Premium Essay

Why Prostitution Should Be Legalized

In: Social Issues

Submitted By KrissyMichele
Words 1001
Pages 5
Kristi Currier
Comp 2
Why Prostitution Should Be Legalized
Prostitution is one of the oldest known jobs in history. Prostitution, while frowned upon in standardized society, would be beneficial to reduce the overcrowding population in jails as well as taxing the profession to potentially help the economy in their ongoing fight against the national debt. With proper laws enforced in order to legalize this profession, prostitution could become a respected profession.
People in general enjoy sex thoroughly. Sex releases endorphins that make people happy. Thankfully, the Constitution allows people to choose the way in how we are happy. Sex between two people is no more dangerous than a prostitute and a client. The difference between the two is there’s a payment involved with the prostitute and client (Freeman, 2012). A promiscuous person has just as much, if not more, of a chance to contract an STD than a prostitute. There’s no way to control someone’s sex life on a regular basis. Prostitution is just as safe as walking down the street. There’s just as much of a chance a person could get hit by a car or get hit by lightning or even getting shot, stabbed, or murdered (Freeman, 2012).
With today’s current job market continuously plummeting, prostitution is used as last resort option of employment for most women and men. Prostitution does not limit itself to just one sex. Men as well as women can be prostitutes. Although it’s a choice men or women make to sell their body, they do it so they are able to support their families as well as themselves. 81 percent of the women in a legal brothel would rather not be there or have it as their profession (White, 2012). Not all prostitutes choose this profession for drugs, they do it to pay the bills, eat, provide clothes and housing for themselves and their families.
Prostitution has been legalized in

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Prostitution Should Be Legalized

...Prostitution: To Legalize or Not To Legalize? Many Americans believe that prostitution should be illegal. Out of 3,143 counties in 50 states, only eleven counties in Nevada allow legalized prostitution; the other three thousand have denounced the practice as criminal (“100 Countries”). Why have so many legislations ruled prostitution as illegal? Because in today’s society, the majority believes that prostitution takes away women’s control over their own bodies, subjects them to abuse and violence, and spreads sexually transmitted diseases. However, if we dig deeper into the issue, we find that legalizing prostitution may actually be more beneficial than not legalizing. What’s the Common Argument? The common argument supported by most Americans is that prostitution should be illegal due to its negative implications on women and society. Prostitution Takes Away Women’s Rights According to a report on human trafficking and prostitution funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, 80% of prostitutes feel that they have been involuntarily coerced into working in the industry (Guttery). Prostitution forces women to sell their bodies into slavery—once they enter the industry, they are subject to their buyer’s every will and whim. Prostitution Causes Violence and Abuse Furthermore, due to the nature of their work, women in the prostitution industry suffer many injuries, including broken bones, concussions, chronic pelvic pain, and extreme stress and trauma (Raymond). The severity...

Words: 1424 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Prostitution Should Be Banned

...Against Legalizing Prostitution in Country like Indonesia There is an ongoing and intense debate surrounding decriminalizing prostitution. Some countries, such as The Netherlands, Canada and Australia have legalized Prostitution. They argue that the legalization of prostitution brings more good than harm, and so far people see that good things such as an increase in country’s gross domestic product and economic output from those country is happening. But, that’s just a glance of external view out of a lot of things that really happened inside of the country that legalize prostitution itself, such as morale issue and women trafficking. This writing will boldly show and explains the arguments against legalizing prostitution and why a country like Indonesia should not legalize prostitution. Some people, whom agree to legalize prostitution, come up with arguments that from their point of view will bring more goods than bad. First, they argue that legalizing prostitution will decrease the number of sexual harassment and rape. They believe that by the legalization of prostitution, it will reduce the number of unwanted sex since it is now woman’s choice to get in to the business of prostitution or not and it will not be called as rape if both parties are willing to have sex. Second, It will be better and safer for sex-workers if prostitution was legalized and regulated. This point argue that if prostitution was legalized then there will be less crimes against (un-legalized) prostitutes...

Words: 2277 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Live Life to the Foolest!

...Prostitution Chapter I The Problem and its Background Introduction Prostitution is said to be one of the oldest profession in the world. It is the giving or receiving of the body for sexual activity for hire but excludes sexual activity between spouses. It is the performance for hire where there is an exchange of value, any of the following acts: Sexual intercourse; sodomy, or; manual or other bodily contact stimulation of the genitals of any person with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desires of the offender or another. Background of the Study Prostitution is the performance of sexual acts solely for the purpose of material gain. Persons prostitute themselves when they grant sexual favors to others in exchange for money, gifts, or other payment and in so doing use their bodies as commodities. In legal terms, the word prostitute refers only to those who engage overtly in such sexual-economic transactions, usually for a specified sum of money. Prostitutes may be of either sex, but throughout history the majorities have been women, reflecting both the traditional socioeconomic dependence of women and the tendency to exploit female sexuality. Although prostitution has often been characterized as the “world’s oldest profession,” the concept of women as property, which prevailed in most cultures until the end of the 19th century, meant that the profits of the profession most often accrued to the men who controlled it. Men have traditionally been characterized as procurers...

