February Blog-Prostitution

Legalization on Prostitution

 

                    The topic for my February blog is: Should prostitution be legalized and what are the ramifications of doing so? My position towards the legalization of prostitution is that I do not agree that it should be legalized. Prostitution is a nasty business that doesn’t have any positive effects to our society. One reason to not legalize prostitution is that it would lead to increases in sexually transmitted diseases. The lecture on sexual commerce in Victorian America made some good points on the negative effects of prostitution and sex trafficking. During the late nineteenth century, a large percentage of women died o from the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDs and syphilis. Another reason it should not be legalized is because it portrays a poor image of young adults for both men and women. Legalizing a business that is about exchanging money for sex is not a healthy influence and when young people see that it is ok to do then others will follow as well. Furthermore, prostitution usually is associated with drugs, violence, rape, and homicide. A supporting fact from the Victorian lecture is during this century lots of women were forced into this line of work and were pressured to take drugs. After doing drugs consistently, the prostitutes would then have drug addiction problems that made it hard to for them to stop use. Also, when the prostitute exchanged themselves for money, sometimes clients would forcibly rape the workers, as some men did unnecessary violence to women. In our society in the present day, one source of violence connected with prostitution is gangs. Gangs show a lot of violence through the shootings, drugs, and full control of women through sex trafficking. Women should not be forced by men to perform sexual activities for money. They should have the right to choose that option for themselves.

                Though I still believe prostitution should be not legalized, there are some positive effects associated with the legalization of prostitution. The piece of information I found on prostitution provided an explanation of both the pros and cons of legalizing prostitution.  A few reasons for legalizing prostitution is that it would increase tax revenue and bring more people out of poverty. An example is many counties in Nevada have legalized this business and prostitution as it is a victimless crime. A majority of people living in the rural areas of Nevada support the legalizing of prostitution, but oppose it in Las Vegas. Additionally the legalization of prostitution will not only get the prostitutes off the streets, but will allow consenting adults to make their own decision.

 

ProCon.org, "Prostitution." Last modified 5 2, 2014. Accessed February 27, 2014. http://prostitution.procon.org/.

Gormley, Lois. metro archives, "Prostitution pumps millions into Nevada's economy ." Last modified 12 11, 1998. Accessed February 26, 2014. http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost/community/archives/com.gormley.prostitute.html.