Opinions on prostitutes & prostitution?

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I think I remember the subject of prostitutes coming up on a thread a few months ago, but can’t remember much about the content. I'm currently focusing on a body of work in this area and am just curious to hear what people have to say, if anything, about the issue of prostitution or the women involved in this trade.I suppose some unenlightened fools will have nothing more to contribute but 'skanky whore' comments, and they'll be entitled to do so in accordance with a2a's policy of free speech, but anyone with nothing more than that to offer should know that I am attempting to provoke a serious debate here which attempts to dissect the myriad social reasons behind modern-day prostitution, and as such, those sort of imperceptive comments contribute nothing at all.

I think it ought to be legalised here, as its NEVER going to go away........and it will be the best and safest thing for both the prostitites and the men who go to them.....im sure a woman would be better able to look after her health etc within a brothel set up rather than on the streets.On saying that i wouldn't really want to live near a brothel, so where they would be is i would guess a cause for debate and/or concern.The amount of money wasted on the police enforcing the law surrounding prostitition is just stupid and a waste and could be better spent im sure on a millon-and-one other things.....as it does nothing but get them off the streets for a night, then they are right back out there.Frankly after seeing some of the women on the streets it amazes me that men want to have sex with them nevermind PAY to have sex with them, some of them are so skanky.......but they do, and always will, so why keep trying to make it a crime as i can't see it does anything but waste time and money.

As Angel said, it should be legalised because it is never going to go away.Legalising prostitution is the same argument as legalising marijuana, by regulating it you take money away from criminals(pimps) and you make it safer for all parties involved.Its similar to how some parents allow their teenage children to have sex as long as they stay safe. A child is in more danger if they have to sneak around, and this is the exact same with prostitution.

For a class I took before I graduated, I had to read a long article on why prositution can't necessarily be considered a capitalist profession. Whenever I overcome my laziness, I'll dig it out and re-read it. If I can ever think of the title, I'll redirect you to it.

That would be a new angle and very helpful CBW, thanks. (don’t be forgetting now!)As far as legalising it, Angel & Bob, I really don’t know where I stand on that. I know that decriminalisation here would have saved lives, certainly, and I think maybe that's the route to go. There were new criminalisation laws introduced here in 1993, and three women died very shortly afterwards, and as a direct result. The news laws stated that any building which housed more than one woman working in prostitution was legally certified as a brothel, and the proprietor would be charged under the new tougher sentencing regime. Of course, in response, women started working alone. This new legislation was published in the media, so every ‘punter’ in the country knew that when he’d be visiting a brothel the woman he’d be seeing would be working alone. After that, three women were murdered alone in their apartments in a very short timeframe.I think it is really very very sad that these women, who have such difficult lives to begin with, are criminalised in law to the degree that they are forced to adapt their working practices in order to make an already extremely dangerous job into a deadly one. I don’t understand the rationale of the new laws either; surely a brothel is a brothel no matter how many prostitutes are working there?!

Well, lets see what legalising prostitution would (or should) do:- Taxable jobs.- Basic Working Rights - Fair wages, fair hours, health care, security, even Unions!- Removes drugs, violence and fear from the job.Child prostitution could never be dealt with this way, but legalising adult prostitution will free up money and manpower so that the effort against child prostitution could be a lot stronger.Is saving the lives of thousands of women who are being abused in their jobs because of their financial or social situation NOT worth the shame of having a legal brothel hidden behind a bar?

Originally Posted By: HelmsmaN On the other side, you have the prostitutes, unwilling or unable to find work and pay taxes like the rest of us, again for a number of reasons, though I suspect due mostly to addiction to illegal drugs. That is a misconception Helmsman; an average of 50/60% of the prostitutes I've come in contact with are not addicted to illegal substances, and the majority of those who are became addicted after (and, I am sure, as a result of) their involvement in prostitution. Of course an addiction to expensive narcotics will copper-fasten a persons involvement in a trade which has a fast financial turnover; so drug addiction, in my experience, is not most usually accountable for bringing a person into prostitution, but rather is responsible for keeping a women in it, once the addiction has taken hold; and it is the mental stress and the emotional difficulties inherent to that lifestyle which first sow the seeds of addiction. But I do get where you're coming from; they are twin evils, which operate to support eachother. As for legalisation, I know next to nothing about the American legal system, but in Ireland legalisation and decriminalisation are two very separate points in law. If it were put to the vote tomorrow, I would vote against legalisation, but for decriminalisation.

Originally Posted By: bobaliciousWell, lets see what legalising prostitution would (or should) do:- Taxable jobs.- Basic Working Rights - Fair wages, fair hours, health care, security, even Unions!- Removes drugs, violence and fear from the job.The first two points here are valid ones Bob, but I have to say, from all I've seen thus far, no amount of government intervention will ever remove drugs, violence or fear from the job.

