Spring Break
Commentary: Prostitution should be legalized
Teddy Harris
Daily Kent Stater
Issue date: 3/15/05 Section: Viewpoints
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In no way do I condone the work of prostitutes or anything affiliated with prostitution, but it should be legal, and there are countless reasons why. I hypothesize that several problems would subside if prostitution were legal: overpopulated jail systems, domestic violence, high rates of cocaine use, rape and rampant spreading of HIV/AIDS.
Currently, it is assumed that as much as one-half of a typical urban city's prison female population are prostitutes. In fact, Los Angeles alone spends close to $100 million annually dealing with illegal prostitution. The real cost, of course, is that these public resources could have been used to protect citizens from real criminals. Taxpayers are spending large amounts of money on non-violent prostitutes that cause little -- if any -- public unrest. There are hardly any distress calls to the police for someone having sex for money in a hotel or in a private residence. The only way these women are busted is if cops trick them.
According to the Future of Freedom Foundation, "In Newark, New Jersey, the estimate is that close to 60 percent of all prostitutes carry the AIDS virus. Yet, in the relatively 'free market' of Nevada, where prostitution is legal, not one [as of 1989] of the state-licensed prostitutes has ever tested positive for AIDS."
If prostitution were legal, it would be mandatory for prostitutes to be tested for STIs, and it would force them to have safe sex so they could keep their jobs. Measures would be drawn up to protect employees (prostitutes) from sick clients (johns).
Prostitutes obviously live an illegal life-style, so they have no legal protection. They are vulnerable to rape, domestic violence and high use of illegal narcotics. They are more vulnerable to these vices because they are not protected under laws. So pimps and johns openly beat and/or rape these women without sympathy. Many of these women feel as though they have nowhere to go, and this results in their turning to prostitution as employment and then using drugs to bury the pain of being a prostitute.
Currently, it is assumed that as much as one-half of a typical urban city's prison female population are prostitutes. In fact, Los Angeles alone spends close to $100 million annually dealing with illegal prostitution. The real cost, of course, is that these public resources could have been used to protect citizens from real criminals. Taxpayers are spending large amounts of money on non-violent prostitutes that cause little -- if any -- public unrest. There are hardly any distress calls to the police for someone having sex for money in a hotel or in a private residence. The only way these women are busted is if cops trick them.
According to the Future of Freedom Foundation, "In Newark, New Jersey, the estimate is that close to 60 percent of all prostitutes carry the AIDS virus. Yet, in the relatively 'free market' of Nevada, where prostitution is legal, not one [as of 1989] of the state-licensed prostitutes has ever tested positive for AIDS."
If prostitution were legal, it would be mandatory for prostitutes to be tested for STIs, and it would force them to have safe sex so they could keep their jobs. Measures would be drawn up to protect employees (prostitutes) from sick clients (johns).
Prostitutes obviously live an illegal life-style, so they have no legal protection. They are vulnerable to rape, domestic violence and high use of illegal narcotics. They are more vulnerable to these vices because they are not protected under laws. So pimps and johns openly beat and/or rape these women without sympathy. Many of these women feel as though they have nowhere to go, and this results in their turning to prostitution as employment and then using drugs to bury the pain of being a prostitute.