Critical Thinking Paper

Decriminalization of Prostitution

Maddie Whipple
Green Group
5/13/19
 Prostitute is a dirty word. It’s charged with negative connotations, from a promiscuous individual,

to a vile one, etc. This stigma needs to be expunged. Some think that prostitutes are sex crazed shells of

human beings, but this could not be more untrue. Prostitute are workers, using their bodies to their

advantages. They are getting by and supporting themselves or their families, the only way they know how

or is possible at that time in their lives. “Eighty-eight percent of these respondents stated that they wanted

to leave prostitution.” (Farley, 44) Sex workers are rarely in it for the pleasure. They work because they

have to, or are being forced to. They are making a living, and deserve to be protected and to be treated

fairly while working to survive. Prostitution isn’t risk free either, with violent clients and diseases running

rampant and unchecked because sex workers aren’t offered health care, prostitution is a dangerous

profession. With all of these risks, sex workers should be protected and aided by police rather than living

in fear of them, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars wasted on the policing of

prostitution. (Prostitution Policing Efforts are Costly) The United States Government must decriminalize

prostitution across all 50 states because it will limit the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, insure that

prostitutes are treated fairly, and redirect wasted police resources.

The spread of STDs and STIs is many people’s major concerns about the legalization of

prostitution, but the opposite is true. Decriminalizing prostitution would allow for regular check ups

through health insurance for sex workers who are currently too scared to go to the doctor or cannot afford

to do so. The United States Government must decriminalize prostitution to provide sex workers with

health care and inhibit the spread of STDs. With health care, the spread of STDs would be stunted and

would allow for safer sex for everyone involved. The option of health care has been proven effective in

the Netherlands, where prostitution has been legalized, with a decreasing chlamydia trend in sex workers

from 2006 to 2013. (Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Sex Workers) Studies show that sex
workers are anywhere from 5 to 60 times more likely to contract an STD, depending on their substance

use and how many sexual partners they’ve had/have. (Sex Workers and STIs) Though numbers may not

drop, as customer’s preferences may not change, it would save many lives if sex workers received free

and regular checks, and if they were to have a disease or infection, be treated accordingly, without any

additional costs.

A sex worker is rarely respected. The client is usually an adult male, larger and more powerful

than the sex worker. (Clients of Prostitutes) Thus, the sex worker can be easily overpowered and

disrespected. It isn’t a rarity that a sex worker is physically or mentally abused. The United States

Government must decriminalize prostitution to assure that sex workers are treated fairly and respectfully.

Clients see the prostitute as an object they purchased, theirs to beat and abuse. Because of the current state

of prostitution, being legal solely in some parts of Nevada, sex workers have no support from the law. If a

client were to be caught abusing a prostitute, both the worker and the client would likely be taken to jail,

“For many sex workers, reporting crimes experienced during the course of their work means putting

themselves at risk of criminalization and/or penalization on the basis of their involvement in sex work,

seizure of their earnings, potential loss of their livelihood through related sanctions and/or monitoring by

the police to detect their clients.” (Amnesty International, 12) If brothels were legal, sex workers could be

protected from violent and brutal attacks. In a study conducted in Dutch cities where “tippelzones”, or

zones where prostitution is completely legal during certain hours, reports of “​32 to 40 percent reduction

in rape and sexual abuse within two years of a city opening a tippelzone” were reported. (Holland’s Legal

Prostitution Zones Reduce Rape)​ As of now, sex workers have no protection and are always exposed to

violence. In a 1998 study, the vast majority of sex workers communicated that they had been physically

abused, “Eight percent reported physical attacks by pimps and customers which had resulted in serious
injury (for example, gunshot wounds, knife wounds, injuries from attempted escapes).” (Farley, 41) It is

obviously dangerous to be a sex worker, simply because of the STDs associated, but with the added risk

of being beaten and raped by customers, it becomes near deadly. It is also common for a client to simply

leave paying for the service or knock the prostitute unconscious and leave. This is dangerous, unfair, and

undeserved. Under the protection of a brothel, clients would be forced to pay, with real consequences if

they were to neglect the cost of the service.

Prostitution is, at its essence, two consenting adults who exchange sex for money or other items.

