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Why would legalizing or decriminalizing sex work pressure women into becoming sex workers?

rayiner 4y ago
For the same reason workers do sub-minimum wage jobs or work in unsafe conditions: because of economic duress. Additionally, keeping it illegal helps society as a whole prevent vulnerable people from being coerced or manipulated into such work. People have these libertarian notions of rational people making enlightened decisions to do sex work, but for the most part the women (and men) ensnared into such work have various vulnerabilities that predators in the industry manipulate. They are typically young (remember, humans don't have fully developed rational faculties until they're 25: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051 https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?Con...). They may have been abused, etc. Society needs to be able to protect vulnerable people, sometimes from their own decisions.
- JamesBarney 4y ago
  The economic duress creates the pressure, and legalizing/decriminalizing sex work doesn't change the economic duress. An expanded social safety net would decrease the economic duress. Legalizing sex work just makes the option to deal with that economic duress safer. Decriminalization might increase the number of people coerced and manipulated into such work. But criminalization definitely doesn't prevent people from being coerced or manipulated into sex work, and it makes it more dangerous for the ones who are. Pros You'd make it safer for sex workers, both voluntary and coerced ones. You'd probably reduce rates of sexual assaults/abuse outside of sex work. Sex workers would be more easily able to escape sex work because they won't have prostitutions charges on their record keeping them from getting a job. Cons Maybe more people would be coerced or manipulated into it.
  - rayiner 4y ago
    > Pros You'd make it safer for sex workers, both voluntary and coerced ones… > Cons Maybe more people would be coerced or manipulated into it. I think you’ve accurately summarized the pros and cons. The question is how to weight those factors. On that front, it’s telling that women—who face various degrees of sexual coercion pretty much their whole lives—are more likely to oppose legalizing prostitution than men: https://www.vox.com/2016/3/11/11203740/prostitution-legal-men-women-poll https://www.vox.com/2016/3/11/11203740/prostitution-legal-me... Andrea Dworkin, a prominent feminist, wrote poignantly about her experiences with being coerced into sex work starting at age 15 by a 21 year old boyfriend: https://newrepublic.com/article/122457/modern-magdalenes https://newrepublic.com/article/122457/modern-magdalenes. That’s the kind of coercion you see over and over again in the sex industry. For the most part, it’s not highly educated women making empowered decisions, but women who are coerced, or do it out of financial duress, or do it impulsively and regret commoditizing themselves.
    - JamesBarney 4y ago
      That's a heart breaking story, but there are plenty of ex sex workers, some of which were in even more coerced situations (not emotional pressure from a boyfriend but threats of physical violence from a gang) who prefer decriminalization because it would have made it safer for them and would have allowed them an easier exit from sex work. Maybe women are more against decriminalization because they've dealt with sexual coercion. But given that much more women think it's morally wrong to be a sex worker or to buy sex work (which doesn't have to do with coercion) I suspect that has little do with the difference. Instead i think the majority of the difference is that women think prostitution is wrong even when entered into by two willing and consenting parties, and this is why they're against decriminalization/legalization.

For the same reason workers do sub-minimum wage jobs or work in unsafe conditions: because of economic duress. Additionally, keeping it illegal helps society as a whole prevent vulnerable people from being coerced or manipulated into such work. People have these libertarian notions of rational people making enlightened decisions to do sex work, but for the most part the women (and men) ensnared into such work have various vulnerabilities that predators in the industry manipulate. They are typically young (remember, humans don't have fully developed rational faculties until they're 25: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051 https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?Con...). They may have been abused, etc. Society needs to be able to protect vulnerable people, sometimes from their own decisions.

JamesBarney 4y ago
The economic duress creates the pressure, and legalizing/decriminalizing sex work doesn't change the economic duress. An expanded social safety net would decrease the economic duress. Legalizing sex work just makes the option to deal with that economic duress safer. Decriminalization might increase the number of people coerced and manipulated into such work. But criminalization definitely doesn't prevent people from being coerced or manipulated into sex work, and it makes it more dangerous for the ones who are. Pros You'd make it safer for sex workers, both voluntary and coerced ones. You'd probably reduce rates of sexual assaults/abuse outside of sex work. Sex workers would be more easily able to escape sex work because they won't have prostitutions charges on their record keeping them from getting a job. Cons Maybe more people would be coerced or manipulated into it.
- rayiner 4y ago
  > Pros You'd make it safer for sex workers, both voluntary and coerced ones… > Cons Maybe more people would be coerced or manipulated into it. I think you’ve accurately summarized the pros and cons. The question is how to weight those factors. On that front, it’s telling that women—who face various degrees of sexual coercion pretty much their whole lives—are more likely to oppose legalizing prostitution than men: https://www.vox.com/2016/3/11/11203740/prostitution-legal-men-women-poll https://www.vox.com/2016/3/11/11203740/prostitution-legal-me... Andrea Dworkin, a prominent feminist, wrote poignantly about her experiences with being coerced into sex work starting at age 15 by a 21 year old boyfriend: https://newrepublic.com/article/122457/modern-magdalenes https://newrepublic.com/article/122457/modern-magdalenes. That’s the kind of coercion you see over and over again in the sex industry. For the most part, it’s not highly educated women making empowered decisions, but women who are coerced, or do it out of financial duress, or do it impulsively and regret commoditizing themselves.
  - JamesBarney 4y ago
    That's a heart breaking story, but there are plenty of ex sex workers, some of which were in even more coerced situations (not emotional pressure from a boyfriend but threats of physical violence from a gang) who prefer decriminalization because it would have made it safer for them and would have allowed them an easier exit from sex work. Maybe women are more against decriminalization because they've dealt with sexual coercion. But given that much more women think it's morally wrong to be a sex worker or to buy sex work (which doesn't have to do with coercion) I suspect that has little do with the difference. Instead i think the majority of the difference is that women think prostitution is wrong even when entered into by two willing and consenting parties, and this is why they're against decriminalization/legalization.