Prostitution happens regardless of its legality but legalising it has proven to help reduce human trafficking in other countries and I also read the following: “Proven benefits of legalizing prostitution include mental and physical healthcare (including STI prevention care), safer and more accessible ways of reporting violence and abuse as well as improved infrastructure and working conditions.” Source: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/benefits-of-legalizing-prostitution/
32 comments
I like the idea of only prosecuting the Pimps and traffickers like they do in some nations. You could probably go after the Johns too just leave the sex worker alone.
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Yes. No interest in it myself, but there is a need and people should be allowed to engage in consensual activities together that are not harmful. It’s be safer for the prostitutes too.
Decriminalization, yes
Legalization, no
Yes. I would not use the services but I think there is only a upside to doing it. As you say it will happen either way and at least if legalized it can be regulated a bit.
No.
This decision would get a lot of people fucked.
Legalize, regulate, tax
Sticking women up in a window with a price is not okay in 2023, Mr Amsterdam.
We’d need functioning healthcare, responsible police, legal access to abortion, and the per-hour cost would be way beyond what most people could easily afford.
America would hate doing all the things required to treat sex workers with respect.
So…No.
We can’t treat nurses & teachers with respect.
I’ve been to parts of the world who see things differently. It…sucks. It spoils your innocence. Seeing women treated like exploited whores *sucks* even when you aren’t directly engaged in it.
Prostitution is not illegal at the federal level in the US. 49 states have made it illegal with Nevada being the only state where it is legal.
I desperately want to see how many angry trolls on the internet disappear because they started getting blowjobs on the regular.
It was legal for years in Rhode Island because the legislature screwed up in the 70s and they finally closed the loophole because it led to a lot of coercive human trafficking.
I’m generally pretty libertarian but I’m leaning toward no unless there was some extremely comprehensive regulation that went along with it.
I’d have to see the actual proposal.
And I could be wrong and you’re from Rotterdam so maybe you know better but my wife was in Amsterdam a couple years ago for work and her colleagues from the area said there was a significant amount of support for getting rid of the prostitution because it generated more problems than it was worth.
I think it’s very stupid that if two people consensually bump uglies together, it’s legal, if both of them are paid to do it, it’s still legal, but if one of them pays the other, it’s all of a sudden illegal.
You mean pretty much the only thing driving human trafficking and child grooming?
No.
Yes. In the words of Carlin… selling is legal. Fucking is legal. Why isn’t selling fucking legal?
No, because unfortunately it provides a cover for human trafficking. Not that existing legal framework is perfect.
I’m not for it. Some women would benefit from it but it would be used as cover for the illegal sex trade of children. It has also caused problems in Germany where women were denied unemployment after losing their jobs because they got an “offer” from a brothel to work there. She wasn’t working a sex job before. I believe in a nordic model where prostitution remains illegal but not for the girls but rather the men paying for it, the idea is the women can get help and get out of it.
As a society I believe we should focus on strengthening families and relations between men and women rather than just using women for sex and being on their way.
No for many reasons, not the least of which sex “work” reduces women (and men) into nothing more than objects for pleasure. They become a product to be sold and used.
Absolutely not. But I would only prosecute the demand side.
Rather than licensing the commodity market for women’s bodies, how about we address the things that make that career choice seem like a necessary path?
My perception of legal prostitution is, in a place like Amsterdam, where it is legal, the prostitutes aren’t local Dutch women, they are imported from eastern Europe and other places where they don’t have much hope for a better life. Many are trafficked in a literal sense, but even if not, prostitution is by and large a profession being undertaken out of desperation, rather than ambition. I don’t think prostitution is good for women, the perception of women in society, or healthy attitudes about sex in general. I see no reason that making it legal alleviates any of those concerns.
In theory, I think it should be legal.
But when there is so much wealth disparity- the most vulnerable are just at too much risk for abuse.
It feels like selling organs to me.
Idk. I used to think it would be a good idea, but research shows that human trafficking gets worse when prostitution becomes legal so I’m very torn. It does happen regardless, and I thought making it legal would make it safer, but now I just don’t know
Yes and no. I don’t think prohibiting prostitution will prevent it, as we have all seen that it doesn’t, but imagine being a young woman who’s looking for a job and government job placement gets you a position as a sex worker. Then, you’re refused any government assistance because you didn’t want to be a hooker.
