40 replies to this topic

[Yung]

Moral and health ramifications aside, should prostitution be legalized?

 

Proponents of legalizing prostitution believe it would reduce crime,
improve public health, increase tax revenue, help people out of poverty,
get prostitutes off the streets, and allow consenting adults to make
their own choices. They contend that prostitution is a victimless crime,
especially in the 11 Nevada counties where it remains legal.

                

                Opponents believe that legalizing prostitution would lead to
increases in sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, global human
trafficking, and violent crime including rape and homicide. They contend
that prostitution is inherently immoral, commercially exploitative,
empowers the criminal underworld, and promotes the repression of women
by men.

 

SOURCE

[Waser Lave]

It is technically legal in the UK and we don't seem to have major problems with it, I guess that's probably because the more problematic aspects of it are illegal (like pimps, public prostitution and kerb crawling etc).

[Romy]

Not until they come up with an "early detection" HIV test.

Edited by Ivysaur, 06 March 2013 - 12:54 PM.

[Sweeney]

Not until they come up with an "early detection" HIV test.

 

A what?

[Waser Lave]

Not until they come up with an "early detection" HIV test.

 

Condoms solve that conundrum quite effectively.

[Yung]

To be fair some girls can be more lucrative with there... fluids and condoms won't help the guy nearly as much in that situation.

[Waser Lave]

To be fair some girls can be more lucrative with there... fluids and condoms won't help the guy nearly as much in that situation.

 

What?

[Romy]

A what?

 

It takes the body roughly a month to produce the amount of antibodies required for the virus to be detected on traditional STD tests.
If they manage to come up with a way to detect it in less then 2 weeks, then I'm all for prostitution.

Condoms solve that conundrum quite effectively.

 

I think condoms have an 80% prevention rate for HIV (if used properly). 
Don't quote me on that though.

I think Yung means blowjobs.

[Beasy]

I know some hookers from when I stripped my way through college. They were actually against it being legalized because then their prices would fall.

I think Yung was referencing "squirters"

Most prostitutes (that I know) use condoms for blowjobs also. It's just as risky. I saw some where that their is a huge rise in throat cancer because of HPV cases transmitted through oral sex.

[Elle]

It takes the body roughly a month to produce the amount of antibodies required for the virus to be detected on traditional STD tests.
If they manage to come up with a way to detect it in less then 2 weeks, then I'm all for prostitution.

 

The window period is actually up to 6 months.

[Cant Stop Me]

Yeah and you should be able to right it off too.

[NapisaurusRex]

It depends on how it's regulated.

[Romy]

The window period is actually up to 6 months.

Whoops. Yeah. I meant a minimum of roughly a month.

[adonis]

"Moral and health ramifications aside, should prostitution be legalized?"

 

those are the 2 most debatable arguements for and against.... so aside I would say I am indifferent...which translates to I'm for discreet professional services as long as my wife doesn't find out...thus it would definativly become a "health ramification" issue.

[Frizzle]

The odds of getting HIV whilst having unprotected sex is extremely low. The chances of contracting HIV via saliva (even with semen or open mouth sores) is so minute that it isn't worth mentioning.  There are much higher possibilities of contracting other illnesses such as herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia etc..

 

If the sex workers were all regularly tested, protected and all brothels were tax and regulated properly, I fail to see any large scale issues. If it can work in most European countries, why not else where?

[cyrex]

Yeah. Prostitution comes in different forms, via webcam modelling which technically is still prostitution... people pay to see people do sexual acts online. On the street corners? In a rub & tug? It's all the same I think.

[Rambler]

This is going to sound bad but oh well xD

I don't think prostitution should be legalized because it takes the fun out of it. My honest to [insert deity here] answer. The thrill and fetish portion of it is what brings in the big bucks to women that sell their bodies as a profession. Because of the fact that it's illegal shortens the competition and keeps their prices high. And they need high prices for the things they do. I've watched so much Steve Wilkos and Jerry Springer that these women that do this do it because it's the only thing they know how to do well. Sort of like I can only draw and politicians can only suck the life out of peoples veins. 

I think it should stay the way it is. 

 

Pfft sorry for my weird answer but that is my opinion on the subject.

[Sleepydude]

The window period is actually up to 6 months.

 

The 6 month window period is based on one man from one study over a decade ago who was probably lying about when and/or how often he did it. If you test negative after 2 months, you don't have it. This information was given to me by a nurse practitioner whose specialty is infectious disease and regularly tests people for HIV. I just wanted to throw it out there.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/h...es/qa/index.htm <-- says 97% of patients will develop antibodies in the first 3 months

 

I don't think it should be legal. However, I think we should focus more on prosecuting pimps and johns than the prostitutes.

Edited by Sleepydude, 02 April 2013 - 04:07 PM.

[Jigglypuff]

By having prostitution illegal, I think society might be better off. I dislike how people are going to strangers for sex.. They should be picking up (or learning to pick up) chicks themselves. Prostitutes are kinda like the "easy way out" and doesn't allow people to develop. If you want to settle down, or have a real girlfriend, it will be more difficult if your only experience with women/sex is through prostitutes.

 

Strippers are a different story though

[willy101]

why worry about legality? as long as you videotape it it's legal ain't it? you're just making porn xD

[Sugou]

Should it be illegal? 

 

I personally don't think so. I'm not familiar with the prostitute world (for semi-obvious reasons), so correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that most prostitutes don't deliberately approach a random person and force them to have sex with them. It's probably the opposite, really. That being said, prostitutes don't really bother anyone, so it shouldn't be illegal. 

 

A question here should be: Would it really harm anyone to keep it legal? 

[Mishelle]

I agree with the way Portugal handled prostitution. Prostitution is legal but it is illegal for a 3rd party to profit from it, so no pimps or brothels.

Edited by Mishelle, 27 April 2013 - 11:58 AM.

[Yung]

I agree with the way Portugal handled prostitution. Prostitution is legal but it is illegal for a 3rd party to profit from it, so no pimps or brothels.

 

Well... I know where I'll not be going the next time I get the itch to start pimping.

[Drakonid]

Moral and health ramifications aside, should prostitution be legalized?

That's idiotic. The whole debate stands on moral and health ramifications.

 

 

I agree with the way Portugal handled prostitution. Prostitution is legal but it is illegal for a 3rd party to profit from it, so no pimps or brothels.

Not sure if they should be made illegal, but certainly limited in many ways.

[soundrecorder]

This a complex political and philosophical question (in the US), so I'll keep my thoughts short. 

 

Political Answer: 

We live in a society with government subsidized health care meaning the legality of prostitution boils down to cost. Will the legalization of prostitution increase the burden on the taxpayers due to increased health issues associated with the career field? Maybe. Maybe not. But if it is legalized, there will also be enormous costs associated with creating and implementing a regulatory apparatus to enforce the laws that would have to be written and so on an so forth. Or will the legalization result in fewer health issues (regulation on STD tests, etc) and thus lower cost to the taxpayer in the long run? Again, maybe. Maybe not. Ultimately the decision to change must be made entirely based upon projected models and small test samples; you can see where it gets tough. In my mind, politically it would only feasible if left entirely to State (or lower) government with explicit procedures and exclusions for health care providers (don't have to cover repeat STD offender exemptions, etc).

 

Philosophical Answer:

Hell yes it should be legal. It's your body, do as you please.