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It's really sad to hear about sex workers fearing for their very lives, let alone their livelihood. These are some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable memb
by whack 9y ago
It's really sad to hear about sex workers fearing for their very lives, let alone their livelihood. These are some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society. Their lives could be so much better if we moved towards Netherlands/German-style legalization. Instead, we seem to be going in the opposite direction.
I wonder who exactly the opponents of sex-legalization are trying to "protect". Trafficking victims? They will be vastly better served by a well regulated workplace. The sex workers themselves? I think this article debunks that myth. The Johns? Hah, there's a good laugh. The criminalization of the sex industry seems like Prohibition all over again.
- dwighttk 9y ago>Trafficking victims? They will be vastly better served by a well regulated workplace. why?
- colinb 9y agoI think the obvious answer is because they could complain to the police if they were under threat. Of course, it being the obvious answer doesn't preclude it being nonsense, so feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.
- jzymbaluk 9y agoI think the more obvious answer is that if the market is well-regulated and above-board, there is no need for the shady unregulated black market where kidnapping and human trafficking are things that happen.
- dwighttk 9y agoThen why are the Netherlands "a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor"[1]? [1]https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271251.htm https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271251...
- Broken_Hippo 9y agoWhen it is all illegal, law enforcement tends to go for obvious prostitution and when they are lucky, they can help someone that is being trafficked. When prostitution is a well-regulated legal thing, law enforcement can narrow its focus to folks being trafficked simply because they don't have to investigate voluntary prostitution.
- sudosteph 9y agoI don't know why you got downvoted for questioning this line, I think the original commenter needed more support for that claim. Statistics I can found show that human trafficking rates actually increase when legalization happens, since demand increases: https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/lids/2014/06/12/does-legalized-prostitution-increase-human-trafficking/ https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/lids/2014/06/12/does-legalized-... I might argue though that the countries who have legalized it so far are not taking enough steps to regulate it safely though. If Netherlands and the like can fix their system to actually reduce trafficking while allowing sex work, then this claim could be made one day. But there isn't research available that I could find which supports that this is the case in any legalized country today.
- on_and_off 9y agoLet's say is a regulated profession where you register to the state, have a certificate, get tested, the client can pay with their phone/credit-card. Sounds like it would be way harder to exploit trafficking victims in that environment than in one where prostitution stays in the shadows.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- brighteyes 9y ago> I wonder who exactly the opponents of sex-legalization are trying to "protect". Trafficking victims? They will be vastly better served by a well regulated workplace. The sex workers themselves? I think this article debunks that myth. To play devils advocate, * Regulation does reduce the risk, but reducing the risk may also increase the amount. Similar to legalizing drugs making them less dangerous but also more common. * The article doesn't debunk the other position, as the sex workers interviewed may not be representative of the majority. That is exactly the claim put forth by the proponents, in fact (whether it is true or not, I don't think we can tell).