Why We Shouldn T Prostitution Be Legalized

Prostitution: It isn’t that whore-ible

Prostitution is sometimes called the world’s “oldest profession.” In fact, the first forms of data about prostitution come from about 3000 B.C. After roughly 2,000 he first oppositions came roughly 2,000 years later when rabbis declared that the money spent on prostitutes would be better suited as donations of support for the rabbis’ activities. They suggested also that sex was stopping people from coming to religious services. Later, from 64 BC to 14 AD, prostitution flourished within the Roman Empire. Octavian Caesar Augustus caused prostitution to boom by outlawing childless bachelors to increase the population (so there could be more soldiers). Brothels came into being after 1226 in France, while religious

Prostitution, after all, is the sale of a good. Like any good, it generates demand and supply. This demand makes prostitution a very expensive business. For example, the sex and drug economy in the United Kingdom alone is worth 16,700,000 United States dollars ("U.K.'s Sex and Drugs" 1). However, because prostitution is illegal, none of the money used to pay for it can be taxed. It is considered a black market good. It cannot be taxed or regulated by a government because it is outlawed, so the country will make less money than it would if that good were taxable, as it would directly go to the government. The fact that it cannot be regulated means that it is more dangerous for everyone involved. If it were regulated, prostitutes could get medical exams to prove they are healthy, and law enforcement would be more accessible to enforce safety regulations, as the parties involved in prostitution would have no reason to fear the law if it were legal, so they would be willing to contact authorities if an issue arises. Furthermore, the money on the black market goes to pimps, who are criminals and sometimes involved with gangs, cartels, or other criminal organizations. Therefore, these groups become more wealthy and powerful because prostitution is illegal. This is important to the economy because paying for treatment for the abuse that prostitutes go through in the sex trade actually costs a country money. There

Ironically, many arguments for the criminalization and proscription of prostitution is that it should be banned to protect sex workers. However, more arrests are made against women sex workers than the men that buy from them in the United States of America. ("Prostitution" 1). This is because, in many countries, laws are meant to punish victims of human trafficking instead of the perpetrators. ("Laws Punish" 1). Arresting sex workers does not “protect” them. It is grossly offense to even suggest so. Ex-inmates have been shown to have a lower quality of living. They are less likely to be employed, lack access to food stamps and are unable to vote, depending on the place they are arrested and whether they are a previous offender. ("The Challenges"). Furthermore, these prostitutes being punished are more often than not the most disadvantaged members of society. Victims of illegal prostitution in Kenya, for example, are usually immigrants with poor backgrounds ("Laws Punish" 2). Because these prostitutes are very poor immigrants, they often have no choice but to turn to prostitution, a job which generally pays very well and requires very little skill. They were forced into the job, sometimes literally. Criminal pimps often get prostitutes addicted to drugs, which they use as payment for sex work. If a prostitute is addicted to drugs, by fault of the pimp, they almost have no hope of getting out of the sex trade, as