Sex Work is Legal Work

What career is historically one of the longest held positions by majorly women? It
can come with a six figure salary, but has more stigma attached than to a single mother
welfare recipient? Personal experiences are weaponized over mass social media to
discredit their profession? Women who are 18 times more likely to be murdered than their
counterparts, but receive even even less protection from the police? An industry worth
$14.6 billion but is not recognized as valid by the United States government? Sex work is
taboo. Sex workers are made invisible and compounded with stigma created by a hateful,
misogynistic culture amplified by federal criminalization of sex work .
Christian-judeo beliefs have long been the cause of moral justification to
criminalizing the oldest part of western culture-prostitution. Matthew 21:31-32, TEV.
"Jesus said to them, 'The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of
God ahead of you. For John the Baptist came to you showing you the right path to take,
and you would not believe him; but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him.".
If religious objections can no longer stand in a political landscape, consider the shift in
popular culture to accepting sexuality. Each year the adult entertainment industry grows
exponentially, to its current highest net worth of $97 billion. This amount grossed more
than the NFL, MLB, and NBA combined with more visitors than most household name
sites such as Amazon, Twitter, and Netflix. With over a million sex workers in the U.S., it
should come to no surprise the increasing online presence and demand for reform is
happening. Sex workers have been on the cutting edge of technological innovation, they
are their own marketers, video editors, accountants, promoters, and everything in
between to build a reputable brand, the same as any small business. From photography
to film to webcam to virtual reality, sex workers have utilized these for profit and safety.
Fundamentally sex workers are not entirely poorly educated, victims of abuse, that
come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Sex workers come from a diverse
background that includes self determination when choosing their profession. The
perception of sex workers needs to be challenged to having sensational-seeking
tendencies rather than a foundation of sexual abuse or that they’re intrinsically damaged.
Instead of rescue, emphasis on coping and sustainability. Common motivations for selling
sexual services is high rewards (that do not require formal education or trainings), flexible
schedule, and being self managing. Studies such as Selling Sex in Queensland, reported
that one in four sex workers had a completed bachelor's degree. While a similar report
conducted by Working in Victorian Brothels said that a majority of the sex workers had
adequate or high levels of professional and technical training. Trauma isn’t singularly
found within sex work-it is found within our doctors, our artists, our engineers-it is
universal. It cannot be used to weaponize experiences and invalidate a profession.
Legalizing sex work is of the utmost importance in the sociology, health, and justice
system of America. Sex workers, especially ones that parttake in survival sexwork due to
poverty, are the most statistically vulnerable women. Women who work illegally on the
streets are 18 times more likely to be a victim of homicide than their non-sexworker
counterparts. Serial killers especially tend to pray on street prostitutes because of it being
easier to coerce them into a car. Serial killers accounted for more than one-third of
prostitute victims and nearly all were clients. This includes the high rates of assault and
rapes, 82% and 68% respectively in the Bay area of San Francisco. This problem is not
localized, it is national-gaining traction to fully escalate violence against women due to
vulnerability because of criminalization.
Comparatively in Nevada, which has legalized prostitution, all legal licensed
brothels have security on site, accessibility to police interventions, panic buttons in all
rooms, and doors that do not lock from the inside. Brothel owners have to make great
strides to keep a good reputation to uphold their licenses given by the county. This
includes maintaining police relations and a reputation of safety for customers and
workers. Legalization for the few years in Rhode Island saw a 31% decline in rapes, which
the Dutch who legalized prostitution as well believe there is a causal relationship. This
decrease in sexual violence on women is explained by providing an anonymous,
appealing and easily accessible outlet for sex to otherwise violent individuals. When an
outlet is legalized, sexual predators are less likely to strike at random women. And
because police monitoring is higher in brothels and sex work “zones”, predators who pay
for sex tend to rein in their more violent behaviors.
The United States realized the severe full impact of STD transmission on
community and national health during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Whereas legal sex workers in
Nevada are required by the State Board of Health to wear condoms with all customers
with weekly and monthly mandated STD tests. In Nevada, there were no registered cases
of HIV among legal sex workers. The number of prostitutes infected with STDs in New
Zealand and New South Wales, where prostitution is legalized, is almost non-existent.
Illegal sex workers are not regulated in this manner and can be inconvenienced by clinic
prices for STD checks when they lack health insurance. The United States in the past has
used sex workers carrying condoms as evidence to incriminate them. This deterrent can
largely dissuade sex workers to forgo condoms because of fear, creating a habit of non-
safe sex practices. The ability to mandate tests and control the spread of infectious
disease is critical to population health.
Legalization is pushed for so drastically because it will take sex work out of the
criminal sector and put it into the labor sector. Labor rights include minimum wage,
freedom from discrimination, safe work environment, social security, retirement, and
access to employer health insurance. These factors would not only dramatically improve
the lives of sex workers, but help with rehabilitation for survival or street sex workers.
This annual pay of a sexworker can contribute to tax revenue with the average starting at
$20,000 based on income tax. The most widely recognized estimate of sex workers in the
United States is at one million, which directly equals $20,000,000 in income tax. This tax
could help the United States who is currently about $20 trillion in debt with inaccessible
non-universal healthcare, declining social programs and benefits, poor infrastructure and
community health in rural areas, and many more extreme issues that require revenue.
It is no longer the negligent choice, or therefore right, of the United States
government to deny sex workers consent over their own bodies.

Multimedia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=155&v=vEyB0SRxVrg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRQqN0qPEus

Work Cited
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