Remind Me Again Why Prostitution Is Still Illegal?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006Posted in: Uncategorized
Seriously, can anybody give me a good reason why prostitution shouldn’t be legalised?
Here in England, we have a serial killer on the loose. He’s killed five prostitutes within the space of ten days Historically, our most notorious serial killer was Jack The Ripper, and he too killed five women, the main difference being that he at least took his time.
This guy seems to have gotten to the frenzied stage quicker than any of the other serial killers in our history.
I’ve always been an advocate of legalising prostitution. It’s the oldest profession there is, and as long as humans inhabit the earth, there’s always gonna be women (and men) who are willing to sell their bodies.
I truly believe that by legalising it, we cut down the risks to the women. Make it so the pimps have to obtain a license, charge them income tax, I don’t care, just get them off the fucking streets.
I know that a lot of these women are prostituting themselves to feed their various drug habits, but is that a good enough reason to throw them to the wolves? Sometimes shit happens, and yes, sometimes this way of life is a choice that the women make, but is it really fair to shrug our shoulders and secretly think to ourselves, that they deserve what they get?
That’s just not fucking cricket.
These women, girls even, are somebody’s sister, somebody’s daughter, somebody’s grandchild. These women could be related to you.
One of the girls who was murdered, was actually interviewed on a radio station last week. The presenter asked her if she would be staying off the streets, knowing that there was a mad man targeting sex workers. The woman (who looked very frightened) despairingly told the presenter that she had three children, so she had to work.
I heard that interview on the radio this morning, and it sent chills down my spine. Oh the irony.
I just don’t think there’s a good enough reason not to legalise prostitution, thus ensuring that it’s cleaned up, and made safer for the workers. If there is, then I want to hear it.
What say you?
Anonymous
December 13
9:32 pm
In Nuevo Laredo, just over the international bridge from Laredo, TX, there is what they call la zona de tolerancia, where prostitution is actually legal. Historically it stems from involvement with the US Army, who first legalized it. Some Colonel saw that camp followers were inevitable, so he demanded the prostitutes be checked by doctors and so forth so his soldiers didn’t catch the clap.
Today, Nuevo Laredo still has legal prostitution. This area is a walled compound containing three east-west streets and two north-south streets. The zona contains a wide range of brothels, cantinas, bars, restaurants, small stores, a municipal police station and a health clinic. There are three tiers of prostitutes that work there. Typically, the best houses with the prettiest girls are like upscale brothels, the intermediate houses function like strip clubs with private back rooms, and they may have “other” entertainment as well like the infamous donkey show in Tijuana. The lowest tier girls work out of cribs, and they may or may not have a pimp. Most are either old or too ugly to work in higher class establishments.
But one thing all the girls have in common is that they’re not shoved under the rug by the establishment. They are required to get regular health checks to continue working as a legal prostitute in the zona and they can turn to local law enforcement if they have trouble. I think regulation is the best thing for this industry. If it’s inevitable, then integrate it so that it’s beneficial in some fashion and residual income will help the economy and various social programs. Of course I also think the same thing about certain illegal drugs.
Dance Chica
December 13
10:11 pm
I’ve always liked Nora Robert’s version of legalized prostitution–the one she writes about in her In Death series. I like how in the books, prostitutes are licensed and it’s a recognized profession. I just think, people are going to do it regardless, so they minds well control it somehow and make the conditions better. To me, it seems there’s more to gain by doing legalizing it, than there is to lose.
Dance Chica
December 13
10:13 pm
I’ve always liked Nora Robert’s version of legalized prostitution–the one she writes about in her In Death series. I like how in the books, prostitutes are licensed and it’s a recognized profession. I just think, people are going to do it regardless, so they minds well control it somehow and make the conditions better. To me, it seems there’s more to gain by legalizing it, than there is to lose.
Dance Chica
December 13
10:14 pm
Sorry for the double post!
Barbara B.
December 13
10:47 pm
Well said Annie Dean. That’s a profession crying out for legalization. It would be safer for both the sex workers and the customers. The additional tax revenue would be great, too. Plus it just kills me to see the effort police departments put into harassing prostitutes. What a waste. The crime that comes with prostitution is mostly due to its being illegal.
I’d love to see prostitution become legal. It’s like my favorite character, gay prostitute Terry, on Reno 911 said, “a hand job’s still a job.”
FerfeLaBat
December 13
10:56 pm
I’m completely confused. I have a vicious headache so …
Are you saying that if they were licensed the ripper wouldn’t be killing them? Even in places where it’s legal there are street walkers working outside the system.
Anonymous
December 13
11:20 pm
It’s legal over here, but as ferfelabat said, there are many brothels and prostitutes operating illegaly. I guess the cost of complying with legislation (zoning, tax, etc.) cuts through profits. It’s also very difficult to shut down illegal brothels, but I’m not quite sure why.
Not sure if you’ve ever seen Firefly/Serenity, but there the prostitutes are “ambassadors” and held in prestige. I really liked the way that was portrayed.
My word verification: gfuck. Heh.
Dee
December 13
11:25 pm
I gotta agree, these women aren’t always targets because they’re on the streets. They’re more often targets because someone has a moral bug up their ass.
