Prostitution is considered one of the oldest professions. Even from the beginning, it was and still is a very controversial topic. Some say we should legalize it, and others say it should be kept illegal. The legalization of prostitution would allow for more money to be taken into the government because they can tax it as they would any other job. It could also greatly benefit the people who work within the industry, they would benefit from labor laws, insurance, and other health programs so that they aren’t harmed. It is also a victimless act. Lastly, it would just become overall safer for women who do the job, because prostitution is not going away any time soon, legal or not. These are just few of the reasons why prostitution should be legalized.
First, prostitution as a crime makes is very unsafe for women. Although it is a crime, there will always be women doing it. It is the oldest profession and it is not going away, and treating it as a crime makes it harder for women to stay safe in the industry. (Goldman, 2012) Non-legalized, women may find it hard to find clients, so they will turn to pimps who will find clients for their employees. (Erbe, 1984) Often times, these pimps are abusive, violent, and oppressive, and women cannot tell the police, because they are engaging in something illegal. Pimps control their prostitutes by physically abusing them and threatening them. The threats can even go far as to suggest murder. (Erbe, 1984) Not only do pimps use physical abuse, they may also be mentally and emotionally abusing, leaving the women feel entrapped in a cycle she cannot get out of. They can physically control children of prostitutes, and threaten to hold them hostage if the prostitute tries to leave. They may also leave the prostitute in a constant state of poverty making it so that the prostitute must stay with them. Their freedom is also very limited. (Erbe, 1984) This is not something that can be classified as “just a few of the pimps.” A study showed that two-thirds of pimps abused their employees, and that eighteen percent of assaulted prostitutes were beaten constantly, another thirty-six regularly. (Silbert & Pines, Note 6, 397) By legalizing prostitution, women would not be committing a crime, so they would be able to find their own clients and not rely on a third party person, but if they still rely on a pimp, they can report any assault whether from a pimp or a client.
Many people believe that prostitution is something that a woman does because she wants that as a career. It may be true for some women, but not for all. A lot of the time, women fall into prostitution because they are in debt, homeless, or are living in poverty. (Picard, 2015) Criminalizing the people falling into this is no good way to treat them. Treating prostitution as just another job can make it so that women working within the industry get access to healthcare, insurance, housing assistance, and anything else a normal job would supply, as it is in Sweden. (Mathieson, 2016) Since prostitution in Sweden is allowed, women working within the industry receive all those things as they would in another job. However, in Las Vegas, prostitution is illegal, but as previously said, there are always going to be prostitutes, and because they don’t have healthcare benefits, hospitals are burdened and give them poor healthcare. (Goldman, 2012) Labor laws that could set guidelines and restrictions when interacting with prostitutes for the health and safety of them could also be imposed if it were to be legalized since un-legalized, it is very unregulated.
The legalization of prostitution will not only benefit the some women of the United States that are prostitutes, but it will also benefit others as well. The prostitution industry is big, and is estimated to be worth $14-$20 billion. (Sonntag, 2009) In some of the counties in Nevada, prostitution is legalized, and prostitutes work among brothels. A brothel is a house in which men can visit to engage with prostitutes. A woman working in a brothel, who works for one week per month, can potentially earn $100,000 annually. This is a large amount, and if prostitution were legalized, the government could treat this as any other job, and tax it with a federal income tax. (Sonntag, 2009) Also, taxes and fees can be imposed on the brothels in which women work in, also providing for a reasonable source of revenue for the government. (Sonntag, 2009) The legalization of prostitution doesn’t only benefit the government and prostitutes, it also benefits any other person who may be looking for a job. In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, brothels employ non sex-workers as well. (Goldman, 2012)
One of the biggest arguments against the legalization of prostitution is that it would increase human trafficking. Prostitution and human trafficking is completely different. Prostitution is a harmless act between to consenting adults that are of age. Human trafficking is forced, abusive, and can involve children. (UNODC.org) Legalizing prostitution would draw a clear line between the two. Another argument against prostitution is that it is immoral and that we should not encourage it. Nobody is encouraging prostitution. Prostitution has been around for a long time and it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon, and by decriminalizing it, it is possible to provide women in the industry with ways to get out of it and find real-life skills to be able to live without prostitution. Lastly, people say that prostitution is oppressive to women because in the business, most prostitutes are women and trans-women, while most of the buyers are men. Many prostitutes do not feel as if they are being oppressed by men since sometimes, the job can be a personal choice, and it is even more oppressive to stop women from doing a job that they want to do or feel the need to do. Pornography is a similar case, men watch it than women, yet it is still considered okay by most.
One of the oldest professions in our history is not going away anytime soon due to many reasons. Some people rely on it, some people like the job, and some people are actual consumers of the industry. Making it illegal is just criminalizing normal people with normal jobs, and making it harder for them to get by. It also wastes government resources by having them spend more time trying to stop people selling sex rather than trying to stop people committing crimes that are actually hurting society. We need to speak up about the issue, because as of now, the issue is widely ignored. As part of making life better for women, the legalization of prostitution would prove effective in doing that. As Americans, we are all for helping others in their time of need, but what about now? What about the people right now who are victims of violence from pimps and their clients for doing a crime that hurts nobody… and they can’t tell the police, because they are committing a “crime.” How is that fair?