The Defense of, "Decriminalization is an Abrogation of Responsibility."

It has been a while since someone wrote on this blog. That is mostly because I'm the only person writing right now, and University is pretty busy. In my last post, I quickly argued against legalizing prostitution; quickly, because I was studying for my exams. My argument did not encompass everything I should have said. But I didn't expect anyone to take it as my full argument. Seeing as this is the internet, I should have known better.

This is a response to you, randy (without a capital r). First, you said I was full of shit. I think that was unnecessary. I would not speak to you like that if I met you in person. But this is aside from the issue, really. We are debating the legalization of prostitution.

The first actual argument you made was that I had no facts. As stated above, I did have facts, and I probably should have provided them or not posted at all. So here are my facts. STAR, one of the organizations you mentioned, has published guidelines on how to slip a condom on an unwilling John without him noticing, and how to avoid anal sex in the same situation, without being assaulted. True, this is from an organization in a country where prostitution is illegal. So instead I will cite publications from the Australian government, a country where prostitution is legalized. There are online safety tips for women working in the legalized escort industry which involve: checking for too many cars or lights, which indicate the possibility of a gang rape; concealable weapons such as pens or sprays which allow one to get away quickly; and keeping their belongings in a pile by the door in order to escape quickly without losing their clothes. There are other OHS (occupational health and safety) guidelines which betray the danger of their legalized occupation, but I don't think I need to list them all here.

Time for some hard facts. Germany legalized prostitution in 2002. Since then, legal confirmed cases of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation (zum Zweck der sexuellen Ausbeutung abgeschlossen) went from 289 in 2002 to 482 in 2008. That is from the Federal Report on Human Trafficking 2008, compiled by the Federal Police.

The following citations are from the book, The Industrial Vagina, by Sheila Jeffreys. I will use the citations she used to show you where she got her information. Australia, as stated above, also has legalized prostitution. Even after legalization, organized crime has stayed heavily involved in prostitution. The Chief Commissioner of Police in Victoria told a Parliamentary committee that there are 93 legal brothels and over 400 illegal brothels in the state. Motorcycle gangs in Sydney coerce brothels, or buy the using fronts, to distribute drugs (Sylvester, 2007). Illegal escort services account for 75% of Queensland's sex industry (Corkill, 2005). Germany and the Netherlands, two European nations which have legalized prostitution, have the highest rates of trafficking. Anywhere between 50-90% of sex workers in Germany are trafficked (50%=150,000) (Monzini, 2005)and 70-80% in the Netherlands are foreign (Expatica, 2007). There are over 10,000 women working as prostitutes in Amsterdam, but only 2000 are working legally, protected by the system (Shared Hope International, 2007). Trafficking is a problem in Australia as well, with an estimated 300 women trafficked into the country a year and 1000 women held as, "sex slaves," at any given time (Kotnick et al., 2007 Project Report). Not only that, but the women are told by traffickers not to complain to the police because the business is legal, so they have no grounds for complaint (Fergus, 2005).

Lastly, the personal attacks. You said I don't care about the women; I just want them visible and miserable. That could not be further from the truth. In previous posts I have argued for the decriminalization of prostitution and the criminalization of procurement. I also believe, though I haven't argued for it yet, in punishing those who create the demand. It's sound economic sense to punish those who create the demand for something illegal, and for a full discussion of why it is sound economic sense please read Super Freakonomics by Steve Levit. Proof of the effectiveness of said technique is the prostitution rate in Sweden, where it is applied. The rate is 0.3 per 1000 population, while in Germany it is 3.8 per 1000 population. You are right in saying some women would benefit from legalization; but, in my opinion, too many would be hurt. I know case studies of women and groups of women who have found sex work to be rewarding and and profitable. However, I also know of the countless women who have been hurt by the sex trade, legal or not, and do not believe the balance lies towards legalization. And that is from the facts.