entering prostitution for many reasons including lack of education, poverty, and personal choice. Prostitution is currently illegal, but there is much controversy surrounding this issue. â€Å"There are approximately 1. 3 million prostitutes in the United States today. However, there is only an arrest figure of about 100,000 prostitutes in 1995, and the number of arrests has been fairly consistent since then. The General consensus has shown that law enforcement has been generally ineffective in the removal of prostitution from our society. †(Prostitution Policy) There are many people involved in prostitution, seventy percent of which are female, twenty percent male, and ten percent customers. Quite a large amount of citizens are actively fighting against prostitution. On the opposed side, many are fighting to legalize it. â€Å"Legalized prostitution cannot exist alongside the true equality of women. The idea that one group of women should be available for men’s sexual access is founded on structural inequality by gender, class and race† (Argument). This is an example of something that has changed drastically. Nowadays women seek prostitution as an option to provide . Although some are forced into this lifestyle, one has to think of the â€Å"what if’s†. For example, a mother has a child that is starving and finding a legitimate job just isn’t an option for her right now; what is she to do to provide for her child. Well, it seems that the only realistic thing for her to do is to let the child starve. A bit harsh an unreasonable, but so is banning something that just isn’t going away. Different methods have been expressed to find a way to get rid of this â€Å"crime†. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Since Prostitution is single handedly the biggest slap in the face to America, how about we send every single person who knows and/or participated in prostitution to jail for life. Seems legit and fair; these people have done the unthinkable and they should be punished. Now that over a million people is in jail for sex that leaves the police to fight the real criminals. For example, murders, killer’s, thieves, and can’t forget about child molesters. We will leave these people in the streets because they just don’t compare to disgusting and vile life of a prostitute. â€Å"With the new law legalizing prostitution, it would make it easier for the government to regulate. In past centuries, it is not hard to find news about selling women to be prostitutes on the black market or minors stepping into this business before being mature enough to figure their lives out†( The Present Is). Sadly, no one could really stop the problem since all of these actions were taken underground. Setting up new laws regarding the prostitution issue, brothels would have to be licensed which would make it easier for the government to monitor and prevent forced prostitution. It may seem like a wild idea; but think about the jobs that prostitution could bring to the economy, its already booming in the underground world. An extreme alternative but a job nevertheless. That struggling mother could provide for her child or her family or he/she could do it for their own â€Å"personal† reasons, either way it’s their body. Who is America to tell them what they could do with it. It could open up more nursing positions due to the fact that a strict and mandatory STD screening will be given to each customer. It could also open up other secretarial positions because someone is going to have to keep track of who’s doing what with who. Making this a business isn’t â€Å"all† about sex; it can actually provide jobs for people who need it. For the media, prostitution never shows any pros about the matter, but always finds a way to express the cons. In figure number one, you can see a little girl with an aged face lying in a bed next to a grown man. Many would say that this is the exact reason why prostitution should stay the way it is; illegal. But think about it, if allowing prostitution to be legalized then the disgusting sex trafficking â€Å"business† would soon vanish. In figure number two, it shows an American Flag with the words, â€Å"Sex Worker Rights Are Human Rights. † This is obviously an ad that agrees with legalizing prostitution. The American Flag is displayed to show what America stands for; which is for equality for all. If a person decides to sell his/her body for money, then let them. For example, guns are allowed in America, despite what the government is trying to do right now, guns are allowed. Taking that away from users is taking away their human rights and their constitutional rights as well. Same thing with prostitution, a person may feel as if what they are doing is their personal preference which falls into human rights. In other words; let these people live. In conclusion, prostitution is an underground business that isn’t going to go away. It’s something that isn’t going to go away. The government, once again, is trying to control the way we choose to live our lives. Everyone has rights of their own and its up to them to figure out what is right and what is wrong. Prostitution goes back to the ancient times and has still been a thriving business to this day. Nothing is going to change that; nothing.