Words: 583 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Prostitution

...Profession It is the world’s oldest profession and you’d think that at some point in time society would have accepted it. However, not only is prostitution still not legalized in the United States, but it is not even accepted as a profession worth having. Why? What are reasons so terrible that this profession shouldn’t be legalized? Let me clarify, by identifying what I mean by prostitution. By definition, prostitution is the act of performing sex and/or sexual acts in exchange for some kind of compensation, but the part that needs to be clarified is by whom this exchange is happening between. This exchange should only happen between two consenting adults. Adult meaning that under the law a person is of legal and consenting age. The way that everyone is looking at prostitution is biased to the negatives. Many argue that prostitution is morally wrong, that by legalizing prostitution you are in turn condoning sex trafficking, that rape and violence are more prone to happen, and the list goes on and on. However, the list goes on and on about why it would be a positive change to legalize it as well. Not only are there ways to refute some of the arguments made against prostitution, but there are also positive outcomes that can result from legalizing prostitution in the U.S. There is a booming business waiting to emerge from prostitution here in the U.S. You have potential business owners, plenty of employees, and a surplus of buyers in the market. The now Johns would be the owners...

Words: 1881 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Prostitution Is Shame

...Lee Professor Imbarus English 1C 25 April 2015 Prostitution Should Be legalized Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual relations in exchange for payment or some other benefit. Prostitution is commonly referred to as “the oldest profession”, which is commonly, far from exaggeration. For as long back as human being have records, evidence can be found of people selling sex for various kind of gains. When the invaders were running around slaughtering the native people, they also were enjoying the pleasures of local prostitutes. In the fourth century, Athenian orator Apollodoros said "we have courtesans for pleasure, and concubines for the daily service of our bodies, but wives for the production of legitimate offspring and to have reliable guardians of our household property." And yet, in the modern world, where people claim to be the most socially financially advanced, prostitution is still an illegal action. Prostitution is one of the growing concerns around the world. Governments of different countries seem to have no answer to this illegal act. While in some countries, it has been legalized, in others it is strongly condemned due to cultural and religious factors. Prostitution in recent years has become a business for many. Many of the people hire prostitutes and sell them to men looking for sexual pleasure for loads of money. The question is if prostitution is illegal then why is the industry for prostitutes expanding? The society has...

Words: 875 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Victim Right

...survey How you feeling about prostitution? Do you think prostitution should be legalized? Why the people choose to be a prostitute? Most of the answers was similar at all the research that I been funded it is not really change my emphasis because the entire people think the same thing, so almost of the answers was similar, but without that, I got some common reasons. For the first question was really controversy because most of them think that prostitution is like a job where the prostitute can use the body to produce too much money selling they body. But at the same time it is morality wrong. Others think that prostitution is an easy way to find illegal money to support them family. Prostitution never goes away it will be around in one form or another forever. That make me feel like prostitution never goes to have an exactly answers because it have to many complainant to say about it, however, I will spend the rest of my life doing survey and I never going to have the same answer, therefore they may have some common words but not the same sentence about prostitution. To the prostitute prostitution is really hard to talk because all then had been maltreated, and put in this kind of life for to many reasons. The two principal are money and they parents.   For the second question most of the people agree with prostitution should be legal because prostitution should never go away however it is rationable to the prostitution should be legalized because by this way it going...

Words: 406 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Prostitution: Should Legal or Illegal?

...Prostitution is often called the world's oldest profession. It's been around since the beginning of time and can be traced back to ancient civilization. Prostitution hasn't stopped after thousands of years and it's not going to stop anytime soon. Prostitution is already legal in some parts of the world, but not in Canada and the United States. Pro-prostitution think prostitution should be legalized. They state that legalizing it would solve more problems than it would create and people could be protected from diseases, the streets could be kept cleaner, and prostitutes would have a safer working environment. Anti-prostitution demands that legal prostitution will increase the sex industry and human trafficking. Prostitution will hurt peoples. This is because prostitutes can cause a disease such as HIV. Pro-prostitution opposed that statement. Pro-prostitution demands that prostitution gives benefit to the customer because the customer gets their pleasure. It fulfils both people's needs. Even though prostitution is not legal, it will continue to happen. They will find a way around the law, and continue with their business. If it is legalized, laws can be made to keep prostitutes and people safer than they are now. Some people don't think much of prostitutes. Peoples think that the prostitutes who spread the disease. This is because most of the prostitutes are drug addicts which cause HIV. For the few bad ones, they would be the ones who would most benefit from legalization...

