Addie Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Having been listening to the news today, I've been hearing some of the women explaining why they'd been forced to work as prostitutes. One, barely coherent and surely mentally damaged in some way, was 'working' to fund a heroin 'habit' Can we really be just ignoring the plight of some of these women? Another woman was explaining that she couldn't work in a shop as she had children and didn't want to leave them with a sitter in case they were ill treated. She couldn't feed her children and do the best for them on a shop workers wage. She had left her violent 'partner' almost 20 years ago. She was now 39 and had been on the streets for almost 20 years. Asked to describe her day she said that she got up, saw the children off, did this qnd that in the house, gave the children their tea after school, and when the sitter (!) arrived she then left to go to work where she was again abused. Can it honestly be necessary, in 2006 Britain, for someone to become a prostitute to feed and clothe their children? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhumsaa Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 I doubt it's necessary but I guess if someone said you will earn £100 a night more and still claim benefit.... I suppose it's small steps and justification until it becomes a stage where you don't care about what's happening and just see the money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Playing devils advocate a bit, but if it were legal, what is actually wrong with being a prostitute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Slim - nothing, provide the woman don't suffer emotion damage from plying the trade. I can't see how that is avoidible though. Am I the only one shocked that Ipswich has a red light district? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Slim - nothing, provide the woman don't suffer emotion damage from plying the trade. I can't see how that is avoidible though. Other countries seem to fix these issues by legalising. Because this is a problem facing a trade that's underground, you have a problem policing it. If this were legal, these women would be far better protected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Slim - nothing, provide the woman don't suffer emotion damage from plying the trade. I can't see how that is avoidible though. Other countries seem to fix these issues by legalising. Because this is a problem facing a trade that's underground, you have a problem policing it. If this were legal, these women would be far better protected. That might be the pragmatic solution to the problem. Recognising that it is always going to happen and making the best of it. I took your first question as being more of a moral one rather than practical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimeejulia Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 its easier for the police and gov for it to be illegal... making it legal involves lots of work and control... then you have to give them health checks to keep std s from spreading, of course they would have to have a permit of some sort, they'd have to declare their earnings and pay tax how would you regulate that lol as to why women/men turn to prostitution well i think that its no different choice then deciding to be a clerk or a taxi driver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 as to why women/men turn to prostitution well i think that its no different choice then deciding to be a clerk or a taxi driver I would have thought that choosing to be a clerk or a taxi driver was incredibly different than opting to be on the game! To mention two opposites here, working in a safe and comfortable, odour-free health and safety controlled office environment cannot possibly compare with being out on cold wet streets and being sexually used and abused by ugly unwashed - and possibly highly infectious - strangers, many times a night. That has to be the road to hell for anyone, surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimeejulia Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 as to why women/men turn to prostitution well i think that its no different choice then deciding to be a clerk or a taxi driver I would have thought that choosing to be a clerk or a taxi driver was incredibly different than opting to be on the game! To mention two opposites here, working in a safe and comfortable, odour-free health and safety controlled office environment cannot possibly compare with being out on cold wet streets and being sexually used and abused by ugly unwashed - and possibly highly infectious - strangers, many times a night. That has to be the road to hell for anyone, surely? different persons different upbringing different lives = different choices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 its easier for the police and gov for it to be illegal... making it legal involves lots of work and control... then you have to give them health checks to keep std s from spreading, of course they would have to have a permit of some sort, they'd have to declare their earnings and pay tax how would you regulate that lol So does keeping it ilegal. You mention having a consequence of legalising prostitution being to give prostitutes health checks to keep STD's from spreading, but then the government is already legally obliged to provide such tests if those prostitutes choose to take them. Assuming that such checks go undone, the government still then has to deal with health issues resulting from the spread of those STD's, and in most diseases it is the case that dealing with it once it occurs is a lot more expensive than monitoring and prevention. Secondly, one argument for legalization is that by being illegal prostitution is an ideal and abundant source of revenue for criminal gangs, who in turn cause problems that neccessitate a massive expenditure and effort on the part of the local authorities and police. I seriously doubt that making it legal requires more work and control than keeping it illegal and dealing with the consequences (direct or otherwise). The issue of legalization is more political and social (and many of the arguments against legalization are just as valid as those for it) than economic and one of effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimeejulia Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 govs usually avoid problems rather than face them... i agree with your every word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 different persons different upbringing different lives = different choices By that logic, there's a class of people who are more or less predestined, or at the very least more likely to become prostitutes by their upbringing and personality. A little bit further down this line of thought leads to something approaching a caste system! As such I'm inclined to think, or at least hope, that there are more factors to the issue of prostitution than mere personality and upbringing: economic, social circumstance, and so forth, all of which call into question the legitimacy of the equation above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aimeejulia Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 different persons different upbringing different lives = different choices So, by that logic, there's a class of people who are more or less predestined, or at the very least more likely to become prostitutes by their upbringing and personality. A little bit further with this line of thought and we'll finally be ready to adopt a caste system and abandon those tricky old notions of free will and individuality. There are more factors to the issue of prostitution than mere personality and upbringing: economic, social circumstance, and so forth, all of which call into question the legitimacy of the equation above. and again i agree i was merely pointing out that since we are all individuals we make different choices Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manuel_Hung Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Making it legal would take everything that is illegal away from it, pimps, and men/women being caught curb crawling, in brothels etc... and also the women would be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 It isnt illegal in the UK to be a prostitute. It is illegal to solicit for business though. Most of the street prostitutes seem to have significant personal problems such as drug addiction. The women who work indoors, such as call girls and escorts, are frequently women who have made informed educated choices about becoming a prostitute. They can earn a very good living in relatively safe conditions. However, the law works against them as it is illegal to form a collective [i think more than two women is illegal?] as this constitutes a brothel. [im sure someone has the precise terminology for that] The experience in many other countries suggests legalised brothels work very well both for the women and their clients. Changes to the law are well overdue. The Law Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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