Also, legalizing it isn’t going to get them off the streets. Hypes are hypes and johns tend to be impulse buyers, if you know what I mean. The women are where the johns are. Legalizing it won’t mean they can suddenly get funding for good lighting or benches. It just means they won’t get busted…which is often the only way these victims get ID’d. And if they require licensing, they’ll have to pay a fee. Don’t see that happening, either.
In short, it sucks that it’s not legalized because, you’re right, people will always do it, but legalizing won’t make a hooker into a high priced call girl. And it won’t make it safe.
Hope they find the bastard soon.
Dee
Anonymous
December 14
3:25 am
I think legalizing it would improve the situation for many women, but it wouldn’t eliminate all risk.
FerfeLaBat
December 14
12:43 pm
I get the feeling there is an idealized veil shrouding prostitution in our culture. Probably only 10% of the people (men and women) doing it enjoy the job and make a good living at it. The rest are … well … if they had any options it’s not a career they would have chosen when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up.
If we legalized it everywhere, do you think more people would chose to do provide sex for money as a career? I asked a prostitute in Tucson how much she cleared in a night, how many clients she averaged and if the money was worth it. She made $20 a BJ, averaged about 10 a night and she felt it was a great job because she didn’t have to work every day, she didn’t pay taxes and “technically” she was unemployed so she got government aid for the basics. She had two kids and from what I could see she thought a fast food clerk had a miserable life compared to her own. So. There ya go. Not everyone is a victim.
What? She was a student of mine at the community college. I was curious.
Marianne McA
December 14
3:00 pm
I was interested in the man on the lunchtime news – he was from some sort of drug help organisation – who said the authorities were being fantastic – organising houses, benefits, and special needs payments for the women working as prostitutes in the area. So they don’t need to go on the streets. In an ideal world…
If the figures that the newspapers suggest are right, and 80 to 90% of these women are drug addicts – there’s part of me wonders if putting them in brothels is the right thing to do. I suppose I wonder if that’s more like legalising rape rather than legalising prostitution. Are those women really in a position where they choose to provide this service, or are their clients exploiting highly vunerable members of society and kidding themselves that it’s okay to have sex under those circumstances because the girls get paid?
I don’t know enough about prostitution or drug addiction to know.
Still, I agree with you. If they can be protected better that should happen. [Though if they announced my street was going to be zoned for legalised prostitution, I might not be so broad minded.]
Karen Scott
December 14
8:44 pm
My point about putting them in brothels is this: If they’re gonna sell themselves, there’s nothing that can be done to stop them, but at least make it so that they’re in a safer environment. I’m not even assuming that these murders could have been averted had the ladies been in brothels, but at least, it would have made the perp think twice before showing his face at the door.
Once those ladies get into a john’s car, who’s there to help them if they get into trouble? At least they can scream down a brothel if they’re confronted with a lunatic.
eggs
December 14
10:12 pm
I am also in favour of legalizing prostitution and it is, in fact, legal in my city (Sydney, Australia). The kicker is, it’s only legal in a licensed brothel and, if you are an employee of a licensed brothel, you must pay taxes on your earnings like any other employee.
Most of the sex workers gave fake names and tax numbers when hired, but a recent crackdown by the taxation office on this practice has meant something like 60% of Sydney’s sex workers have left the licensed brothel system in the last few months. It turns out the majority of sex workers would prefer to work unprotected on the streets or out of dodgy premises rather than pay tax.
Until the sex workers themselves change their priorities, sick fucks like this guy are always going to have plenty of victims to prey on.
eggs.
Desiree Erotique
December 15
1:31 pm
I certainly agree it should be legalized. The criminalization of “vices” has always been just another way for a government to dictate the people’s lifes, blackmail the “criminal” for money and give folks in organized crime an excuse to screw us all.
Besides, sickies who select their victims from a particular group, will inevitably re-focus their target prey if it is more convenient. In my region there was a string of highway rapes and murders. The guy began with murdering prostitutes he picked up at truck stops. When the prostitutes realized it wasn’t safe to accept rides from strangers he went on to college girls hitching for rides. When the college girls started thinking smarter, this guy got really greedy and sought his last victim by jumping her fence while she was hanging out her laundry. A stay-at-home mother, minding her own business. Luckily a neighbor saw him attack her and called the police. They caught him and got enough evidence to link him to the highway deaths. He’s in prison now waiting execution. I think killers are killers only because they think they can get away with it, not because of who their victims are.
MaryJanice Davidson
December 16
1:45 am
Never mind the soiled doves. Go after the JOHNS. If they weren’t paying pimps to let a fourteen year old kid go down on them in an alley, the problem would disappear. Lock them up. Hassle them. Print their names in the newspaper. Hound them and leave the ladies alone. You’d be amazed how quickly the trade would dry up.
Karen Scott
December 16
10:52 am
MJD, what I don’t get is the fact that it’s mostly women who turn to prostitution to feed a drug habit. Why don’t more men get lured into selling their bodies? Is it cuz there isn’t as big a market for male sex workers out there?
Actually, I guess the men end up becoming pimps, or robbing some poor old woman…