Barry, Kathleen. "Prostitution". Boston: Houghton Mifflin, (1998). General OneFile. Miami Dade College. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Gerdes, Louise I. What Are the Causes of Prostitution?. 1st edition. Farmington Hills, Missouri: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Print.
Due to the extensive amount of sexual partners sex workers have, higher rates of HIV than those of the general population are found among them. Although these individuals are the ones that need sexual health care more than most, with prostitution being illegal, it is difficult for sex workers to get the proper care they deserve. In turn, criminalizing prostitution contributes to the widespread HIV pandemic. In The Debate over
Seventy-seven countries have made prostitution legal thus far and some believe the United States should allow the legalization of prostitution. One reason why is because prostitutes are not protected against violence and crime. Prostitution is unregulated therefore when prostitutes turn to the authorities for help when exposed to violence they are often arrested (“Prostitution” 1). The death rate for prostitutes in the US is two-hundred and four out of every hundred thousand. Additionally, the average prostitute gets physically attacked at least once a month (“Prostitution” 2). Due to the lack of law enforcement protecting them, prostitutes are easy targets for violence because of their vulnerability. Many human-rights groups argue that “criminalization makes it more likely that the rights of sex workers will be violated” (Picard 1). Furthermore, advocates believe abolishing prostitution would lead to the expansion of human and trafficking, which defeats the purpose of criminalizing prostitution (Picard 1).
Brenda Myers of Chicago was nine years old when she first learned that prostitution existed. Surprisingly, despite her young age, the idea was not foreign. Myers had been molested for years by a family member. “...well, they’re already taking my panties off…” Myers said. “So, I’ll make them pay for it” (Lydersen). Now picture yourself in fourth grade. Nikki Williams, a case worker from a Portland, Oregon based organization met a jailed twenty year old woman, who at the age of ten, at the end of her fourth grade year, was a drug-addicted prostitute (Lydersen). Both of these stories highlight two prevalent causes of prostitution: sexual abuse and drugs. Prostitution should not be legalized in America because it is built on the very foundation
Washington Post's PostGlobal website Melissa Ditmore, PhD Coordinator of the Global Network of Sex Work ProjectsFeb. 28, 2007
Brockett, L. and A. Murray (1994). Thai sex workers in Sydney. Sex Work and Sex Workers in Australia. R. Perkins, G. Prestage, R. Sharp and F. Lovejoy (editors). Sydney, University of New South Wales Press.
Sterk, C. , (2000). Tricking and Tripping: Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS. Book.
The proposed legalization of prostitution is not a new debate, nor is it a subject that has been overlooked in research. The term prostitution is best defined as any situation in which one person pays another for sexual gratification (Greenberg, Bruess, & Oswalt, 2014). Though there are many types of sex workers such as strippers, bar girls, and phone sex operators, this argument will focus solely on those in the business of trading physical sex for money or bartering. Prostitution is already legal in eleven cities in Nevada and should be permitted throughout the remainder of the United States. Nevada’s legal prostitution areas will be used as a prime example as to the many benefits of nationwide legalization such as decreased sexual violence crime rates, economic development, health benefits and protection of the workers, and optimal laws that at the very least decriminalize organized prostitution. In this paper, I challenge to change the perception of prostitution in today’s society by providing many of the most common arguments used to defend it, so that an unbiased judgment may finally be considered in the legalization and decriminalization of prostitution in organized sanctions such as brothels and businesses promoting sex (i.e: Strip clubs, massage parlors, and fetish clubs).
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. “The Link Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking.” Women’s Rights. Ed. Jennifery Curry. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 2005. 99-101. Print.
Prostitution has been called the world’s oldest profession yet it is still criminalized. In the United States, Prostitution is illegal except for the state of Nevada, where only certain counties have legalized prostitution. Prostitution has been criminalized in our society and we associate prostitution with something illegal and immoral because we are taught that it is detrimental to our society. Stigmatization of prostitution is as conventional as any other form of social constructions we are taught to follow. Prostitution is victimless and is nothing but an exchange of currency for services. Fifty-eight percent of American prostitutes reported a violent assault at the hands of clients and as a society, it is our duty to minimize the struggles
Kathleen Barry, 1995, the Prostitution of Sexuality, New York University Press. Professor of Law, Calgary University, Canada, 1995
world about managing prostitution and protecting the rights of sex workers. On the day 1-1-1999,
The increased globalization of the world has had a profound effect on human rights, and has further muddied the unclear distinction between sex trafficking and prostitution. Prostitution has been a moral quandary for society for centuries, and the debate regarding it has risen into the political arena as legislators discuss legalizing prostitution. As there is a societal debate, there is also a political and academic debate regarding the merits of legalization and prohibition of prostitution. Current scholars discuss the implications of legalizing prostitution and its effects on sex trafficking, while also considering the current limits within legislation.
The battle against forced prostitution or sex trafficking often becomes confused with the fight against free prostitution when there is no distinction according to the laws. Prostitution can be free or it can be forced and the only way to help the real victims is to distinguish between the two. The first step in getting a handle on human trafficking is to legalize prostitution. Those who oppose any form of prostitution dispute the fact that legalization is not the answer. According to their view, sex trafficking or forced prostitution would not exist without the demand for commercial sex. Prostitution encourages the growth of human trafficking by providing a cover in which the traffickers can hide behind in order to sexually exploit women