Words: 672 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Prostitution

...Should prostitution be illegal? 1) The legalization of prostitution would mean more revenue for the country. 2) Legalizing prostitution would protect public health and all involved. 3) The time and cost to incarcerate prostitutes is never recouped and is therefore lost revenue. 4) It would reduce violence and abuse among women. 5) It is a victimless crime involving two consenting adults. If prostitution were legalized, prostitutes would be taxed, earning revenue for the country and have job benefits, such as security and healthcare, allowing for a safer and healthier work environment.   Prostitution is a profession that has been around for more than a millennia. However, it seems to be a sore subject that leaves people at odds with one another. One may ponder whether the profession should even exist, while another may believe there is no harm in allowing the profession to thrive. Although one may see the profession as a cesspool for diseases and find it immoral to perform such acts, one can't help but notice the benefits of legalizing prostitution. If prostitution were legalized, prostitutes would be taxed, earning revenue for the country and have job benefits, such as security and healthcare, allowing for a safer and healthier work environment. If prostitution were legalized, prostitutes would be on payroll and have their income taxed, thus bringing more revenue to the economy. While one may like prostitution to be banned all together, it is highly unlikely...

Words: 888 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Legalizing Prostitution

...The topic I chose to write about is prostitution and whether it’s legalization would be beneficial. There are people who believe prostitution should be decriminalized for the increase in tax revenues and a drop in government spending that is used to investigate and arrest sex workers. Others think it should remain illegal because it is immoral and should not be promoted to society and encouraged to pursue as a career. Should prostitution be legalized? The reason this topic interests me is because I have always wondered why prostitution was deemed wrong. I know it is someone getting paid for intercourse; however, it is also one of the oldest professions. It is interesting how it still upsets so many people even though it is something everyone...

Words: 382 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Occupational Profile

...Rome Cheri Griggs ETH 316 October 8, 2013 Patrick Tierney Topic 2: When in Rome Prostitution is legal in many countries outside the United States. Should it be? To understand whether prostitution should be legal, we first should understand what prostitution is. Prostitution is being a willing participant in sexual activity, usually with people other than a spouse or friend, in exchange for immediate payment of money or other valuables. Prostitutes can be either male or female, and mostly they are females with males as clients. Prostitution varies from country to country. In some parts of the world, it is known to be legal and is known to be a profession, while it is a crime punished by death in other parts of the world. Prostitution also known as a form of human rights. In many countries, women are vulnerable and trafficked into the sex trade. Certain religions oppose prostitution, saying it as a threat to the moral codes lay down in their scriptures. Many sex worker activists view it as a human rights issue. There are four things about prostitution that legal teams find interesting and they are victimization, ethics and morality, freedom of the individual and general benefit or harm to society. Victimization issues are people who support legal prostitution and argue that this is a consensual sex act between adults. Many advocates that are against prostitution say that all prostitutes are victims and that this kind of behavior leads to serious psychological...

Words: 798 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Should Prostitution be Legalized and Regulated by the Government?

...Should Prostitution be Legalized and Regulated by the Government? When we examine sex as a trade, the combination of philosophy, cultural precedence, religious influence and politics made each country select how to handle it in its own way. In Singapore, sex for money is open and commonplace. Denmark women can be legal prostitutes so long as it is not their sole means of income; Canada, France and Mexico allow it. Prostitutes must be contained within brothels in the Netherlands, unlike within England and Wales where prostitution is limited to individual providers. Israel, the historical stage for the Bible allows it too. Currently most everywhere in the United States, our legal system penalizes prostitutes and their customers for what they do as consenting adults. Money is still spent on law enforcement efforts to catch prostitutes and their customers. Once caught, justice departments have to process these people through very expensive systems. Making prostitution legal will allow the act to be managed instead of ignored. Pimps and organized crime figures, who regularly treat their workers on subhuman levels, would no longer control women. In some countries, prostitute rings buy and sell women on the black market, force their women to comply through violence and create unhealthy working conditions. When prostitutes operate independently and in secret, many times they become abused by their own customers. Why should be legalized? 1. Prostitution should be legalized...

