Legalize Prostitution

One of the oldest legal debates comes from one of the world's oldest profession, prostitution, there is no denying that the sex industry has taken international dimensions and is recognized as an economic motor for many countries. As countries around the world debate the merits of legalizing or at least decriminalizing prostitution. The following questions should be addressed. Would legalization reduce some of the inequalities and abuse suffered by the women involved? On the other hand, by legitimizing prostitution, would society reverse decades of work to promote human rights and improve the status of women? On the surface, this looks like a rehashing of a timeless debate. However, it is not. The question is no longer about morality -- is prostitution a vice and are those involved evil or somehow lacking in judgement? Now the question should be asked: is prostitution a form of exploitation to be abolished or an occupation to be regulated? To get a feel for what is going on and how opinions are changing, one should look to the headlines. In the Christian Science Monitor, an ex-call girl is challenging Florida State laws on prostitution. In Amsterdam, the "First World Whore's Congress" takes place. Prostitutes from around the world came together to make a statement of solidarity. In the Times Higher Education Supplement, John Taylor, Chief executive of Sheffield Britain 's Chamber of Trade, says, "You can't eradicate it. All you can do is drive it underground. I am a realist. It's better that it should be controlled." These are all separate incidences where some kind of regulation, decriminalization, or legalization of prostitution is being debated. By decriminalizing prostitution, laws would protect prostitutes, enable ...

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...Social Reformer: Commercial Vice in the Progressive Era. Ed Charles Rosenberg and Carroll Smith-Rosenberg. New York: Arno Press, 1974. A report of the Vice Commission of Minneapolis to His Honor, James C. Haynes and of a report on existing conditions with recommendations to the Honorable Rudolph Blankenburg, mayor of Philadelphia, 1974.

Davis, Nanette J. Prostitution: An International Handbook Trends, Problems, and Policies. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993 "This handbook fills a significant gap in understanding prostitution in multicultural terms."

Roberts, Nickie. Whores in History: Prostitution in Western Society London, HarperCollins, 1992

This book gives the history of prostitution dating back to Ancient Greece and continues through to the Twentieth century and the new movement to legalize prostitution and gain rights for the prostitutes.