Usually I write articles based on current events, but this week, my article comes as a response to an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with my friends, online, and at the dinner table. This is just one example of how a leisurely conversation at Choate can transform into a full-fledged debate.
It is time to legalize prostitution in the United States. The common argument is that sex work isn’t really work, but I ask: why not?
In the United States, human trafficking for the purpose of forced prostitution is rare. I concede that many people enter the sex work industry out of desperation, but in America, the number of women being kidnapped and actively forced into prostitution is exponentially lower than in other nations, like India and some areas of Europe, where a totally different discussion regarding prostitution needs to take place. In fact, arguments have been made by United Nations Human Rights Council claiming that laws against sex work help human traffickers. Instead of these prohibitions reducing trafficking or sex work, they ironically increase the susceptibility of the workers to violence in an unregulated market.
I actively listen to podcasts, and this week’s podcast is one of my favorites: “Death, Sex, and Money,” which has an episode entitled “The Sex Worker Next Door.” An American prostitute was interviewed and listeners heard firsthand what the life of a prostitute entails. Obviously, one can’t completely empathize due to the supposed societal stigma of the role, but one can understand why she, and women and men like her, would choose that route.
Does she dislike it? Yes. But when asked that question, she also replied, “How many people working at Walmart like their jobs? How many Americans are in jobs because of how much mirth and personal satisfaction that job gives them? I’m in this for the money.” People like her are not only unfairly unrepresented, but also put into more danger, by prohibitive laws.
This is where legalization comes in. The law is (supposed to be) designed to be equal and fair to everyone. Therefore, the law should provide a way for the women and men who “want to” do sex work to proceed, and a legal and safe route out for those who are forced into it by others. Legalization of prostitution won’t immediately solve all the problems those who are forced into it face. However, with legalization, the government would have to put several measures protecting sex workers in place. Think of it like a union mixed with fulfilled and unfulfilled workers. Yes, some women aren’t ecstatic to be doing the work, but as the sex worker in the podcast said, who is ecstatic to do their jobs in this capitalist society? With prostitution being illegal, the two aforementioned groups will continue to be punished. The first for doing what they need to get by and the second by allowing pimps and abusive partners to control them.
The best way of proving that a system in which prostitution is legal can and will work is by providing an example. One could reach for other developed countries like New Zealand, Canada, and Germany – where sex workers are provided with health insurance, required to pay taxes, and receive social benefits, like pension. However, to make things more familiar, we may examine Rhode Island from 2003 to 2009. Prostitution was made legal, accidentally, in Rhode Island in 1980, and brought to the public attention in 2003. For the next six years, gonorrhea among women declined by 39 percent and rapes declined by 31 percent. When it was outlawed again, with inconsistent moral reasoning, the figures climbed back up.
Finally, and perhaps most simply, we should legalize prostitution because sex is not bad. Many will bring up the famous “Nordic model” (which is actually Swedish). This model legalizes selling sex, but makes buying sex illegal. Thus, sex workers can, in theory, conduct business and if they are endangered, they may report it to the police and be free from any charges. Currently, the main problem with the illegality is that sex workers cannot report violence to law enforcement without being themselves arrested. However, this deprives sex workers of business and autonomy, since clients are warier, and drives the sex trade underground, which is the scenario responsible for many of the faults in the status quo. The assumption is that only the complete destruction of the sex trade will save the helpless women from violence. Wrong. Actual laws and actual society-wide morality will save women and empower them.
We need to drive prostitution above ground. Sex between two consenting adults, with an exchange of money, should not be illegal. There should be laws protecting sex workers, who are mostly women, and social benefits derived from the work. “Regular” workers give up their time and energy for money and respect, in a regulated system. It is time we stop shaming sex and sex workers and embrace the fact that legalization is simply a means of reducing harm.
