What Are The Pros And Cons Of Partial Decriminalization Of Prostitution

Possibilities of Prostitution Since the beginning of humankind, prostitution has always been around and with it, the problems and debates of whether it is ethical or not for a woman or a man to sell or buy sex. In the United States, only one state has legalized prostitution and that is in the very rural parts of it. Unlike the standard two-sided arguments, the legalization of prostitution has four possible sides. These sides are criminalization, partial decriminalization, decriminalization, and legalization. Each side has its benefits and disadvantages. In criminalization, prostitution is illegal for the seller and the buyer. Prostitution is seen as a violation of human rights, a way to continue the spread of HIV and aids, and it’s seen as
a way to sexually exploit the prostitute (Alikhadzhieva 61). Prostitution while criminalized often invokes physical and emotional violence. In some cases, prostitutes were forced to have sex with multiple people while money or documents were withheld from them. Prostitutes in these situations were threatened with guns, knives or were burned with cigarettes. They were also diagnosed with depression, mood disorders, anxiety and many more mental issues. Some prostitutes were even forced into prostitution through extreme poverty. Criminalization battles legalization by giving examples of places where the power is in the hands of the brothels. In these cases, some brothels take the power of rejecting customers away from the prostitutes. On top of that, they were harassed in and outside of work which could be caused by the negative stigma surrounding prostitution (Post 66-72). On top of that, there was a survey was done on 620 people in Jaen, a city in Spain. It found that men who wanted criminalization for prostitutes thought men were more violent towards prostitutes and were more likely to victim blame the woman while men who wanted legalization had a belief that the men who bought sex were less hostile and saw the prostitute as a sex-worker and did not victim blame them (Valor-Segura 169). Although it is clear that there are problems while criminalization of prostitution is in effect, something must be changed to stop these atrocities against prostitutes from happening. For partial decriminalization, it criminalizes the act of buying sex.
Through this, the prostitutes have the freedom of leaving their line of work. Prostitutes would also be able to continue without the fear of being caught. Along with this, prostitutes would be able to seek help without the fear of being prosecuted. Because of this, nations like France have even created programs to help prostitutes out of prostitution and it aides them get back on their feet as they look for a new job. The downfall of partial decriminalization is that there grows a lack of kinder customers. Because of this, the men who buy sex are rougher and tend to not use condoms. Because of this, it makes the rate of STDs grow. On top of this, it paints all prostitutes as victims forced into prostitution, even if the woman wants to be in her line of work (Carrasquillo 16-17). Another side to the argument is full decriminalization. This gets rid of all of the rules on prostitution. Through this, prostitutes are allowed to manage their own business instead of the government or the prostitute’s pimps. Prostitutes would have the ability to seek help without fear from the law and would get rights like any other job. Although it seems like a good option, it still has its negatives. With decriminalization, it would cause a rise in prostitutes and wouldn’t have any laws put or safety measures put in place to stop the spread of STDs (Carrasquillo
18-20). The last side of the argument is to legalize prostitution. Legalization removes the criminalization of prostitution but also puts laws into place. With these laws, prostitutes could get benefits and would be tested regularly to lessen the possibility of STDs spreading. Chris Beyrer and Nicole Frank Masenior, specialists on AIDs, even stated that “there [are] substantial [bodies] of peer reviewed published studies suggesting that the empowerment, organization, and unionization of sex workers can be an effective HIV prevention strategy and can reduce the other harms associated with sex work, including violence, police harassment, unwanted pregnancy, and the number of underage sex workers” (Hayes-Smith 48). On top of this, if prostitution was legal, it could be taxed by the government to financially help the country. The downside to this side is that the prostitutes have almost no power once they’re tied to a brothel. The systems in place currently in Nevada are pervasive and leave little power in the hands of the prostitutes (Carrasquillo 20-23). Because of this, some prostitutes may be driven into the unsafe conditions of street prostitution to keep the power in their hands and avoid health examination. Along with this, legalization still would not erase the stigma of prostitutes, making it unsafe for them still. (Raymond 320). Due to all these sides, it’s hard to find a clear winner. Criminalization, partial decriminalization, decriminalization, and legalization all have their benefits and downsides. Due to all the separate sides having a problem, some modifications to an argument would probably have the desired outcome of bringing down violence in prostitution.