Preview

Should Contractual Sex be Legal?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1190 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Should Contractual Sex be Legal?
Introduction There has been much debate whether prostitution should be legal and one that our society approaches with disinterest. Society simultaneously condemns contract sex yet provides it to customers while with conflicting attitudes and behaviors that our society imposes (Strong, 2009). Many of the assumptions in the U.S about contract sex remain hampered by the laws and social restrictions (Strong, 2009). Though, strong arguments have been made in support of legalizing prostitution and decriminalizing it. The U.S is one of the few countries that impose against prostitution while other countries accept prostitution by successfully regulating it and restricting those who exploit it. Those who have successfully regulated prostitution have cured much of the issues surrounding prostitution such as health, crime, acceptance, and overall a safe work environment.
Assumptions
There are three assumptions that our society imposes on prostitution, the first being prostitution is linked to organized crime. While this may be true to a small degree there are also many types of prostitution such as the streetwalkers, brothels, masseuses, and call girls. About 10% of American prostitutes are streetwalkers which found to be in correlation of drug use, transmitted disease, trafficking, and organize crime (Scott & Dedel). These street girls also can be linked to the many problems of organize crime. But by legalizing contractual sex would give these women employment rights to protect them from organize crime and stop the exploitation of these types of workers.
The second assumption is that prostitution is the cause of increase sexual transmitted disease. While this is true it is because of the lack of education, health care and safe work environment that many of these prostitutions do not have. It was concluded by Australia government where prostitution is legal that places like legal brothels provide “sustainable model for health, crime-free and safe legal



References: Strong, B. (2009). Human sexuality: Diversity in contemporary America (7th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Prostitution Law Reform: Defining Terms (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bayswan.org/defining.html Harry Browne. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://prostitution.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=1315 Scott, M., & Dedel, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.popcenter.org/problems/street_prostitution/ Weitzer, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/23/why-prostitution-should-be-legal/ Raymond, J. (2003, March 25). Prostitution Research & Education Website. Prostitution Research & Education Website. Retrieved Novmber 11, 2013, fromhttp://www.prostitutionresearch.com/laws/000022.html  STDs in America (n.d) . Retrieved fromhttp://www.avert.org/stds-america.htm Swysgood, A. . Retrieved from http://cnsnews.com/news/article/un-commission-calls-legalizing-prostitution-worldwide Weitzer, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gwu.edu/~soc/docs/Weitzer/Prostitution_Facts.pdf

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Patty Kelly, “ Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution’ depicts the compelling, entertaining and mind captivating skills this well-known writer and professor in anthropology captures her audience. However, the essay fails to justify its thesis that prostitution should be decriminalized in so many ways. Firstly, she shouldn’t base her argument on the findings done on this particular social environment as the focus is too narrow to offer all needed information for an unbiased conclusion.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How to understand and deal with prostitution is the issue expressed in “Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution” by Patty Kelly. The thesis of this essay is that criminalizing prostitution is not eliminating the issue but causing more of them. Prostitution is becoming so familiar that we need to decriminalize it because it is not going away anytime in our lifetime or the next. This is shown by the fact that in 2005 eighty-four thousand people were imprisoned for prostitution or prostitution-related offenses. Patty Kelly pleads that where it has been legalized people are more satisfied with their jobs and are more often there voluntarily instead of being forced to be there. This is supported by the fact that out of one hundred…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    % of prostitutes are from their homeland (Poulin). If legal prostitution has seemed to go wrong in these countries, then it seems logical to believe it wouldn’t work in the United States; however, the element that has made this legalization fail in other countries is the lack of government effort to shut down the illegal prostitute organizations and brothels. These countries still let pimps and criminals run this legal act. The idea isn’t to legalize prostitution and leave the subject alone; it is to legalize prostitution and regulate it heavily. With a crackdown on human trafficking and close inspection of licensed brothels, prostitution can begin to be more open and regulated, not underground and dangerous. This newly found “open prostitution” would damage the morality of women. Many women activists view prostitution as degrading, but “Jane Roe II, argued that if a woman had the right to an abortion (a right originally granted in the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade), then the right to privacy implicit in that decision also gave her the right to sell her body for sexual purposes” (“Prostitution”). Some feminists argue that prostitution is wrong because men are using them for their bodies and not their personalities, but “a woman has the right to completely control--and even sell--her sexual and reproductive capabilities…women are being punished for not conforming sexually to…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, legalizing prostitution would provide sex workers regulatory protection. Therefore, according to Doreen Carvajal journalist at Chicago times says making the buying and or selling of sex illegal pushes the practices underground resulting in discrimination, harassment, rape, and violence (carvajal). So I think what she is saying that if we make it legal we can hopefully decrease the number of violence, and the number of bad things that happen. I think she also thinks that by legalizing this that we can give them regulations and laws that can help these ladies out in their best…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Prostitution is said to be “the world’s oldest profession” (Ramchandran par. 1). The Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines prostitution as “the act or practice of engaging in promiscuous sexual relations especially for money” (“Prostitution” par. 1). Many people argue that prostitution should be legalized, but it hurts people more than it helps. Legalization of prostitution condones sexual behavior for profit. Not to mention, the increased risk of illness or infection via sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), or death. It also does not “enhance women’s choices” (Raymond par. 45). This means that whether legalized or not, prostitutes are going to continue their activities for the simple fact that they feel they have no other choice. Lastly, prostitution and the sex industry promote sex trafficking, more specifically human trafficking. For these aforementioned reasons prostitution should remain illegal.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In her expository essay, “Enough Already, It’s Time We Decriminalize Prostitution,” Patty Kelly debates the controversial issue of the legalization of prostitution. Discussing her research of the involvement of American male adults in prostitution, Kelly successfully quotes the large number of males who are involved in paid sex services. She also uncovers the reasons sex workers are in this specific field which are: after leaving a distressful marriage, a disturbing pre-marital relationship, financial catastrophe, etc. It gives women the choice to work make their own hours and set their own rates and gives them the flexibility to decide the acts they will perform, which can be different for each individual. She sheds light on the behaviors of male customers as well, such as the willingness to pay more for unprotected sex and how they can be violent towards sex workers. Moreover, she pinpoints the law of different lands and states for prostitution to uncover the realistic approach to provide legal rights to sex trade workers. However, she discourages most of the laws due to their inability to provide protection to women, but she highly appreciates New Zealand’s 2003 Prostitution Reform Act which is based on core human values to live in a safe environment as well, it gives protection to sex workers. The law not only decriminalized prostitution, but it put firm rules in place to insure safe sexual activities and bind all the people and organizations involved in such business to be equally responsible for minimizing the risks of STD transmission. In the end, Kelly’s essay urges that more protection for prostitutes and their customers be put in place so that sex workers and the men who use their services can be safe, and work in a respectful…

