Should prostitution be legal?

If prostitution were legalized, I think it would be crucial to require prostitutes to be regularly tested for HIV and other STDs. However, enforcing this would require setting up an entirely new system by which to make sure they've been tested, some sort of proof they have been (perhaps cards) that inform "Johns" what STDs, if any, the card holder has.

Prostitution goes on already and will continue to go on whether it is legalized or not. If we legalize it then we can at least keep people safer and better informed.

As a native Nevadan, I grew up in the only state in the U.S. to have legal prostitution. In Nevada, it is only legal outside of city limits, and only in particular counties. The girls are tested regularly and they are treated as legal workers. However, a great many prostitutes operate illegally inside the cities and are never tested. So, the legality of the practice does not necessarily keep it clean and off the streets. Only the workers in the licensed brothels are tested and regulated. Legalization doesn't reduce the amount of illegal sex trade, it merely increase the overall amount of prostitution that happens.

Let me be clear: I am not against legal prostitution, but I think it is important to keep harm reduction in mind when creating legal policies that govern the sex trade. The main problem we see with legal prostitution in Nevada (and elsewhere) is that there is always a percentage of sex workers who are enslaved. Sexual trafficking is not always easy to identify - often girls who try to flee are beaten and threatened, or even killed. In Germany, where sex trade is legal, authorities estimate that at any given time about 10-14% of prostitutes are working under threat of death or harm. Many are from other countries and are trafficked by mafias and corrupt officials.

In most sex for trade transactions, the seller is at a disadvantage. It is the seller who is desperate - 95% of prostitutes would leave the work if they had a choice.
sfu.ca/cmns/research/newswatch/test_folder/Representat...prostitution.htm

However, there are some sex workers who do enjoy their work and perform it willingly. So, the question becomes how do we allow consenting adults to engage in this practice, but still protect sex workers from abuse and slavery?

The Nordic model is one approach that has been successful in reducing harm and negative side effects from prostitution. Basically, their law attacks the "demand" part of the equation. The selling of sex is decriminalized, but the buying of sex is outlawed. This legal model places the liability squarely on the shoulder of the buyer, the person with the money. The seller is seen as a victim, and is not punished, but empowered to report the buyer if need be. Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark all have variations of this approach encoded into law. Finland still allows the selling of sex in one-on-one negotiations between consenting adults, who are citizens. But, their regulations strictly outlaw any and all kinds of third party brokering of sex: no pimps, no madams, no brothels. Non-citizens are also barred from sex work in Finland, this byline is intended to specifically thwart the sex trafficking of Asian and Russian women.

I like the Nordic model for harm reduction pretty well, but my own views are somewhat different and can be reviewed in more depth here: daerice.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/sacred-prostitution-a...rchetypal-whore/

Sources on Harm Reduction studies related to prostitution:

Cho, Seo-Young, Dreher, Axel and Neumayer, Eric. "Does Legalized Prostitution Increase Human Trafficking?" World Development, 41 No. 1 (2013): 67-82.

Danailova-Trainor, Gergana, and Patrick Belset. "Globalization and the illicit market for human trafficking: an empirical analysis of supply an demand." Policy Integration Department, International Labour Office Geneva. Working Paper No. 78, December 2006. ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---integrati.../wcms_081759.pdf. Accessed March 18, 2013.

Skilbrei, May-Len and Charlotta Holmstrom. "Is There a Nordic Prostitution Regime?" Crime and Justice Vol 40, No. 1 (2011): 479-517.) 0-www.jstor.org.innopac.library.unr.edu/stable/10.1086/659841. Accessed March 18, 2013.

Even the UN is in favor of legalizing prostitution globally pushing it as an optional occupation for women. Now I'm picturing single mom's hanging a shingle on their porch with a red light and she is "working" while the children are doing their homework. While I understand the idea of consenting adults, of enterprise, of supplying a need, there are other considerations as well. Do our children deserve to have a decent childhood or not, or is the only consideration what adults seek ? One country with legal prostitution will not give welfare to women who could prostitute themselves to earn money. I personally do not find this to be a great idea unless it is separate from the home and well regulated. Not sure what kind of a world we are moving into.

This one is so obvious I have a hard time understanding why it is illegal.

The government has a poor track record of creating and enforcing antiquated notions of morality be it sex, drugs, what you can and can't listen to or watch... and every time they do it they open the door for lucrative criminal activity.

Wait! Maybe that's what they're trying to do! Well then...

Yes, because it would be regulated Incorporated into society in a much cleaner way. prostitution would be treated as a profession, and healthcare for that industry would prevent the spread of STD's. hopefully. Also, don't be naive, prostitution has been around for all of recorded history for crying out loud, ask the Greeks, Romans, Sumerians, Egyptians, the list goes on.

There would definitely need to be some kind of regulation to it though, like having a permit and making regular STD tests mandatory. If someone failed the test, failed to take a test, or had previously failed a test prior to applying for a permit, they wouldn't be able to receive a permit or would have their current permit revoked. That would help prevent the spreading of STD's from being a result of legalizing this.

In Germany prostitution is not only legal - it also comes with massive governmental paid social benefits like free health care, pension and social security. You can even make a degree as a prostitute. It is a normal job like any other job in Germany thus there is no related criminality with prostitution and the girls are save and earn good money. Which means more taxes for the government by the way.

Criminalizing the activities of consenting adults is a waste of police resources and tax payer money.

I think prostitution is an inherently exploitative system, that is a result of poor social conditions. I think in societies with large inequality and social problems legalized prostitution would be better than illegal since it would be regulated and safer. However, I would like to see it gone forever.

Did you ever wonder why it is called "The World's Oldest profession?" Should theft be legalized? By supporting capital punishment, war, stand-your-ground, etc. aren't we condoning and therefore legalizing murder?

Whether directly by parents selling their children, drug gangs coercing young women, or indirectly by just the biological imperative of feeding your body food or drugs, how much free choice is actually involved in a woman's choice to sell her body? Just wondering as I have only a passing acquaintance with prostitution, one neighbor was a part timer for the fun of it, but another was a part timer when the food stamps ran out and baby daddy was late with child support payments or just skipped altogether. The third was a crack addict feeding her addiction.

Would love to hear female perspectives on this, because mine has a potential male bias, I stand against Legalized prostitution.

It's about time to remove christian morality from the legal system and the government of this country. If a woman or a man want to make money on their backs (or however), then it's really not the government's place to stop them. Matter of fact, think of the taxable income... THAT should light up those greedy jerks in government...

There are churches, and then there is the government, you can attend either or both but shouldn't be able to attend both by going to just one of them.

As, and I most likely paraphrase, what god said... "give unto the lord what is the lord's and give unto Caesar what is Caesar's...", meaning, government and religion are two separate entities, recognize this and keep it so.

It could be legal, but it is way too public right now.

I don't believe, prostitution is like that little toy you use one time and ends up hurting you, like giving little cuts in the hands, but you use again, anyway.