Should prostitution be decriminalised?

An interesting debate is kicking off about whether we should decriminalise prostitution. Amensty are apparently in favour and, surpringly, The Guardian are not. It is never going to go away and I can see plenty of good reasons for decriminlisation - more security for the sex workers, better health care, state benefits, taxation etc. However, in some countries where it has been decriminalised they have found many problems and it doesnt always work that well. Perhaps it is just a question of getting the right system in place? Apparently here it isnt illegal to pay for sex, but to run a brothel, to solicite sex in a public area and kerb crawling are against the law. Clearly there are issues that need to be addressed concerning the human rights of sex workers, but what is the best way forward?

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The right answer is to build a better society, in which people don’t see this as a money making option. I can’t imagine it’s a first choice profession for a lot of women involved. Other factors, such as prohibition of drugs, also make this worse.

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Even with a “better” society I think you will always find those who want to sell their bodies. It is afterall the “oldest profession” and not all those in the trade have no other option. An enormous amount of money can be made without having to work 9 to 5 and to commute for miles. For some it is a better option than other jobs. Not all I agree and more needs to be done for those who feel that they have no other choices.

I once got pulled over in the St Mary’s area of town as I was going very slow in a work’s van looking for a plumbing suppliers. Yes it was a white van.

The police never believed me that I was not looking for a tart until I produced the purchase order for the company which was about 50 yards up the street in the direction I was travelling. They then ony proceeded to tell me that I shoulldnt be driving so slow in that area of town as it was a known red light area. trying to explain when you come from the other side of the water looking for a company which is based there I needed to drive slowly only gave them massive enjoyement.

In light of this yes it should be decriminiised not only will it stop the girls from getting criminal records it will also prevent some men who are not socially able to meet girls the availability of some sort of sex life.

Of course it should, absolutely. It just shows we have a long way to go to be a better society.

Originally posted by @Sadoldgit

Even with a “better” society I think you will always find those who want to sell their bodies. It is afterall the “oldesr profession” and not all those in the trade have no other option. An enormous amount of money can be made without having to work 9 to 5 and to commute for miles. For some it is a better option than other jobs. Not all I agree and more needs to be done for those who feel that they have no other choices.

Yeah, you say that, but we’ve never really had a situation in which some people were not destitute. It did not get its place as the oldest profession in the middle of a socialist era of plenty.

I think it’s worth asking the simple question. If people were materially provided for, would prostitutes even exist?

I think they would. Remember the programme called Secret Diary of a Call Girl with Billie Piper? That was based on a true story of someone who chose that lifestyle and had other choices. There is an awful lot of money to be made. Many girls go out on the weekend and end up shagging people they barely know - you cant blame people for wanting to make money out of it. I think there is a great misconception that people only turn to prostitution when they have no other choices. There was a programme on recently that followed the lives of two prostitutes who could earn up to a grand with just one client. You probbaly wouldnt earn that in a month in some jobs so you can see the attraction. No tax either! The days when pros were just some old scrubbers hanging around street corners have long changed. Some very smart and savvy people make their livelihoods this way now.

Originally posted by @pap

Yeah, you say that, but we’ve never really had a situation in which some people were not destitute. It did not get its place as the oldest profession in the middle of a socialist era of plenty.

I think it’s worth asking the simple question. If people were materially provided for, would prostitutes even exist?

Well yes, even if people were materially provided for there are people (men and women) out there who want sex without ties or commitments. Short of Tinder and/or Fuckbook what can you do?

Prostitutes are providing a service, people are always willing to pay for that service.

I guess you could say at the lower end of the scale there are some desperate people out there who will sell their body for money as they see no other option but I think that is more down to a lack of respect for themselves than anything else…

Fuck it I’ve been typing that and I can see all sorts of reasons for the lower end prostitution not happening if they were materially provided for but you get my gist…

Should have added that the person behind the Call Girl series was a doctor!

Perhaps if it was legalised it would make it easier to identify those who really dont want to do it and to help find them other jobs?

I’m aware of its existence. Not sure what a fictional portrayal of a high class call girl has to do with the grubby realities of prostitution.

Even your consenting, up for it, know what they’re about real life examples are doing it for “easy” money, because hey, money isn’t that easy to come by through other routes.

The sad truth is that the vast majority of the industry are people with committments to meet, be that kids in the house or substance abuse problems. The long term consequences are fucking dire. The kids far more likely to be recidivist criminals, or suicide casualties. The sheer danger of having different people around the house all the time.

I’ve got (or had) peers who have had to live with their old dear being on the game. Out of all of them, two turned out okay. The rest either have severe issues (one has been to jail 14 times, and is presently there right now) or have killed themselves.

It wasnt fictional though Pap. The series was based on the life of a woman called Dr Brooke Magnanti who for a time worked as a high class hooker. There are clearly huge differences between those who choose that life and those who feel they have no other choice. We have to accept that there are some who actually do want to sell their bodies for money. That being the case, isnt it better that they in the system rather than working outside of it?

The OP asks whether we should decriminalise prostitution. For me, the only “valid” reason is to stop people from getting nicked for things they’re doing out of destitution. I’d rather not have them doing things out of destitution.

Your example, having looked into it, is a poor one. Magnanti was a call girl because she needed to raise funds for her education at Sheffield. So let’s not pretend that she was doing it for fun, or because that was her best quality. In my view, she should never have had to have made that call to get the education she was after.

Whether it is a poor example of not it would seem that there are plenty of people out there who make the choice to sell their bodies. Certainly the series portrayed her as a woman who did it because she liked the lifestyle and the money. The person who wrote the books and blogs certainly doesnt come across as a victim.

At the end of the day, she’s always going to be thought of more poorly by certain parts of society than someone with the exact same qualifications, but with better funding options.

Yet we as a society dont look down on “Mistresses” in the same ways as pros yet they seem to be working the same thing?

Gentlemen,

All women are Prostitutes

All Men are Prostitutes

I sell my body to the person that pay’s me the highest wage.

Women will use ther bodies / looks to get what they require regardless of whether it is legal or not.

they learn this at an early age as well " for a sweet I will show you my top" from Junior school.

meet a girl in a bar buy her a drink take her for a meal then take her home costs you $150.00 for the evening.

meet a girl give her $150.00 to go home with you and its a criminal offence.

What is the actual difference?

apart from the waiter doesn’t get a tip.

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Originally posted by @PhilippineSaint

Gentlemen,

All women are Prostitutes

All Men are Prostitutes

I sell my body to the person that pay’s me the highest wage.

Women will use ther bodies / looks to get what they require regardless of whether it is legal or not.

they learn this at an early age as well " for a sweet I will show you my top" from Junior school.

meet a girl in a bar buy her a drink take her for a meal then take her home costs you $150.00 for the evening.

meet a girl give her $150.00 to go home with you and its a criminal offence.

What is the actual difference?

apart from the waiter doesn’t get a tip.

That is not prostituion. Prostitution is explicitly selling sex/sexual favours.

So unless you are admitting that is what you do for a living, this post is a nonsense. Although, reading the rest, I could have told you that anyway.

It would be much easier to engage with this conversation is folks didn’t use such emotionally loaded terms like ‘tart’ ‘hooker’.

Let em know when you’re ready to have an adult conversation on this, and I’ll join in.

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so if i said my boss fucks me over ( all bosses do this) it then becomes sexual favours