Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robin on July 11, 2011 at 7:40am

"I never associate myself with libertarians, even if I might overlap on some issues with them, because their majority of their views are so appalling for the majority.  The libertarians I have met (only a few - we don't get so many in the UK), espoused views which work just fine in a world of 3 people.  Thereafter suddenly they seem selfish and utterly childish in fact."

What??? Maybe you need to see the real world, and please stop generalizing .

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Permalink Reply by Andrew J. Douglas on June 29, 2011 at 6:35pm

Prostitution should not be illegal in any way, shape or form. A woman can do whatever the heck she wants with her body.

Well, that clears that up. Time for tea.

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Permalink Reply by Katrin Schwarz on July 10, 2011 at 8:03am

Prostitution here in New Zealand was legalized in 2003.  In 2008 the law was reviewed and in a summary of the findings reported in the NZ Herald - "Associate Justice Minister Lianne Dalziel said the report showed the act had had a positive effect on the health and safety of sex workers and had not led to an increase in numbers of sex workers as predicted by critics of the law reform".

Full NZ Herald Article

The New Zealand experience, in my opinion, shows that some peoples perception of prostitution as immoral does not justify making it illegal because making it illegal allows for the ruthless exploitation of sex workers and causes much more harm than good.  Making it legal reduces exploitation and improves the lives of sex workers.  Making it legal can't be expected to be an instant cure-all as exploitation and violence which has been endemic to the industry for so long is not likely to disappear overnight.

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Permalink Reply by William C. Walker on July 10, 2011 at 9:33am

It never ceases to amaze me, after many decades, how far ahead N.Z., Australia, Canada, Scandanavia & the Western European countries are in these social & political matters, to the U.S. We need to LEARN from them. But we won't.

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Permalink Reply by Dark Star on July 10, 2011 at 10:10am

I think prostitution (and other forms of sex work) should be legal but, because of the risks of disease and abuse, should be regulated with those two ends in mind only.

 

What causes the most harm is our lack of  value and respect for the human being - if sex workers were properly valued and respected as human beings first the majority of the danger they currently face would cease.

 

Yes, Dear Judgmental Christian Reader, it is you who are partly responsible for young girls being abused and trafficked for sex - because where sex work is outlawed it is invariably taken over by the violent criminals - fueling them with funds instead of the sex workers themselves.  Providing the criminal capitol for ever escalating abuses.  And these societies often don't care because they are just 'whores' - sinners who deserve what they get - instead of valued members of society treated like human beings and given full rights and protections.

 

The sheer stupidity of the modern prohibitionist attitude towards sex and drugs is staggering.  How long will it take us to learn that it is NOT in our best interests to setup a system that feeds TRILLIONS of dollars to violent criminals.  It would be difficult to calculate but you can be almost certain that the vast majority of violent crime is a DIRECT result of prohibitions (primarily drugs, including alcohol, and sex work). I really don't understand how we wised up over Alcohol prohibition and have utterly failed to address the VASTLY worse situation created from sex work and 'drug' prohibition.

Crime doesn't pay, until some moron tries to legislate morality

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Permalink Reply by William C. Walker on July 10, 2011 at 11:25am

Dark Star, You are 'spot on' in your summary of the situation.   As always, the various religionists, of a 1,000 different persuasions have imposed their opposition to legalization of prostitution in America.  President Nixon's 'war on drugs' was lost - the day it was declared forty years ago.  It merely funded the criminals, & cost America hundreds of billions of dollars. Between prosecuting & housing those convicted & lost tax revenue, we could balance our budget with the costs of criminalizing prostitution & drugs.                    President Roosevelt ended prohibition with an eye toward the tax revenue that was so badly needed then, as now.

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Permalink Reply by Dark Star on July 10, 2011 at 11:44am

Thanks!   Don't get me started on Nixon and Anslinger: http://goo.gl/gTZV0

 

I would like to clarify one thing though (calling myself out on it).  I only used 'Christians' as an example, the problem obviously runs wider and deeper than just Christians and there are Christians who see the damage these polices do as well.  It's just that where I live (US South) they are the majority of the issue but I AM aware of the differences so just wanted to be clear that I don't see it solely as a 'Christian' problem.

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Permalink Reply by Joey Hunt on July 11, 2011 at 12:09am

if person is willing to give sex for money why don't they try to work at strip club or go into the porn industry

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Permalink Reply by Robin on July 11, 2011 at 12:36am

IDK, maybe they don't have the body for that. Maybe they can't dance or don't want to perform on camera.

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Permalink Reply by matt.clerke on July 11, 2011 at 1:11am

Because there is a demand outside of those industries for their "product"

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Permalink Reply by Jimmy Boy on July 11, 2011 at 7:27am

Maybe they don't want to?

 

Maybe they want to do what they like with their own body without being told what to do by idealogues?

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Permalink Reply by MikeLong on July 11, 2011 at 2:09am

Here in New Zealand prostitution is legal. It's also legal to be a streetwalker but public solicitation is illegal. Also, if I'm not mistaken, there are local regulations on where "houses" are located and what kind of signage is displayed.

I see nothing wrong with legal streetwalkers, because prostitutes here WANT to be well-known to police. I believe the police keep pretty close tabs on the girls for their protection (sorry, I've never noticed a male streetwalker). This practice is also, I believe, restricted to a certain areas - just like there's a fashion district and used-car district - it makes sense.

Love your position, Robin, that other jobs that people don't especially like are not illegal. However prostitution is not a profession which is universally hated by its practitioners. Talking to a former President of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, she assured me that plenty like their work (though not necessarily every trick) - and it pays well.

What a fiery discussion! I haven't seen anyone disagree. :-)

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