Patty Kelly’s article, “Enough already, it’s time we decriminalize prostitution”, takes the reader into a fascinating behind the scene look into one of Mexico’s legalized brothels. Although it is apparent that her research and investigation into this social experiment are well defined, it is too narrow a focus to gather all the required information to support her argument. Kelly begins with a half hazard analysis of Elliot Spitzer infidelity, then continues down the path that is far too laser like to see the overall effect on these women; failing to see these prostitutes as real people with hearts and souls. Instead, she produces an impression that the prostitutes are just commodity, bought and sold on the open market, lacking feeling for their plight. In Kelly’s investigation, she neglects to create an entire picture of what decriminalizing prostitution will cost humanity due to the fact that her investigation ignores society’s accepted understanding of what problems are produced by, or result from prostitution. There was absolutely no research cited that relating to sexual addiction, the effects on the prostitutes’ emotional and physical wellbeing, or even the acknowledgment of the organized criminal element behind prostitution.
This article was written on March 14, 2008; just two days after Governor Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation as Governor of New York. Kelly wrongly interprets the event that were unfolding as public support for his resignation due to be caught with a prostitute. This is clearly not the case. The problems here are a lot deeper than that. Spitzer broke the law, which is a clear conflict of interest, “massively hypocritical” (Constantine 38), and contrary to the acceptable conduct of a civil ...
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...enterprise in the human trafficking area to feed the demand.
Kelly’s article has raised valid points regarding safety to the prostitute within a brothel, but there is so much evidence that proves the ill effects of this experiment in other countries that the evidence cannot be ignored. Although, parts of the sex trade industry may initially see positive results for some of the workers, the majority would end up worse off than before. Due to the illegal nature of this industry and the control exuded by the pimp, the physical and psychological risk to the prostitute, the highly addictive nature of sex, and the organized crime behind the scenes orchestrating and controlling ever aspect of the industry, it is clear that decriminalizing prostitution would result in significant negative affects on society, prostitutes and those with sexual addictions.
Patty Kelly was an assistant professor of anthropology at Washington State University and she had just completed a study of the place of commercial sex in the modern world when she wrote the essay “Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution”. The title itself gives the reader a clear direction in which the author wants to sway the reader. While the essay was written as a response to a political scandal involving New York Senator Elliot Spitzer, Kelly sparks discussion on why prostitution should be legalized. The author backs her stance by providing the result of research that she herself has conducted, along with research conducted by the government of Sweden. Kelly spent a year working as an anthropologist at the Galactic Zone,
With prostitution still arising and thriving in present day America the Argument and war waged on it by media has changed from an advocated perspective, to being seen as present day slavery among women. Especially with modern practices of forced trafficking and drugged prostitution. the views have changed from one of a women's private and personal freedom of choice, to one of "the ones who weren't lucky enough to get away from being drugged, kidnapped and forced into slaved prostitution."
In the article 'Legalized Prostitution' the author, Mark Liberator, shares his views on legalizing prostitution. He believes because of women's specialized roles in society, they should be allowed to use sex as a service that can be bartered for goods and money, and by using these specialized roles, the author explains that allowing prostitution in the United States could lower a majority of murder and rape cases, and can decrease the amount of suicides and divorces. By making prostitution legal, Liberator also thinks that it will allow law enforcement to respond faster to more important crimes, help women that use prostitution as a career path, and will prevent teens from being trapped into prostitution. Though Liberator states his case strongly, and has statistics that help prove his point, his logic has holes that could even make cocaine, heroin, and other illegal drugs legal. Liberator states that our primal desires should not be ignored or suppressed, but instead should be managed. If this is the case, then should our first instincts to lie, cheat, steal, and kill should also be managed? No. Managing these things, and not suppressing them, means that we are making it legal to rob stores, lie about it, and kill anyone who disagrees with our reasons as to why we?ve committed the crime. Not only that, but if we make prostitution legal, it is possible that there could be an overflow of prostitutes, that would create larger drug chains, which could ruin our countries credibility as a safe place to live. I feel that legalizing prostitution is the first small step to that future, and that we should avoid making prostitution tolerable in America.
Throughout Sex Work and the Law: A Critical Analysis of Four Policy Approaches to Adult Prostitution Frances Shaver discusses the need for change for women working as prostitutes. Shaver explains the ongoing problem surrounding prostitution in Canada and provides four possible ways to resolve the issue in her work. Three well thought out points Shaver writes about are the health benefits as well as personal safety for the women in the sex industry. She also touches base on the decriminalization of prostitution and the impacts it will have on nearby neighborhoods and the residents as well as a few other topics. Although Shaver discusses important areas, she does leave out some particular parts for concern such as the issues surrounding minors involved in the sex industry as well as the men and women who are involuntarily put into prostitution also known as human trafficking. While Shaver touches base on extremely well thought out points and provides a solution for dealing with Canada’s prostitution problem, she fails to elaborate on a few major issues that should be discussed as well when discussing the decriminalization of prostitution.
“There is no difference in work in which a women sells her hands, such as a typist, and a work in which a women sells her vagina, as in sex work.” Claims author Lacy Sloan. In today’s society, many people believe that prostitution is an immoral act. It is the world’s oldest profession and because it has been long condemned, sex workers are stigmatized from mainstream society (ProQuest Staff). However, the act of purchasing sex between consenting adults should not be prohibited by the government, but regulated for society's overall best interests. Prostitution is illegal and as a consequence prostitutes are often victims of violence and sexual assault; therefore, prostitution should be legalized and regulated to ensure the safety of sex workers.
