Legalization of Prostitution

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Recommended: Brief history of prostitution

Prostitution can be defined as the performance of sexual acts for payment (Sheldin 2014). It is the oldest profession in the history of the world. It has been present in most civilizations that have ever existed.

In the U.S.A prostitution is illegal except in certain counties in Nevada. Prostitutes are convicted if caught for exercising their profession.

However, why are they being punished? Most prostitutes do not choose that life but are enrolled in it by pimps who take advantage of the unfortunate circumstances of young women’s lives. It seems as if U.S. law thought of prostitutes as “happy hookers” (Kay 2013). The true problems lay in the pimps and the whole sex commerce, not in the prostitutes themselves; prostitutes are merely victims.

One of the greatest problems that sex commerce brings in the U.S. is the amount of minors that are sex trafficked into prostitution. Though it is hard to calculate because prostitution is illegal, it is estimated that the average prostitute is 12 years old (McKeel 2010). Children are popular targets for pimps as they are defenseless, innocent and manipulable.

U.S. law doesn’t spare child prostitutes. “Children in the U.S. sex industry are often arrested and put into the juvenile detention system” (Aziza 2014). This a serious problem because children who are sex trafficked cannot appeal to the state for help as they are treated as delinquents and not as victims.

This is also true for prostitutes in general, since they are physically and sexually abused by their pimp or by their consumer and do not appeal to the police for protection. In 2004 the homicide rate for female prostitutes in the United States was estimated to be 204 per 100,000 (Duthel, 2013).

It is also diff...

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Kay, B. (2013, Dec 21). Prostitution laws struck; the case against. National Post. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com

McKeel D. (2010, August 26th) "Studies show the average age of entry into prostitution is 12 to 14 years old." Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/oregon/statements/2013/mar/02/diane-mckeel/Is-average-age-entry-sex-trafficking-between-12-an/

Ahmed, A. (2014, Think again: Prostitution. Foreign Policy, , 74. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com

Heinz, D. (2013) Kathoey Ladyboy, :Books on demand

Unknown author (2012) Human trafficking statistics and facts, countries where prostitution is legal Maps of the world Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/poll/should-prostitution-be-legalized-text.html

Coyne, A. (2013, Dec 21). Prostitution laws struck; the case for. National Post. Retrieved from http://sks.sirs.com

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