Legalization of Prostitution
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In Ancient Greece, where women were barely considered more than “baby-makers”, there was one group of elite women who were so influential that they took part in every aspect of the patriarchal society, from politics to philosophy. These women were well educated and were thought to be the ones who controlled Ancient Greece (Linton). This small group of women were not royalty, doctors, politicians, or inheritors, but Hetairae. Hetairae were high class prostitutes who were just as educated as the smartest men in the society (Linton). One particular case states that Socrates would visit Aspasias (a prostitute) Hetairae school with his students just to hear her speak, meaning she might have influenced the ideas of one of the greatest philosophers of all time (Linton). Considering that this was more than two thousand years ago, one would think that sex-trade workers in Canada would have rights by now, but they dont. Prostitution, although not illegal, is not considered a true trade and is even stigmatized by most because of its immorality (Arthuer & ODoherty, 17). This paper will visit the issue of prostitution from all its angles. First, the present Canadian laws on prostitution will be discussed. The good and bad sides of the decriminalization of prostitution will then be argued. An ethical standpoint will then be taken by comparing a Kantian school of thought versus the one practiced in Utilitarianism. To conclude, a solution will be suggested taking both positive and negative aspects into account. The solution will mostly be directed towards sex workers, the Canadian Government, and ethical groups on either side of the debate. The papers main arguments will be based on Immanuel Kants article, “Duties to the Body and Crimes against Nature”, Joseph Halls article, “Legalizing sex trade touted to cut HIV”, and the Canadian Criminal Code. Men will be omitted in this paper since they represent a minority of sex workers and are not prone to the same abuse and stigmatization as women.
The current Canadian law system does not prohibit prostitution. In fact, selling your body in exchange for money is completely legal. Instead, many laws are passed to complicate the process and discourage sex-workers and possible clients. The first law relating to prostitution is procuring. Procuring ranges from helping prostitutes get clients vice versa, to living off the prostitution of others (Canadian Criminal Code). People who act as a connection between a prostitute and her clients often work in the tourism industry, anyone from bellhops to taxi drivers, and can make a lot of profit by simply referring people. Others, such as pimps and madams make a living from selling women for their bodies. This is highly illegal because the women who sell their bodies for money through the intermediate of a pimp, for example, are not in full control of their own body, and, to a certain extent, their rights. Another infringement to the Canadian Criminal Code is soliciting and communicating. These two will be discussed as the same law since they follow the same basics. Soliciting and communicating are illegal only if the person is persistent or insisting when encountering a possible client (Canadian Criminal Code). This law is also respectable and fits Canadian logic in its respect of people. Any type of soliciting can make people uneasy and uncomfortable, and, especially in the case of prostitution, could offend the more conservative population. It is normal for the government to recognize that we as Canadians want our personal space to be respected and would rather not being hassled by “hookers” every time we walk down the street. Finally, the other law prohibits Bawdy-Houses, or brothels, from taking place anywhere in Canada. These Brothels represent any place where prostitution occurs regularly, from a hotel room to a massage parlour (Canadian Criminal Code). This makes it hard to live off of prostitution, since there is no steady place where “sex” can be purchased regularly. Considering these laws, prostitution is only considered legal if it happens between two consenting adults, without solicitation, third party, or publicity, in a place where the act of selling ones body does not happen regularly. For example, if two people meet, go on a date and then discuss sexual favours against money before going to ones home, it is perfectly legal.
There are a few negative aspects of the decriminalization of prostitution. First, the Canadian Government wants to maintain a conservative approach towards usually liberal topics, such as drug use and prostitution. The government might fear that prostitution becomes mainstream in society; its taboo would then be removed, making it a legitimate career path for our youth. There is also talk about how it would fill our streets with sin in a Las Vegas manner. There is also debate whether selling your body is right or not, and if you are respecting your own person by doing it.
On the other hand, there are many positive aspects. The first positive aspect is economic. By decriminalizing prostitution, and even contact dances in strip clubs, the sex workers in question could then be taxed on their income, which represents huge revenue for the government. Middle class strippers and prostitutes can make anywhere between 500-2000$ on a regular shift, and high class prostitutes can get much more, and this with little to no publicity. Prostitution by procuring is also a source of revenue for criminal groups, since many pimps are associated with street gangs, posing a relative threat to society. By recognizing prostitution as a legitimate job, the government could then insure that all workers in the domain are legal Canadian citizens, discouraging people to traffic humans for that purpose (Human Trafficking Victims Face Immigration Barriers, 2009). The health aspect must also be considered. By installing a legitimate prostitution network, the risk of catching sexually transmitted infections would be reduced by scanning both the sex workers and the clients (Hall, 2006). There could also be regular STI examinations including PAP-tests and blood samples for all the workers. Finally, there is always the threat that sex workers are violently abused and suffer injuries. These injuries can range from minor ones, such as scrapes and bruises, to death (Dabu, 6). There was a particular case in British Columbia, where a man was accused of killing anywhere between 26 and 50 prostitutes (The Pig Farm Serial Killer Robert Pickton, 2009). Sadly, nobody attempted to stop him since he was merely killing off “whores”. For some reason, the authorities do not seem to care as much about our street-workers as they would businessmen. This is probably because society has a fixation on Karma, so we believe