It could also compound public health issues with drug-resistant STDs, not to mention the possible dent it could make on young people getting married and starting families; we can talk about individual freedom and choices as much as we please, but families are and always will be the foundation of every society on Earth.
While I don’t see anything inherently wrong with tax and regulate, the societal impacts could be bad. They could also be nil, but hey, the whole point here is to get people’s opinions.
I don’t think it should be illegal but we also need to stop pretending prostitution is just a fun totally non-coerced career choice, under the guise of being progressive. It just makes *us* feel better about ourselves (look at me supporting women and their sex choices!)
Technically if the sex is transactional, that’s coercion. And you can’t freely consent when you’re coerced. And to me consent is everything when it comes to sex and bodily autonomy. And they’re only doing it to make money off what men will pay – use of their body.
So it’s still just women living in a misogynistic patriarchy. But at least they won’t be punished on top of it
With the state of women’s Healthcare and contraception being under attack by the GOP it might be too dangerous. If our healthcare system and government wasn’t corrupt it’s be all for it.
My only concern with legalizing prostitution is how it may contribute to human trafficking, which is already an issue in the USA. You hear stories on how in the Netherlands a lot of the prostitutes aren’t even Dutch but Eastern European women trying to get out of a bad situation, and that’s not a pattern I want to see continued in the USA. Immigrants here are already exploited enough as is through the agricultural industry.
At the same time though, speaking as an Arizonan whose lived in seedier parts of Phoenix, I’d feel a lot better if most of the street walkers were operating in a secure, comfortable location where they can get help and protection. I don’t know what their situation is but I imagine being able to work out in the open with legal protections would undoubtably help them out.
Legalized? Nah. Decriminalized? Yes.
Its a very fucked up industry i dont think we should go as far as encouraging it but i dont think we should further ruin peoples lives in an already fucked up situation by arresting them.
I think a better option would be to still bust up prostitution rings and go after those in charge but get a program in place to help the girls have a normal life instead of just arresting or deporting them
Very much against. The glorification of sex work has not been for the benefit of women. Legalized prostitution increases demand and many studies show it increases trafficking, especially of poorer and more vulnerable women and girls. It also contributes generally to the societal perception that women’s bodies are a commodity.
Nope. Not at all. Having lived in Germany where it’s legal – I have to say unfortunately that it’s not really working well. The prices of sexual acts have decreased drastically because of more competition, which means that sex workers now have to see even more clients to make ends meet, which in turn increases a lot their risk and exposure to STDs. Many impoverished women from Eastern Europe are being exploited in Germany and have to work in “all you can f**k 24 hour bordels”, with many because of the language barrier being forced to stay, their passports confiscated by their “employers” and only a handful are taking advantage of social benefits / health care. And recent studies have shown it’s also been detrimental to the social fabric of society, now with men expecting their gf to perform like sex workers . Oh and there’s those weird “quick fellations” booths and many are close to schools. I think it’ll mean many young boys will be raised with unhealthier views on sex and women… It’s a mess.
Absolutley not, and I don’t care if it is unpopular with Redditors who skew younger, male, and unattached. Harm reduction is an important moral. Men do not have more right to orgasm than women have to avoid being trafficked.
The Nordic model in which buyers of commercial sex are criminalized but sellers, often selling out of desperate circumstances and survival, are not is the only acceptable solution in my book.
We also have the backdrop of facist Republican ideology in which abortion is rapidly becoming illegal nationwide leaving minor girls and women no reproductive autonomy and ways to escape reproductive abuse.
Full legalization leads to a normalization of acts which should be shamed like abuse of women, abuse of minor girls, and increased rates of trafficking. I will never support state-sponsored prostitution.
I don’t see how there would be a decrease in human trafficking and exploitation of poor women, maybe in other countries it works out but people are crazy here
This is a nasty fucking industry. Any legal action toward decriminalization or legalization would have demonstrate harm reduction with regular assessments.
I used to be in favor of legalization from a pure libertarian perspective. As time has gone on, I am skeptical of those arguments.
I despise this industry and people who patronize it.