6 ms·

Doesn’t this legitimize sex trafficking?

ceejayoz 5y ago
No? It permits victims of sex trafficking to go to law enforcement without being arrested for prostitution by unsympathetic cops.
- gremlinsinc 5y ago
  Exactly this, and if sex-workers can operate in the sunlight they can use services that maybe offer security in case they're doing outcall and go missing... I listened to a podcast about some pig-farmer who killed like 49 prostitutes over 10 years back in the 80s-2000s in Vancouver, B.C. the police didn't know the prostitutes were missing because they don't want to be seen, they are hidden so they're easier to just kill and nobody notices... I guess.
  - cutemonster 5y ago
    Wow that's totally sick. It's not easy for me to understand why the legal system attacks the ones it's supposed to help, I mean, makes selling illegal, rather than making only buying illegal. (In some/many? countries in Europe, it's ok to sell sex, but illegal to buy. So the prostitute can go to the police)
GavinMcG 5y ago
Could you help explain why you think that would be the case? Sex trafficking can still be prosecuted. In general, though, prosecuting the victims of crimes doesn't make it any easier to prosecute those who victimized them.
waterhouse 5y ago
The more legal prostitution gets, the more likely it is to occur in the "sunlight", where it's easier to notice and report problems like sex trafficking (without risking legal trouble yourself just for being in or patronizing the industry). In other words, no, probably the opposite.
- jcampbell1 5y ago
  see: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2186915_code114994.pdf?abstractid=1986065&mirid=1 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2186915_cod... "Countries with legalized prostitution are associated with higher human trafficking inflows than countries where prostitution is prohibited. The scale effect of legalizing prostitution, i.e. expansion of the market, outweighs the substitution effect, where legal sex workers are favored over illegal workers. On average, countries with legalized prostitution report a greater incidence of human trafficking inflows."
  - 01100011 5y ago
    Isn't that what you would expect when you initially legalize something that is illegal everywhere else? It gets worse before it gets better, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't follow the moral path and legalize it. You should be aware of that effect and prepare a response in advance, however.
- austincheney 5y ago
  I doubt that because there is a social stigma to prostitution that other minor vices don’t have. For example (hypothetical) if my wife found me using recreational drugs she would be pissed and force me into counseling, but if she found me with a prostitute it’s game over.
  - chrisco255 5y ago
    Really? Drugs are a lot more dangerous than sex.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - gridder 5y ago
      I doubt it. STDs are pretty bad you know.
    - 5y ago
1123581321 5y ago
It’s a step towards legalization, which will drive out the criminal trafficking element and lower the cost of doing business. It’s unclear whether that will lead to more or fewer people doing this kind of work, and what kinds of pressures to engage in legal in-person sex work might emerge.

No? It permits victims of sex trafficking to go to law enforcement without being arrested for prostitution by unsympathetic cops.

gremlinsinc 5y ago
Exactly this, and if sex-workers can operate in the sunlight they can use services that maybe offer security in case they're doing outcall and go missing... I listened to a podcast about some pig-farmer who killed like 49 prostitutes over 10 years back in the 80s-2000s in Vancouver, B.C. the police didn't know the prostitutes were missing because they don't want to be seen, they are hidden so they're easier to just kill and nobody notices... I guess.
- cutemonster 5y ago
  Wow that's totally sick. It's not easy for me to understand why the legal system attacks the ones it's supposed to help, I mean, makes selling illegal, rather than making only buying illegal. (In some/many? countries in Europe, it's ok to sell sex, but illegal to buy. So the prostitute can go to the police)

GavinMcG 5y ago

Could you help explain why you think that would be the case? Sex trafficking can still be prosecuted. In general, though, prosecuting the victims of crimes doesn't make it any easier to prosecute those who victimized them.

waterhouse 5y ago

The more legal prostitution gets, the more likely it is to occur in the "sunlight", where it's easier to notice and report problems like sex trafficking (without risking legal trouble yourself just for being in or patronizing the industry). In other words, no, probably the opposite.

jcampbell1 5y ago
see: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2186915_code114994.pdf?abstractid=1986065&mirid=1 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2186915_cod... "Countries with legalized prostitution are associated with higher human trafficking inflows than countries where prostitution is prohibited. The scale effect of legalizing prostitution, i.e. expansion of the market, outweighs the substitution effect, where legal sex workers are favored over illegal workers. On average, countries with legalized prostitution report a greater incidence of human trafficking inflows."
- 01100011 5y ago
  Isn't that what you would expect when you initially legalize something that is illegal everywhere else? It gets worse before it gets better, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't follow the moral path and legalize it. You should be aware of that effect and prepare a response in advance, however.
austincheney 5y ago
I doubt that because there is a social stigma to prostitution that other minor vices don’t have. For example (hypothetical) if my wife found me using recreational drugs she would be pissed and force me into counseling, but if she found me with a prostitute it’s game over.
- chrisco255 5y ago
  Really? Drugs are a lot more dangerous than sex.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - gridder 5y ago
    I doubt it. STDs are pretty bad you know.
  - 5y ago

1123581321 5y ago

It’s a step towards legalization, which will drive out the criminal trafficking element and lower the cost of doing business. It’s unclear whether that will lead to more or fewer people doing this kind of work, and what kinds of pressures to engage in legal in-person sex work might emerge.