Should prostitution be legal?

[Ryantology]

All I can really do is chime in with the only obvious answer and say yes. No act between consenting adults should be made illegal.

[Ben Davis]

I'm rather disappointed.

We haven't been visited on this thread by a retar-... I mean, person, who has ticked the "No" option in the poll. Where's the crazies on this forum when you want them.

I'm wondering if I can take that challenge. I haven't flexed any contrarian muscles for a while. Can't do crazy but I do a mean devil's advocate. How about this...

No. If we legalise prostitution, we're giving the green-light to promiscuity. That sets a dangerous precedent for the young and/or sexually inexperienced; with the rise of more drug-resistant STIs, these people are the most vulnerable and we don't need to add to their existing risks by promoting sexually free lifestyles. We live in the condom era and we ought to start acting like it.

[Minimalist]

That sets a dangerous precedent for the young and/or sexually inexperienced;

Too late....

[Violet]

Perhaps the government could also provide a rating system. If I'm going to pay for sex, I'd need to know that I was hiring a real expert with particular skills. Maybe prostitutes should have to earn a license. Some kind of 'road test' should be part of the testing procedure.

No.

It's often some under the table work to quickly provide some spending cash, or a last ditch move.

Shit like earning a license defeats a primary purpose of selling this readily available commodity that you can always give away

Legalize it, sure... regulate it? I don't care, so long as it doesn't take much time or money.

[Anomalocaris]

Can you get an art's grant for filming it?

Just a question for the legalise, regulate and tax guys, what regulations do you want?

No. 1. If the client is a Christian preacher, then the lady of the night must shove the largest object with points and sharp edges in the premise up his rectum.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Prostitution should be legal, however only so that this business can be properly regulated, and the women who have resorted to this type of work be properly examined every week for STD's, and all women who are legal prostitutes should work in government regulated and supervised brothels.

However, this is not to say that the government should condone this line of work for women, but should regulate it merely for the health of both the women and their customers. This would eliminate many of the crimes associated with the business, and it would serve well to keep prostitution out of the streets.
Banning prostitution is not really much of a way to stop people from working as prostitutes. Governments who ban prostitution are merely turning a blind eye to the real problem.
Why do women resort to prostitution? Some to pay for their university fees, some do so because they have no jobs, some do to support their families...
If people go to the root of the problem, and actually offer the ladies a good line of work which they can use to support themselves financially, I'm sure that most of these women would never even work in such lines of work, but it's just that they have to.

And for 1st world countries like America, this should be a matter of shame, for they don't even seem to import most of their prostitutes, their own people have to resort to this. With this in mind, the US government should try to help such women, or women who are in need of financial support, as this would prove to me much more effective in rooting out prostitution than banning it with a law.
For poorer countries, well, I don't know...I mean I've toured around Europe for some time, and I can say with certainty that richer EU nations almost always import their prostitutes from ex-communist(meaning, poor) countries, or even some of the poorer EU countries like Bulgaria and Romania.
Allowing prostitution to be legalized could in fact serve the large human-trafficking businesses that operate in these regions, and I know that a lot women are promised work in countries like Ukraine and etc. but when they reach their destination, they are instead forced into prostitution.
Local prostitution, if there is such a thing in richer EU countries, cannot compete with the cheaper prostitutes from poorer countries.
Legalizing prostitution here would not serve much really, but I believe prostitution is already legal in some EU countries like Germany, but in most EU countries, prostitution is not regulated, and organized prostitution is illegal.
And it's dazzling that most of the countries who supply richer countries with prostitutes have strong anti-prostitution laws, and I believe that by far, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova are the biggest importers in those areas.
Thailand on the other hand makes it's money from local prostitution, although Russian(and a few other nationalities like Chinese/etc.) prostitutes also have a presence there...

[Napoléon]

Yeah, this is the thing. In some European countries, it's supposed to be illegal, but the police themselves actually turn a blind eye.

On a stag do in Czech, we jokingly asked some police officers where the nearest brothel was. They gave us detailed instructions how to get there and even the name of a taxi driver who would take us there. And it's supposed to be illegal?

Seems a massively pointless thing to ban it. It achieves fuck all, and all it does is ignore the problems with prostitution rather than actually facing them and potentially saving peoples lives by making it safer.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Yeah, this is the thing. In some European countries, it's supposed to be illegal, but the police themselves actually turn a blind eye.

On a stag do in Czech, we jokingly asked some police officers where the nearest brothel was. They gave us detailed instructions how to get there and even the name of a taxi driver who would take us there. And it's supposed to be illegal?

Seems a massively pointless thing to ban it. It achieves fuck all, and all it does is ignore the problems with prostitution rather than actually facing them and potentially saving peoples lives by making it safer.

Well, besides making it safe, governments should actually focus on ending the huge amount of human trafficking that is involved in the prostitution business.
The greatest part that is "illegal" about the prostitution business is there. Not just that, but forced prostitution and etc. is part of it, although there are many who do it willingly, they still have to cope with low quality living conditions.

[Napoléon]

Well, besides making it safe, governments should actually focus on ending the huge amount of human trafficking that is involved in the prostitution business.
The greatest part that is "illegal" about the prostitution business is there. Not just that, but forced prostitution and etc. is part of it, although there are many who do it willingly, they still have to cope with low quality living conditions.

Yeah, all good ideas.

But making it legal in the first place would (in my opinion) at least increase the low quality of living you mention for the prostitutes. Ofcourse that will come by regulation.

And same goes for human trafficking. By regulating and ensuring that clients expect a certain 'standard' when using prostitutes' services, human trafficking will become a much less fancied alternative (excuse the pun), and these prostitutes may (I would presume they will) become less wanted for the customer (why risk doing something illegal when what you want is perfectly legal), thus meaning that human trafficking should be reduced for the simple fact that they won't be getting as much business. (sorry for all the brackets)

[downbeatplumb]

Personally I think that once something is legal it is easier to regulate, it brings it out into the light.
The girls and boys of the trade would be able to legally get protected at last as their status changes from criminal to worker.
And then of course there is the tax issue. the millions taken by this trade goes 100% to criminals at the moment, if it was legal some of that money could be taken to fund the country.
Its the same with drugs, legalize it, tax it, regulate it.