Words: 1028 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Legalizing Prostitution

...Legalizing prostitution has been an ongoing debate for many years. One recent article, dated April 19, 2012, suggests that it should be legalized. The author’s view is one that is for the legalization of prostitution and she argues that “sex workers are a valuable members to the community who deserve legal rights, not punishment”, she also claims that “sex workers contribute a great deal to their families and their communities” (Leigh, 2012). I disagree with this article for many reasons. Prostitution is a violation of human rights for numerous reasons. Some of those reasons include, but are not limited to; sexual harassment, rape, battering, verbal abuse, domestic violence, a racist practice, a violation of human rights, childhood sexual abuse, a consequence of male domination of women, and a means of males holding domination over women (Farley, 2000). Leigh also states in her article that “studies show a reduction in violence when sex work is legal” (2012), but according to Farley’s fact sheet, this proves to be untrue for the following reasons; 62% reported having been raped in prostitution, 73% have reported being physically assaulted in prostitution, 83% are victims of assault with a weapon, 75% of women in escort prostitution have attempted suicide, and 67% meet diagnostic criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Farley, 2000). In my opinion, Leigh did not put up a valid argument as to why prostitution should be legalized. She used many fallacies and little...

Words: 512 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Legalization of Prostitution

...violence, and sexually transmitted diseases. The current system of prosecuting and jailing these women has been ineffective in reducing the illegal activities. These issues can be addressed by legalizing and regulating the prostitution industry. By using Nevada where brothels are legal as a model for the rest of the country enforcing strict regulations can better protect those victimized by the industry. Legalization of Prostitution Prostitution is often referred to as the world’s oldest profession. According to a survey conducted by ABC News Prime time 15% of all American men have paid for sex and 30% of single men over the age of 30 have paid for sex ("POLL: American Sex Survey - ABC News", 2004). The sex industry is one that affects many American citizens. The National Task Force on Prostitution suggests that over one million people in the US have worked as prostitutes in the United States, or about 1% of American women" (Prostitution in The United States - The Statistics, 2007). Currently prostitution is illegal by Federal law Title 18 Part I Ch.117 Sec. 2422 under “Coercion and Enticement” and can carry up to a 20 year prison sentence ("Title 18 United States Code Crimes and Criminal Procedure", n.d.). There are several arguments as to why prostitution should remain illegal. The three most prominent being that sex work increases violence and crime, spreads communicable diseases like STDs and AIDs, and that sex for money is immoral. However, by legalizing and regulating this...

Words: 2554 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Prostitution Should Be Legalized

...Prostitution is a profession that has been around for more than a millennia. However, it seems to be a sore subject that leaves people at odds with one another. One may ponder whether the profession should even exist, while another may believe there is no harm in allowing the profession to thrive. Although one may see the profession as a cesspool for diseases and find it immoral to perform such acts, one can't help but notice the benefits of legalizing prostitution. If prostitution were legalized, prostitutes would be taxed, earning revenue for the country and have job benefits, such as security and healthcare, allowing for a safer and healthier work environment. If prostitution were legalized, prostitutes would be on payroll and have their income taxed, thus bringing more revenue to the economy. While one may like prostitution to be banned all together, it is highly unlikely considering how long the profession has been around. Consider illegal immigrants working here for less wages and off the books, meaning not being taxed. Why is it we are more bothered by illegal immigrants not paying their fair share of taxes than prostitutes? They are legal citizens getting paid to perform a service tax free, which should be against the law, not the service provided. The taxes that tax payers pay now go into municipalities such as the police department and the judicial system. Therefore, taxpayer's money is being wasted when police pursue prostitutes for a victimless crime,...

Words: 797 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Prostitution: Right or Wrong?

...what the oldest profession in the world is, they would most likely think of some sort of manual labor. To their surprise they would find out that the world’s oldest profession is prostitution. Prostitution is defined as the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. It can be traced back before the times of Christ as women who were not married could not make a living so they had to resort to prostitution. However in today’s society, prostitution is viewed as crime more than a profession. Prostitution is illegal in forty nine out of the fifty states in the United States, with the exception of Nevada. Those who oppose prostitution believe that it is immoral, causes crime and increases sexually transmitted diseases. Most people do not realize how prostitution can benefit the United States. Legalizing prostitution will in fact reduce crime, reduce STDs, and increase revenue in the United States. With prostitution comes crime, or one would think it causes crime. However, it would reduce crime significantly. The amount of rapes in the United States would decrease as they did in Amsterdam where prostitution is legal. Kirby R. Cundiff, PhD, Associate Professor of Finance at Northeastern State University wrote, " It is estimated that if prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25%”. In 2009, the United States had roughly ninety thousand cases of reported rapes. By simply legalizing a profession...

Words: 577 - Pages: 3