Pros and Cons - Debbie Newman, Ben Woolgar 2014
Prostitution, legalisation of
Section E. Social, moral and religious
The actual act of prostitution — exchanging sex for money — is legal in many countries, although other practices associated with it are not. In Britain, for example, solicitation (i.e. negotiating with potential customers), advertising, ’curb-crawling’ or running brothels (where two or more prostitutes work) are all illegal, while prostitution itself is not. In the USA, it is a misdemeanour, except in parts of Nevada. But that is not to say that Britain encourages prostitution — the act is legal because it happens behind closed doors and any law against it is unenforceable. This debate is therefore about the principle of tolerating open prostitution. A Proposition team may want to clarify whether they would legalise all practices related to prostitution, or whether they would have a more regulated system such as licensed brothels.
Pros
[1] It is an adult’s right to do with his or her body as he or she chooses, and this must include having sex with a consenting partner. The exchange of money does not invalidate the right to have sex. If two individuals have no moral problem with selling sex, they should be left alone to do it. Athletes, construction workers, models and actors all sell their bodies in a way and we have no problem with that. People can buy drinks, presents and even houses for people that they wish to have sex with. Why is the giving of cash so different?
[2] Prostitution is a method whereby people who want sexual relations can easily have them. There are many people who are too busy, too unattractive, too shy or too lazy for the considerable effort of starting and maintaining a successful relationship. Some want variety or the fulfilment of specific fantasies. Unless it can be proved that prostitution is immoral in an absolute sense, then clearly it performs a valuable and popular function.
[3] Whatever moral position is taken, it is clear that legalising prostitution would bring the many benefits of open regulation. In particular, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) demands that all prostitutes should be issued with licences, regularly renewed on the completion of a negative test for disease.
[4] Many prostitutes are forced into the profession because they have no skills or opportunities for other careers. Once involved in the black market, they are abused by pimps, are susceptible to drugs and other crime, and at the mercy of violent customers, with no legal rights of redress. Bringing prostitution into the open allows these men and women to pursue a career safely, outside the black market, with none of its dangers.
[5] The stigma attached to prostitution as it stands is immense, and a woman with one conviction becomes unemployable and is trapped into a life of crime. This stigma would recede with legalisation, as it did in France until the Second World War, when it was common and tolerated for girls to work in brothels for a few years, saving up for marriage dowries.
[6] As has happened with New York’s sex stores and strip clubs in the late1990s, the legalisation of brothels would allow their location to be dictated by local authorities. They could be situated in industrial areas, away from residences and from each other, thereby avoiding the existing problem of illegal establishments spilling out into residential areas.
Cons
[1] There is no parallel between the use of bodies by actors or builders and by prostitutes. The latter do not have the choice whether to sell their body or not; it is a male-dominated world and many young women are locked into a life of dependency on customers and pimps. Consensual sex implies that both partners approach the act from an equal footing, with the same opportunities; this is clearly not the case with prostitution.
[2] The sale of sex debases an activity that is fulfilled only in loving relationships. In particular it encourages infidelity by offering an easy opportunity for conscience- free, extra-marital sex. The loving relationship is an ideal that should be encouraged, and people who are less attractive or too shy should be made to see that they can have such a relationship, rather than being relegated to a lifetime of visiting prostitutes.
[3] At the moment, the spread of STDs among prostitutes is very low. They are well versed in spotting symptoms in customers, and insist on the use of condoms just as dentists use rubber gloves. Also, the sort of customer who might break the law in visiting prostitutes now is unlikely to be conscientious about demanding recently renewed licences.
[4] Prostitutes are forced into the black market because they are usually homeless and need the rewards that crime can offer. Legalised prostitution, in the free market, will inevitably lead to a drop in prices and profits due to competition. Prostitutes — and especially pimps — will merely move on to other criminal methods for lucrative profit: drugs, child prostitution, theft and so on.
[5] There should be stigma attached to a crime.We might as well legalise robbery to avoid endangering the future employment prospects of burglars.
[6] The location of brothels can already be dictated by authorities: namely, by shutting them down. The only reason why areas such as King’s Cross and Soho in London, for example, are full of them is because they have traditionally been ignored by a police force content to keep them under supervision. Far more concerted efforts could be made against the prostitution industry, and the fact that they have not been made is not an argument for legalisation.
Possible motions
This House would lift all restrictions on prostitution.
This House believes that sex is sacred.
Related topics
Protective legislation v. individual freedom
Pornography
Zero tolerance