If this is the case, then why bother them? They are adults and can do what they wish. If the sex worker or

client were underage, then there should absolutely be consequences. However, it simply does not make

sense to spend precious police ressources to try to prevent this “problem”, that in reality isn’t a problem at

all. To decriminalize prostitution isn’t to remove every law against prostitution, but rather to remove the

catch-all regulations that immediately criminalize most aspects of prostitution and refocus on laws that

protect the human rights of sex workers and defend them from abuse. (Amnesty International, 14) Law

enforcement needs to be redirected away from useless stings and prowling to catch sex workers, and

towards helping sex workers and ensuring they are well taken care of. Police need to focus on the real

criminals, the pimps and the sex traffickers who exploit them. As Gaye Dalton, a former sex worker, put

it, “Criminalisation does not help people get out of prostitution and legalisation does not trap them in it.”

Sex workers continue to engage in their work despite it being illegal, and this is unlikely to change. The

only difference would be that with decriminalization, the workers would be protected, safer, and treater

more equitably.
 Some say that selling one’s body for money is immoral. It should be considered that, “​Reducing

sex to a financial transaction undermines normal human relationships, marriage and the family.”

(Debating Europe) To some, sex work is outright immoral. However, consensual sex should not be

considered ​immoral. Ninos P. Malek said, “It is arguably no less moral than a lifestyle of random

'hooking up,' or the stereotypical lifestyle of the professional athlete or rock star who brags about how

many women he has had sex with…” It is illogical to think prostitution is immoral, but condone the

actions of a typical adult who is sexually active with multiple partners. One must understand that people’s

bodies are theirs to control, and can do what they wish with it, moral or not. What many do not

understand is that sex work and being sexually active are the same concept, though one includes a

financial transaction.

To conclude, the United States Government must decriminalize prostitution to limit the spread of

sexually transmitted diseases, assure that prostitutes are treated fairly, and redirect police resources. Sex

workers are simply trying to make a living like any other working adult, but are subject to beatings from

customers and are at risk to be arrested for participating in consensual sex. With brothels defending them

and providing health care, prostitutes would receive much needed medical attention and this could

effectively stunt the spread of STDs and STIs. With support from police and brothels, prostitutes would

see more respectful treatment. Furthermore, it simply does not make sense that police are working against

sex workers rather than protecting them from horrendous violence. It is for these reasons that the United

States Government must decriminalize prostitution.

 Works Cited

Farley, Melissa, and Howard Barkan. "Prostitution, Violence, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." PDF
file, 1998.

Sullivan, Lucas. "Prostitution Policing Efforts Are Costly for Taxpayers." ​Springfield News Sun​, 2
July 2011, www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/local/
prostitution-policing-efforts-are-costly-for-taxpayers/ZfHZjJoVK978rymGZntA4K/. Accessed 26
Apr. 2019.

Verscheijden, Maud M. "Sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers tested at STI
clinics in the Netherlands, 2006–2013." ​NCBI​, 28 Aug. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC4552148/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2019.

Hall, Alexis. "Sex Workers and STIs: The Ignored Epidemic." ​IQ Solutions​, 19 Apr. 2016,
iqsolutions.com/section/ideas/sex-workers-and-stis-ignored-epidemic. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Brewer, Devon D., et al. "Demographic, Biometric, and Geographic Comparison of Clients of
Prostitutes and Men in the US General Population." ​Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality​, 9
June 2008, www.ejhs.org/volume11/brewer.htm. Accessed 28 Mar. 2019.

"Amnesty International Policy on State Obligations to Respect, Protect and Fulfil the Human Rights
of Sex Workers." PDF file, 26 May 2016.

Trilling, David. "Holland's Legal Prostitution Zones Reduce Rape: New Research." ​Journalist's
​Resource,​ 1 Mar. 2017, journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/
legal-prostitution-reduce-rape-holland/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2019.

Dalton, Gaye. "Gaye Dalton Biography." ​ProCon​, 8 Feb. 2018, prostitution.procon.org/

view.source.php?sourceID=014647. Accessed 31 Mar. 2019.

"Arguments for and against Legalizing Prostitution." ​Debating Europe,​ www.debatingeurope.eu/focus/

arguments-legalising-prostitution/#.XJ-CIOtKiqQ. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Malek, Ninos P. "Ninos P. Malek, PhD Biography." ​ProCon,​ 23 Feb. 2018, prostitution.procon.org/
view.source.php?sourceID=014652&print=true&print=true&print=true. Accessed 31 Mar. 2019.