    • 295 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the industry of prostitution, the biggest issue is the rapid spread of sexually transmitted diseases. The rapid spread is due to the industry’s “underground” nature, and the unsafe manners in which they handle themselves. Legalizing prostitution would allow the government to regulate the activity to strictly disease-free individuals, thus, stopping the rapid spread of life threatening diseases. The government could establish brothels where all clients and prostitutes must have regular checkups in…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the 21st century, the profession of prostitution has been a target of great controversy as far as the ethical and moral issues are concerned. Prostitution is one of the oldest professions of this world and the critical debate with regard to the moral and ethical values of this profession are not a surprise for anyone. “Prostitution can be defined as “The act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money,” and is usually provided as an underground service” (LaBossiere). A comprehensive majority of the world’s population believes that prostitution is an immoral and unethical profession and it is also considered to be an illegal practice in most parts of the world. However, the profession has only grown dramatically over the past few decades and many…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prostitution is highly debated on whether it should be legalized or not. This “profession” has existed since the beginning of time, and as of now there are currently forty-two million prostitutes in the world, with one million being in the United States. This debate became even more controversial after prostitution became legalized in Nevada. Prostitution should not be legalized because it increases sex trafficking and child prostitution, and legalization will not protect women from harm.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anti-prostitution law will imperil prostitutes and in most scenarios makes thing very difficult for them. In countries like Canada and Nevada, prostitution is not considered a crime. Nevertheless, communication and some other activities related to prostitution like human trafficking has been prohibited. Prostitutes who are Street based are the most visible and receive the most attention. This represents only a small section of the sex industry, which also incorporates brothels and escort services. Capturing to arrest and punish prostitutes mirrors our overall population's hesitation concerning sexual activities and male desire and sexual freedom. (Boels, 2015).…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are three different classes of prostitutes. "There are three strata of prostitutes. Within the top layer rests discrete call-girls for the affluent...The middle layer holds bordello-dwelling prostitutes or others in less subtle environments such as strip clubs and massage parlors that offer backroom services. Streetwalkers (harlots, hookers, nightwalkers, ...) occupy the lowest layer." (...)Prostitutes among the top two classes are in good financial condition. Most of them make more money than women who work the common and more suggested jobs. While the lowest layer prostitutes usually don 't live the best of lives, the same holds true for most career fields where the bottom of the barrel don 't have the same living standards as the top class of their profession. So if so many prostitutes are earning such good income, relatively speaking, why should it be illegal? Why it is legal for companies to pay people to accomplish physical tasks, like in factories, construction, or warehousing among others but yet a prostitute providing service to a client isn 't legal? In addition to the money made by the increase of prostitution due to its legalization, the government can place taxes on the brothels to generate even more revenue. In the grand scheme of things, legalizing prostitution would cause a positive spike in the economic flow of money throughout a specific area. Prostitutes earning their high incomes legally can invest…

    • 1080 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Prostitution is not an ideal occupation but that doesn’t mean it should be treated like it. Prostitutes are humans and should be treated like such. Legalizing prostitution has more benefits than criminalizing it. The transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and rape can be reduced exponentially by legalization of prostitution. Prostitutes can have a better work environment without the fear of physical violence and other threats. Prostitution should be legalized because it would reduce the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and rape cases while safeguarding prostitutes on and off work.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the world legalizing prostitution has created many controversial debates on how this act can affect the society globally and locally. Prostitution is the act of exchanging sexual acts for some form of payment and income. Prostitution does not only effect the women and men participating in these sexual acts. It also effects the friends and family of each partner. It is legal in some countries, such as Columbia and Chile, but it is illegal in every state in the United States, except some parts of Nevada. Legalizing prostitution not only increases the chances of illness and sexually transmitted diseases, but it allows more women to easily to consider prostitution as opposed to finding a real job. People Prostitution creates millions,…

    • 1975 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    3. Bullough, B., & Bullough, V. L. (1996). Female Prostitution: Current Research and Changing Interpretations. Annual Review of Sex Research .…

    • 2739 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Causes of Prostitution

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages

    As we all know, prostitution is a sexual activity in exchange for financial gain being either a willing practice or a forced one. It has been expanding over the years with the goal of acquiring legalization all over the world. The effects of prostitution on the society are severely harmful justifying the need to abolish it. Therefore, in order to facilitate the vanishing of this uncontrollable practice, the causes leading to its expansion should be deducted and exposed clearly. Prostitution has many identifiable causes that are related either to the mentality, to the economic situation or to the social environment of the prostitute.…

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays