Benefits Of Decriminalizing Prostitution

Sex work or prostitution is an occupation where individuals perform sexual services in exchange for money or goods. This type of profession is currently illegal in the U.S., excluding Nevada where it is legal. However, each state has established laws which exclusively regulate, permits, or prohibits sex work. Prostitution is seen as a very controversial topic around the world. In fact, various groups of people either want to legalize, decriminalize, or keep prostitution illegal based on how they perceive it. Although, the majority of sex workers are in favor of decriminalizing sex work because it would protect and benefit the workers’ health and rights. By decriminalizing prostitution, cases of STDs/STIs such as HIV would decrease. According

Specifically, Amnesty International’s declaration states, “The criminalization of prostitution violates the human rights of sex workers and hinders efforts to protect them from exploitation.” By decriminalizing sex work, the workers’ access to justice and to health and social services will no longer be threatened. Thus, empowering and enabling sex workers to realize their right to work in order to financially provide for themselves and their family. Identically, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that, “Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity” (UN General Assembly art. 23). This article presents how sex workers/prostitutes should be treated and given the same amount of respect and pay as all the other types of

Decriminalization would decrease STDs/STIs rates, further improving the general welfare and maintaining healthy communities; protect the rights of sex workers and give them access to their justice and health and social services; and it would challenge the state 's control over bodies and sexuality. On the contrary, criminalization would deprive workers of their basic human rights because of their inability to report crime to law enforcement due to their fear of facing an unfair trial. Criminal laws against prostitution also contribute to the social marginalization by assigning criminal status to all sex workers, regardless of any particular arrest, charge, or