Legalizing Prostitution: Article Analysis

It was like any other Sunday afternoon. The football games had just ended and my brother and I were perusing through the channels looking for something to watch. After what felt like an eternity scrolling up and down the guide, we finally settled on an episode of Cops. The scene is instantaneously set. Cops have set up a prostitution sting and apprehended a woman who was trying to solicit one of the undercover officers for sex. This case however, was different from the rest for the reason that the woman decided to bring her six year old son along. After being questioned by police, she reveals the fact that she often brings her child with her when she arranges work as a prostitute. As the woman is being driven away in handcuffs she attempts

In her article Legalizing Prostitution: An Introduction, she explores countries that have legalized prostitution and compares the pros and cons between them. Trifiolis states, “The arguments are endless as to whether legalizing prostitution is an advantage or a shortcoming. However, the cons outweigh the pros significantly” (15). Some may argue that one of the main advantages of legalizing prostitution is that it will take majority of sex workers off of the street. While most people assume this, it is ultimately untrue as legalizing prostitution actually increases hidden prostitution. The main driving force behind this is the requirement of legal sex workers to register. Trifiolis writes “Many women don’t want to register and undergo health checks as required by law in certain countries where prostitution is legalized because they don’t want to lose their anonymity” (18). The ultimate result of forcing sex workers to register creates more illegal prostitution because many women want to avoid being controlled and exploited by the government. Another common misconception about legalizing prostitution is that it helps promote women’s health. Trifiolis writes “47% of women stated that men expected sex without a condom, 73% reported that men offered to pay more for sex without a condom, and 45% of women said they were abused if they insisted that the men use a condom” (20). Many of the safety policies in legal brothels simply do not protect women from harm. Further, Trifiolis suggests, “Women who work in these brothels have indicated that they were abused by buyers, brothel owners, and even their friends … half the woman answered that they thought they might be killed by one of their customers” (20). While there are rules and regulations set up in order to protect sex workers, many women will ultimately forgo them due to the unfathomable demand behind hidden