Legalize/Decriminalize Prostitution?

[Crossless2.0]

I spent four years tending bar in a legal brothel and witnessed firsthand that legal, regulated prostitution is the only sensible way to go. What's the alternative? Criminalizing consensual behavior, increasing risk to suppliers and consumers alike, and pissing away government revenue that could be put to better use, while not doing a single fucking thing to stop the activities that one wants to criminalize?

That's what the drug war is for.

[Catholic_Lady]

I used to be a prostitute.

[Anomalocaris]

I never thought a person who prostitutes his own intellect in the service of a nonexistent sky pimp who is alleged to have all the disgraceful attribute of a barbaric Bronze Age bully should be allowed to say anything about another who merely prostitutes her body in her own much more worthy service.

[Catholic_Lady]

I never thought a person who prostitutes his own intellect in the service of a nonexistent sky pimp who is alleged to have all the disgraceful attribute of a barbaric Bronze Age bully should be allowed to say anything about another who merely prostitutes her body in her own much more worthy service.

I used to be a prostitute until I came to the Light. I have repented my sins and now shall inherit paradise while the rest of you heathens burn in hell along with the millions of non repentant prostitutes.

[Crossless2.0]

I never thought a person who prostitutes his own intellect in the service of a nonexistent sky pimp who is alleged to have all the disgraceful attribute of a barbaric Bronze Age bully should be allowed to say anything about another who merely prostitutes her body in her own much more worthy service.

I used to be a prostitute until I came to the Light. I have repented my sins and now shall inherit paradise while the rest of you heathens burn in hell along with the millions of non repentant prostitutes.

Look lady, I'm not the one with the fucking wrist watch strapped to my ankle.  Now shut up and finish me off.  

[vorlon13]

When I was volunteering at the HIV support group, one of my assignments was a woman with an extensive drug and prostitution history.

One of her first boyfriends became her pimp and made her work. The drug problem soon followed. Along the way she had a kid whom she lost parental rights to.

I helped her with grocery shopping, laundry, Dr. appts, trips to pharmacy, NA, and support group meetings. She was quite a handful. She passed away from HIV many years ago. She had moments when I thought she was experiencing genuine feelings and might yet turn her life around, but those moments were massively diluted in months of insincerity, using people, prostitution and drug relapses, legal and medical problems, family problems.

At some point I had to go to the support group management and request I be released from helping her, it was just too much.

She went on to be 'adopted' by a church congregation who thought all things were possible through faith. It didn't go well for them either.

No matter what amount of resources were deployed her way, if she was not monitored strictly, closely, and relentlessly 24/7/365, she was going to slip.

[vorlon13]

I guess I'm saying make it legal and regulated.

Or neuter the fucking johns . . . . .

[Dystopia]

I have a question that is related to this and I think it is overlooked by many people arguing for legalization - If prostitution is legalized, it mostly means the government will set the prices to prevent dishonest competition (which could lead to exploitation for the sake of profit) and will require that sex workers have healthcare checkups, social security, drug tests, etc etc - Now I ask the important question - What do we do with the vast amount of people who may not want to consent to any of this? Just think about it - I'm a sex worker and worker on the street, I set up my own price however I want to maximize profit and get more clients, I work when I want and don't need to do check ups, maybe I'm addicted to drugs and a healthcare checkup would be bad, or maybe I'm not pretty enough to be worth 50€ as a normal price and want to make a special discount, etc - So what do we do to sex workers who simply don't want to have their job regulated? Has anyone ever thought of this from this outlook?

Legalizing sex work is a good moral decision, but ultimately it doesn't solve the problem it promises to solve - AKA ending abuse, exploitation and traffic of Humans, etc. The Netherlands still has people going to jail for exploitation, it still has a population of prostitutes where nearly half are immigrants or foreigner. There's something about legalizing that is tricky - The sex industry is exploitative for many people even if legal, just think of the cases of porn abuses - If the sex industry was perfectly healthy and didn't cater just to profits, we would have interest in expanding it, but since that's not the case and it's an industry that is known for its cases of abuse (I'm not talking about underground movements, just the average mainstream sex industry porn and workers), we have no interest in expanding it more.

[Minimalist]

I never thought a person who prostitutes his own intellect in the service of a nonexistent sky pimp who is alleged to have all the disgraceful attribute of a barbaric Bronze Age bully should be allowed to say anything about another who merely prostitutes her body in her own much more worthy service.

I used to be a prostitute until I came to the Light. I have repented my sins and now shall inherit paradise while the rest of you heathens burn in hell along with the millions of non repentant prostitutes.

At least we'll be getting some.

[Catholic_Lady]

I used to be a prostitute until I came to the Light. I have repented my sins and now shall inherit paradise while the rest of you heathens burn in hell along with the millions of non repentant prostitutes.

At least we'll be getting some.

Be silent, heathen.