Legalizing Sex Work In Australia Essay

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The article by Nagy and Powell (2016), “Legalising Sex Work: The Regulation of 'Risk' in Australian Prostitution Law Reform” is based on research done in and for Australia, but is applicable world-wide. The article’s main purpose is that when discussing the legalization or the regulation of sex work, people tend to focus on the risks. For most people, these risks are dictated by socio-cultural and political concerns. They focus on the morality of sex work, suburban serenity, and the overexaggerated claims of rampant disease. Disease can be rampant if unchecked and can be a problem for sex workers, but claims that the sex industry is solely responsible for all STDs and STIs is greatly overexaggerated. The attention is on those ‘risks’ instead of the health, safety, and well-being of the prostitutes themselves. The authors’ perspective is not about whether sex work should be legalized or not, but rather that people should have an …show more content…

By not doing so, it makes it more difficult to understand their stand on the issues they discuss. Their perspective shines through on how they condemn the over exaggeration of some the ‘risks’ of prostitution, but by not backing their opinions by either condemning or supporting the sex workers (Nagy & Powell, 2016). This, in at least my opinion, weakens their argument on the supposed ‘risks’ they’re against. I do agree with the authors’ that the “risks” of prostitution are strongly influenced by the socio-cultural and political concerns of most people rather than the risks that truly impact the sex industry. They make the point that people’s morality and sense of street “safety” often bias their opinions on the topic of legalizing prostitution. People should instead have an open perspective towards the issue and have no biased/overexaggerated “risks” to interfere with their