Well I based the last one on the only example of a brothel that I've seen, a documentary on a Nevada brothel on BBC. The people who worked there seemed to love their jobs and there was drug testing for all employees.I just assume that any brothel set up would try to have similar conditions.

But laws are made by people, and can be changed. Making prostitution illegal has not stopped it, and making it legal where that has happened has not increased it.

Quote:There are laws, and things are illegal for a reason.Laws are created through the morals of the people who make them. Thats why black people once had no vote, and why in many places gay people still cannot get married. Cannabis is illegal because it is harmful, but tobacco is far worse and the damage caused by cigarettes is far more intense, yet they remain perfectly legal. Laws are not always made to benefit the people, currently there are laws against prostitution that are ruining lives, even ending them as Starfish mentioned. And for what? Your moral justification?

It was a documentary about one brothel and the people who work there, nothing more. I can see that this obviously doesn't give the bigger picture but it shows how the situation, under proper regulations, can be effective without anyone getting hurt.

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Yes, cigarettes are deadly and toxic. Yes, they are "legal", however in many cities and municipalities here in Cali, they no longer are legal in public places - FINALLY!
Ah yes, we have that ban all over the country. But yes, off topic, sorry.
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lives are ruined because married men and single men get caught up on the wrong side of the law. So?
Thats not what I meant by lives being ruined. It is the choice of those men to seek out a prostitute, so it is their own fault. I am talking about the women who have no choice in the matter. The women who live in fear of their pimps, the women being abused by their "clients". And as Starfish said, the women being killed in their homes because they don't have the security of a brothel, they have nobody to watch out for them.

Originally Posted By: HelmsmaNOn the other side, you have the prostitutes, unwilling or unable to find work and pay taxes like the rest of us, again for a number of reasons, though I suspect due mostly to addiction to illegal drugs. Also on this side we have the pimps. Not a very good breed if individual. Often times these pimps "own" the girls, as we all know. What often gets forgottten is that these girls are often "kept" against their will. Kept by means of drug addiction, financial burden, and outright FEAR. Not all people who get sucked into the horrendous world of prostitution are people in need of their next fix, or because they're unwilling to get a job. For some people it's the only option they're faced with when it comes to supplying their family with food and shelter. Do I personally agree with someone selling themselves just for the sexual, emotion, or physical gratification of another person? No, I don't, actually it saddens me. I find it very tragic to see that it comes to that in many situations. I have a few questions of my own concerning this topic. Many people honestly wonder why it's illegal in the first place (I happen to be one of them). Again, I don't agree with paying for sex, but you have to stop and think about it. Two concenting adults meet in a room of a hotel, apartment, what have you, agree on a price and then have sex. Did they really commit some monstrous crime? Reasonable thinking would actually suggest that that wasn't the situation because since when did having sex in the pricvacy of your own 'place' become an illegal act? Is it the fact that money has exchanged hands that turns it into some sort of 'moral' wrong or what? Without the money envolved, it's just two people fucking (for the lack of a better term) in the back seat of a car in an alley.

RIGHT!Again you are assuming that these women don't want a better life, or an education. Yes it is true, some women do it by choice, but not all of them. There are so many of them who CANNOT get an education. Who CANNOT get another job. Please don't pretend that you are unaware of the people who fall through the gaps in society, the people who are left alone with nothing to their name. THESE are the people who will benefit most from legalisation. You are thinking from the view of the consumer. Please excuse the pun when I say, fuck them! They are not what we care about. You can make this concious choice to go seek a blowjob from some 18 year old. What legalisation would do is protect that 18 year old should you turn out to be a mental case!Prostitution is a job. Its a trade. The prostitute deserves to be protected regardless of your moral standing.

I couldn't agree more with that, Bob!

Who are we to say that a woman/man shouldn't be protected regaurdless of their occupation?

People don't stop and think, what harm does a prostitute do?Does a prostitute destroy a family? No. The husband who betrayed his family and went looking for the prostitute is responsible for that.Currently the largest problem with prostitution, in relation to the general public, is the spread of STIs. With government regulations and protection, this wouldn't be nearly as much of a problem.

Oh don't act like a knob on purpose, you know exactly what I mean! If you don't find yourself capable of maintaining an intelligent conversation without acting like a child, then just make your point and stop posting. I got banned for a lot less than what you do here, and I won't be surprised if it happens again because of you.

i agree with alot that you say. my religon prohibits it (to the best of my knowledge) but regardless of religon, prostitution should be taken care of. it will happen, no matter what. there are rehab clinics and safe needle programs for drug addicts, but what do we have for prostitutes? nothing except for a general disapproval and feeling of social isolation.

Originally Posted By: HelmsmaNI think it's a safe bet that the way they do "business' in your country is vastly different than what goes on in this city, and other large American cities.Why?