Legalizing Prostitution
Prostitution has lasted for generations and shows no signs of abating, despite the fact that it is outlawed in many states. Prostitution is not a crime if an individual does it willingly and without pressure or forced manipulation by another person. It has aided many people who could not find alternative work. Such folks escape poverty through prostitution while causing no harm to the general society. Prostitutes, like pornographers, do it for money and personal enjoyment. What is the point of criminalizing an activity that benefits no one while lifting some people out of poverty? What need to be done is to have regulatory measures on how prostitution is to be conducted. We have heard about several prostitutes harassed by law enforcers and causing unnecessary alarm yet the prostitutes cause little harm to the public.
Opponents of the legalization of prostitution argue that the practice would; increase the spread of STIs; encourage human trafficking and; raise the bar in violent crimes such as homicides and rape ("Prostitution ProCon.org -- Should prostitution be legal?", 2017).
Increase in the spread of STIs
This view is helpful in the sense that legalizing prostitution may give people the freedom to engage in sexual affairs without precautions. As many people engage in prostitution, the spread of STIs is likely to increase.
If I believed this view, I would notice that people engage more frequently in legal activities without minding so much about the outcomes of their actions.
The high frequency of engaging in prostitution may blind people from the reality about STIs. The idea that people do not need to watch their backs because the practice is legal may lead to recklessness and forgetfulness in taking precautions of protecting themselves from STIs.
Encouraging Human Trafficking
When prostitution is legalized, people may take advantage and want to benefit from the situation by using other people. As a result, human traffickers will expand their operations knowing that they do not need to hide from practicing prostitution.
I would notice that cases of human trafficking are directly associated with prostitution. Most people who are trafficked are used as prostitutes (Scoular & O'Neill, 2007). Therefore, when prostitution is legalized, human traffickers would want to take advantage of the legalized prostitution and make more profits from it by expanding their human trafficking activities.
This idea might be true in developed economies where most of the people are financially empowered, and therefore, nobody needs to engage in prostitution to earn a living. The only way to prostitution is by having people trafficked from other countries.
Raising the Bar in Violent Crimes
An interesting thing about this view is that violent crimes are very common in places associated with prostitution. Such places are dominated by drug users and heavy drinkers. Legalizing prostitution may increase the number of prostitution dens and consequently increase the number of violent crimes.
I would notice that people commit homicides and hide behind prostitution. People are likely to commit rape and use prostitution to cover up their crimes.
This is idea might be true in situations where people want to take advantage of prostitution as a cover up for violent crimes. People may open many more places in the name of brothels, but in the real sense use them to run illegal activities.
Prostitution is a complex practice that helps some people to earn a living but at the same time open doors for others to commit serious crimes against humanity. If it has to legalized, contingency plans and regulations are required to bar potential crimes that are mainly associated with prostitution.
References
Elbow, P. (2006). The believing game and how to make conflicting opinions more fruitful. Nurturing the Peacemakers in Our Students: A Guide to Teaching Peace, Empathy, and Understanding, 16-25.
Prostitution ProCon.org -- Should prostitution be legal?. (2017). Prostitution.procon.org. Retrieved 15 July 2017, from http://prostitution.procon.org/
Scoular, J., & O'Neill, M. (2007). Regulating Prostitution: Social Inclusion, Responsibilization and the Politics of Prostitution Reform. British Journal Of Criminology, 47(5), 764-778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azm014
Academic levels
Skills
Paper formats
Urgency types
Assignment types
Prices that are easy on your wallet
Our experts are ready to do an excellent job starting at $14.99 per page
We at GrabMyEssay.com
work according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which means you have the control over your personal data. All payment transactions go through a secure online payment system, thus your Billing information is not stored, saved or available to the Company in any way. Additionally, we guarantee confidentiality and anonymity all throughout your cooperation with our Company.