Prostitution is it really a crime or just immoral ?

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,
Some cis-gender people mistakenly believe prostitution and being transgender go hand in hand, in other words many believe all trans-women are into sex and prostitution is a popular past time for many ...

Sadly for some trans-women prostitution does seem to be the only means of earning a living[survival money] and for many the only way to get fund for their surgery ...

In Aotearoa [NZ] prostitution is legal, which means prostitutes[many of which are trans] are protected under the law, plus they also pay tax and are required under the law to abide by the health and safety regulations...

In much of the western world prostitution[the world's oldest profession] has seen the legal light on a few occasions, but for the most part it's been 'openly' underground-

Is prostitution better out in the open or underground?


Metta Zenda

[Padma]

A quibble: just because something is a crime doesn't make it necessarily immoral - it may be the faulty ethics of a country that determines it to be illegal (see illegality of homosexuality in some countries as a fine example of this nonsense). So it needn't be illegal OR immoral.

There's definitely immorality involved in countries that punish prostitutes but not their clients - that's just ridiculous. If it's okay to rent a prostitute, it's okay to be one, surely.

[~RoadToTrista~]

Outlawing prostitution is making it worse. It should be legal, but controlled, as in, the prostitutes should be checked regularly for STD's.

[Lee]

I love that paying for sex is illegal unless you're filming it (making porn).
It's one of those things that I believe is made worse for everyone involved by criminalizing it.

[Medusa]

I think
It is service like any other (like a barber for example)
Here (Czech republic and I think most of EU also) is prostitution tolerated by authorities and is here some efforts to make it a regular craft with license

[tekla]

It is 'the oldest profession' you not exactly going to stamp it out.  People have a right to do with their body as they wish.  And some people pay big money to play golf with a professional because it helps their game.  Same difference.

[Padma]

Legalise and tax it - if anyone's going to exploit prostitutes it should be the government: trust the professionals .

[lisagurl]

Money can not buy happiness. Those that think it does and engage, end up in sorrow. Perhaps better knowledge and wisdom are needed in this world rather than laws, taxes, and money. It is not a good example to set for children especially in public. Those that market their body are condemning the future leaders to an ignorance that they will not recover. In the long run it degrades the quality of life.

[cynthialee]

The real crime here is that moralists are allowed to make laws that interfere with what others can and can not do with their bodies.
It can be easily shown that countries with legalised prostitution have lower rates of sexual assault. That alone tells me that sex workers provide a vital service to the comunities they work in where they are protected by law.
I have been involved in the sex trade off and on for years. (mainly as security but occasionaly as a whore myself) Yes you get the greeby gross guys who you would rather not service but you also get alot of men who just need to release some tension and bust a nut. Buisness men, famous sports heros, politicians, drug dealers, I have seen them all serviced by the girls I worked with. One of the common factors with these clients are that they are men often with too much responsibility and very little chance to let loose. These men need to have sexual release and often their only oportunity is with a whore.
No one should have the right to get between the whore and her john. There is a certain amount of honesty and truth in prostitution that is not found in most other sexual relationships.

So keep your laws off my body.

[Janet_Girl]

Legalize it definitely.  Just look at Las Vegas or even just Nevada.  Legalized, have mandatory health monitoring, kept with in certain nice area.

[tekla]

Just like there are a lot of kinds of auto racing from the local dirt track to F1, so too does prostitution range from street corner crack-hoes selling BJs for a couple of bucks to the very high class party girls who make more an hour than I do in a long day and I'm not underpaid.  It's hard to paint it all with the same brush.

[Yakshini]

Having consensual sex is legal, giving other people money is legal. Why not make it legal to give other people money for consensual sex?

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,
We all 'prostitute' ourselves[sell our bodies] in one way or another for money...For example working for a company selling your skills whatever they might be, is also a form of prostitution-developing and manufacturing weapons that kill people, is a form of prostitution-which is worse selling ones body or manufacturing weapons that kill of maim people and selling them for that sole purpose?

Prostitution [of the sexual kind] is the world's oldest profession, and as long as there's poverty, suffering[brought on by things such as wars]and sexual craving there will be this type of prostitution...Some do it just for the money, whilst others purely for the sex-the money part is just a bonus...

I know some trans-women who are or have been in the business, one friend of mine was bullied so badly at school because of her gender identity, she left without learning how to read and write properly, the only job she could get[that paid enough money] was as a call girl [hers is not an isolated case]...Fortunately now things have changed for the better in her life, she's now happily married and doing quite well for herself...

Metta Zenda
   

[Nemo]

I work for a charity that works with the prostitutes in Leeds, helping them off the street and into a better life with a future.

I've heard some awful stories. Most of the clients are knee-deep in drug addictions, fighting to keep their kids, in abusive relationships, all sorts of things. This isn't the kind of lifestyle most people would choose; it's a job taken by the most desperate, vulnerable people to make ends meet/fund their drug habit/etc*. The reason these girls usually end up in these dire situations is most likely because it's criminalised.

I don't condone this kind of job, but for those who'll do it - hell yes, stop treating them like criminals. They'll be much better looked after, and most likely won't end up on drugs or otherwise manipulated by people.

*I'm not making a blanket assumption that all working girls are drug addicts or what-have-you, I'm going by personal stories relayed by the outreach workers.

[tekla]

most likely won't end up on drugs

I bet with most of the people you see the drugs came first.  They are hooking to support a habit, not vice-versa.

[JessicaH]

Why do so many want to TAX it? I can see treating it like normal business or personal revenue but it sounds like everyone wants a whore to pay more taxes on her services than a maid or lawyer. I think it's a rather disgusting trade but I would not even consider taking away someone else's right to do what they wish with their body. If you dont like prostitution, quit hooking and or hiring hookers.

[Padma]

I don't think anyone's suggesting taxing it more than any other form of self-employment - I was certainly being tongue-in-cheek about it myself. It's the punters who should be paying VAT .

[gennee]

No one starts out life to be in prostitution but it happens and for various reasons. The question needs to be asked why people do it. There will be many answers, I'm sure. The other question is that does the person want to change their life from the one they are presently living.

Zenda, you make a good point that many think that all transgender people are prostitutes. Many think LGBT=sex. We have to thank the august, cowardly scientists who created this thought because they were too cowardly to admit that they didn't unserstand what it is to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

Gennee

[Anatta]

Kia Ora Gennee,

Sadly some call girls make heaps of cash and because of a lack on an education they know they will make nowhere near the same amount of money doing a normal 8 to 4 five days a week factory job..For some it can be a vicious cycle[wanting out of the profession but not wanting to be poor and not being able to afford nice clothes and things] that's hard to break out of...

Metta Zenda