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Mackenzie Campbell
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
5 October 2016
The Rights and Wrongs of Prostitution
Prostitution is the act of providing sexual favors for some kind of compensation. It has
surfaced in almost every culture throughout history. According to Arnold Clarkson, both a
Bachelor of Medicine and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, prostitution is considered
to be the worlds oldest profession, dating back to 4000 BC. Thousands of women and men use
prostitution as a source of income to support themselves and sometimes other dependents as
well. It has been considered an immoral and non-respectable act, but also used for some benefits.
During the Greek and Roman periods, prostitution was quite a normal occurrence, but it was
frowned upon for men of high status to marry prostitutes because of their lack of virginity. Later
on in other parts of Europe during the 13th century, prostitutes suffered severe punishments and
forced out of their homes and deprived of their belongings. The infamy of prostitutes continued
through the 17th century in nations such as Paris and England, prostitutes were required to wear
special costumes to distinguish themselves (Clarkson). Despite this great shame among
prostitution, it has also been used to benefit certain countries in more recent history. Several
societies have attempted to regulate prostitution as a benefit for the economy. For example, Cape
Town south Africa has used brothels as a tourist attraction to help elevate the state of their
economy. Meanwhile, other nations like New Zealand have decriminalized prostitution on the
basis of sex rights. In the United States, it is only legal in Nevada (Goldman). Many believe that
it should be legal in all states, while some believe it is too harmful to workers to be legal in all

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states. The legalization of prostitution is a relevant topic because of the controversy it has created
between the questionable safe and moral aspects of it and the belief that a person has the right to
choose to do what they want with their body.
One reason people oppose prostitution because of immorality comes from many religious
viewpoints. Mathew 5:28 states, But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (King James). This verse
from the Bible refers to adultery, or in other words, sex outside of a committed marriage. To
Christians, sex outside of a marriage is a serious moral crime. Some even believe that people
should only have sexual relations with one person in their life, and that is their spouse. Beliefs
like this have led many Christians to believe that any kind of sex outside of a marriage is a sin,
and selling ones body for sexual favors is even worse. Because prostitutes sleep with many
different clients, this would make them extremely immoral to Christians. This is such a popular
argument because many people, although others may not have the same faith, highly encourage
people to have sex only after marriage.
Critics also believe that legalizing the act could be harmful to anyone involved in the
industry because of the diseases it can spread. Historically, it has shown to have spread syphilis,
HIV, and other epidemics on an enormous scale. England tried to legalize prostitution in their
army and naval districts in the 1800s, and passed The Contagious Diseases Act in 1864. The act
required all prostitutes to attend regular medical examinations. By 1884, they found the bill to be
ineffective and removed it, allowing syphilis to spread rapidly through the districts. Stronger
regulations on prostitution were required to return that high number of cases to its normal level
(Clarkson). Even with the technology we have now, opposers believe prostitution could still pose
the same problem. The widespread of HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases are feared

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among the majority of Americans. People also fear that proper procedures for safe sex can not be
regulated enough to prevent these kinds of epidemic breakouts. Critics believe not only would
these breakouts harm prostitutes and their clientele, but the epidemics stand a chance to reach
people who are not in any way involved in prostitution services. Opposers push his issue because
of the long term medical damages that the government can by not legalizing the act.
Despite these reasons, supporters of legalization believe that it is simply human right the
grants a person the choice to do what they want with their body and that the government should
not have a say in those choices; in fact, many believe that sex workers should actually be
supported by the government. It is fact that sex workers, because prostitution is illegal, do not
have labor rights as people who work different professions; as a result, they do not have access to
safe working environments, a minimum wage, or even freedom from discrimination (Fuchs).
Advocates of legalization push this idea so that these workers can gain rights. They believe that it
is their choice to gain income from being sex workers, therefore they should gain certain rights
just like everyone else. Many people just want prostitutes to be treated equally as professionals,
which is why they seek the legalization of the act of prostitution.
Many advocates push governments to use sex work to help the economy. In several
instances it has proved to work. Nevada has gained roughly $120,000 in tax revenue from legal
prostitution activities. Street prostitution does not keep track of any transactions made, and
therefore cannot benefit the community. On the other hand, when it is kept track of and the work
is monitored correctly, there is room to benefit the state in which prostitution is made legal
(Goldman). By being taxed, it has been shown that it can help the economy by allowing the state
to collect extra income. On top of that, the prostitution is much safer and can benefit the sex
workers as well. Supporters push this issue to both drive attention away from other opposing

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arguments and present to the government an actual benefit they will receive by regulating and
taxing legal prostitution.
Both sides of the argument are represented greatly by all Americans. While many believe
it is unsafe and immoral, may people are attempting to liberate prostitutes by protecting their
rights and protecting them from abuse. They also seek to get support for them, despite their
infamy throughout history. The two beliefs will never agree due to the fact that while one
supports human rights, the other promotes moral and sanitary sex.

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Works Cited

Clarkson, Arnold. History of Prostitution. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, Sept.
1939, pp. 296301. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc537482/pdf/
canmedaj00208-0074.pdf./.latest_citation_text

Fuchs, Erin. 7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution. Business Insider, Business
Insider, Inc, 13 Nov. 2013, http://www.businessinsider.com/why-america-should-legalizeprostitution-2013-11.

Goldman, David. You Cant Get Rid of It So You Might As Well Tax It: e Economic Impact of
Nevadas Legalized Prostitution. http://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1009&context=student_scholarship

King James Bible. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/bible-verses-about-sex/.