The Sweet Life of Prostitution...or Not!

The Sweet Life of Prostitution….or Not!

According to Frey, prostitution is defined as “acting against one’s convictions in order to get a reward” (Frey, 2003). Prostitution at one point of time and still may be a controversial issue within society, some may think it’s illegal for a woman to go out on a corner and sell her body and others may it’s an easy way to make a living. Prostitution is seen by many women as easy making money for their family, drug habits, paying off drug debts, etc. but could lead to many complications such as diseases, death, arrest, etc. In one study, 67% of a group of law enforcement officials expressed the opinion that women did not enter prostitution voluntarily (Raymond, 2003). Raymond also mentions that 72% of social service providers did not think that women voluntarily choose to enter the sex industry (Raymond, 2003).

In the United States, each state has a different law regarding prostitution. In Holland, prostitution is legal and they even offer free clinics which helps keep a low rate of AIDS. According to Morris, less than 1 percent, compared to 30-40 percent among America’s illegal but probably equally plentiful hooker population (Morris, 1989). Legalization of prostitution in the State of Victoria, Australia, resulted in massive expansion of the sex industry. Along with legalization of prostitution, other forms of sexual exploitation, such as tabletop dancing, bondage and discipline centers, peep shows, phone sex, and pornography, have all developed in much more profitable ways than before legalization (Raymond, 2003). In an article by Kissil and Davey, they mentioned that in the beginning of the 20th century, prostitution was focused on social, economic, and psychological explanations with t...

... middle of paper ...

... law enforcement looks at them as the offender instead of the victim when being raped.

Works Cited

Farley, M, & Kelly, V. (2000). Prostitution: a critical review of the medical and social sciences. Women & Criminal Justice, 11(4), 29-64.

Frey, B. (2003). Publishing as prostitution? – choosing between one’s own ideas. Institute for Empirical Economic Research, 116, 205-223.

Kissil, K, & Davey, M. (2010). The prostitution debate in feminism:current trends, policy and clinical issues facing an invisible population. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy,, 22, 1-21.

Morris, D. (1989, October 11). How holland helps its citizens turn vice into virtue. The Pittsburgh Press, p. B3.

Raymond, J. (2003). Ten reasons for not legalizing prostitution and a legal responseto the demand of prostitution. Journal of Trauma, 2(3/4), 315-322.