Should Prostitution Be Legal?
Why Prostitution Should Be Legal
Prostitution should be legalized because the government can help the sex business to get frequent time to time check ins for any sexual transmited diseases to help lower the amount of STDs among the sex workers and their customers. Getting frequent tests is important because one human trafficked victim and illegal prostitute Marilyn Rishta says, “Many are not educated about sex and the diseases they can catch when they are being trafficked, just like I did” (Dateline). Another case is a women, Candy, who lives in the Dominican republic, age 17 that needs to illegally prostitute herself on the streets, to support her children. She quotes, “Mostly children are in the streets selling sex for tourist to support their family and financial problems. They need the money” (World). This shows that children and women will illegally sell their body, regardless of what diseases they can catch in order to support their financial problems. But on the other hand, one legal sex worker in Nevada quotes, “This was paying more than any other jobs I’ve had, every month blood and every week we have a cervical swab. Protection is used for everything, we can’t work unless we pass” (Being A Legal Sex Worker In a Brothel). In legal brothels like these, where prostitution is legal, it gives a benefit for women to access to protection and safety during work unlike what illegal prostitutes have to go through.
Legalizing sex work will reduce the amount of violence and sex crimes for both the sex worker and buyer. One legal pimp, Dennis Hof, who’s also the owner of a brothel in the state of Nevada quotes, “This business, the prostitution business world wide, is a dirty disgusting, drug ridden , exploited, disease ridden business, until you legalize it. And when you make it legal, everything changes”(Newsy). Once a brothel and prostitution act is legal, then the safety for the clients and workers will be so much superior than an illegal brothel business with illegal prostitutes. Coming from another legal sex worker, Lexie Joy, says, “We have panic buttons in our room, security on staff, have cameras. When prostitution is illegal girls die, they suffer violence from pimps and other girls” (Quartz). According to Reuters, “Fear of police meant sex workers had little time to negotiate services and tended to work in isolated areas, added Platt, an associate professor in public health epidemiology at the LSHTM” (Bacchi). Doing illegal prostitution business secretly away from the police increased the sex workers vulnerability to theft and violence. Even an illegal pimp, Rolfo who lives in the Dominican Republic says, “Illegal action can be easily done without getting caught. Accesses the prostitutes easily for the tourist. Getting a girl is easier. They are Surviving by doing this job. Exploiting prostitutes.” Illegal prostitutes in rural countries and even developed countries are risking their lives for violence when they sell their body on the streets. For some, sadly that’s their only option because they are in such a desperate need to support themselves and their family. But, according to a reporter, Jennifer Wright from Bazaar, “The results of the Prostitution Reform Act have been beneficial for sex workers. A study from the Christchurch School of Medicine found that “90 percent of sex workers believed the PRA gave them employment, legal and health and safety rights”’(Bazaar). Legalising prostitution has benefited people in desperate need for employment and safety checks, making sure there's no harm for both the prostitute and the buyer during work.