Moreover, there is an array of cases regarding drug use: those who do not use drugs; those who became addicted after entering prostitution; those who resort to prostitution to support the habit; and those who are primarily addicts and exchange sexual favors for cocaine. The society is largely male-dominated, with pimps and fixers controlling the women and who they interact with; there are also numerous cases of violence perpetrated by pimps as well as customers. Another theme that is revealed is the dynamic of escaping prostitution and how these
Cruz, J., & Iterson, S.V. (2013). The Audacity of Tolerance: A Critical Analysis of Legalized Prostitution in
Prostitution, considered one of the oldest professions in the world, was legal until 1915 when most states passed laws making it illegal. One of the main reasons for the prohibition of prostitution was to keep soldiers out of the brothels so they would stay focused on the war. After WWII, lawmakers left the prohibition laws in place instead of repealing them. Prostitution should be legal, regulated, and taxed. This would increase the quality of police protection, reduce waste in the judicial system, decrease the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and increase federal tax revenue.
The claim is that legalization or decriminalization of prostitution would only be a gift to traffickers and the sex industry bosses. Legalization of prostitution would imply sanctioning all aspects in the sex industry (Malarek, 2011). The sex workers who should be the esteem beneficiaries of the legalization process will end up being third party beneficiaries of the business. This will have the power of the business of the prostitute divided to every player in the market depending on the position of the prostitute herself. Say, the buyers will have the power to bargain hence withdraw the monopoly enjoyed by prostitutes based on social and ethical views of the act.
My thesis is that prostitution should be legal because it empowers women. Its decriminalization will be the best way to protect the human rights of sex workers. It will aim to remove the stigma from prostituted women to ensure that sexual workers enjoy full and equal protection from discrimination, exploitation, and especially equal opportunities to possess the much needed proper health regulations in the system. If enacted, prostitution could move from being such a risky business to a more secure and accepted form of trade. In 2003 when the Rhode Island District Court Judge decided to decriminalize indoor prostitution the community experienced a decline for both forcible rape offenses and gonorrhea incidence in the overall population. Their synthetic
Criminal organizations are proven to degrade women and give no care for their individual rights as the women are not only forced to do things they do not want to but also the fact that they are acting out of obligation to the organization they work for (Admin, 2014). Additionally, in the current state of the law, women are in places far out of the reach of possible health or protection assistance. The protection and well being of a country’s citizens should be the government’s first priority. In order to protect the rights of a person involved in the sex industry, there must be government aid in legalizing. Not only do prostitutes often face abuse at the hands of buyers and pimps, but they are also stigmatized by the rest of society (Morgan et al., 2014). One article states that women who are associated with the stigma of prostitution are “more vulnerable to hate crimes, housing and employment discrimination, and other violations of their basic rights” (Shrage, 1996). The stigmatization may be associated with the nature of a prostitute’s work and its subsequent morality, but it is also associated with the legality. Prostitution is associated with shame as it is legally criminal. Taking away one aspect of degradation would make life better for all prostitutes. One man explains that, while he does not support prostitution in practice, if his daughter chose to participate he would at least want it to be “legal, safe, reasonably well paid, and moderately respectable” (Shrage,
Little do most know, but on “[a]verage [prostitution] arrest[s], court and incarceration costs amount to nearly $2,000 per arrest. Cities spend an average of 7.5 million dollars on prostitution control every year, ranging from 1 million dollars to 23 million dollars.” Prostitution is the oldest known profession. Currently in 49 countries and counting prostitution is legal. Here in America there is a stigma following the label prostitute. We would rather resort to underground markets of sex labor. Endangering health, rights, and economics. Legalizing prostitution can reduce health hazards by giving heath care, also by giving rights to those that choose prostitution as their profession. In the long term this
When it comes to the topic on whether prostitution should be legalized, some of us will readily agree that prostitution should be legalized. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of what benefits does legalizing prostitution have to the people working as prostitutes and to the country. Whereas some are convinced that prostitution is morally wrong and would only exploit prostitutes, others maintain that prostitution has many health, safety and economic benefits. I agree that prostitution should be legalized because legalized prostitution can protect women as well as men from abuse and violence, it can decrease the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and it can be added as revenue for the government.
A couple American states have decriminalized prostitution, should others follow in their pioneering footsteps? Yes. The decriminalization of prostitution has been an unpopular idea in America, a Western civilization, due mainly to religious reasons. Sex, in the Western world, is seen as solely a procreation tool between a married couple, and prostitution is sexual activity for the sole purpose of pleasure and money (evils to Christians). Those in favor of decriminalization want to decriminalize in order to “call for enforcement of laws against fraud, abuse, violence and coercion to protect sex workers/prostitutes from abuse and exploitation.” ("Prostitution Law Reform: Defining Terms."). The goal for decriminalization, is a fight for protection
Prostitution is one of the most controversial subjects in the United States. There are many pros and cons to this subject. Should prostitution be legalized? Or should it stay illegal with no chance of becoming decriminalized? Some researchers confirm that prostitution is indeed the most ancient profession, while others argue with it; however, everybody agrees that trading sex for money has existed for quite a while. Prostitution is still a part of modern society. The fact speaks for itself, as there will always be a demand for the services that it provides, prostitution will exist in some form no matter what.