For most, the idea that prostitution should be legalised creates many moral arguments. Some people have become irate with the suggestion, many bringing religion into the debate. But this should not be about religion, or morals, or anything along those lines. This is about something more important than those things. It is about safety.
This is my argument.
Prostitution is not a new thing. It has been an issue in society since Jesus’ day. Back then, as it is nowadays, there is a taboo that surrounds it, for obvious reasons. Two thousand years ago the price may not have been in US dollars or Pounds Sterling, instead in livestock, but it was prostituting all the same.
So what does this say about society today? Shouldn’t we ask ourselves why, after two thousand years nothing has changed, apart from the payment? Does this not bring into question the role prostitution plays in society?
Basically, prostitution has been and will continue to permeate society, thrive in it, and women will continue to use their bodies as a means to feed themselves.
Are we all agreed on that? Good. So why not legalise it, if we know it exists already?
By legalising prostitution, the government could provide a safe environment for women and men alike. Those soliciting could be routinely health checked so all parties are kept free from disease. Sanctions could be introduced so that women no longer feel threatened when they are doing their job.
As things stand, thousands of women are taking to the streets with no guaranteed safety, even though the government acknowledges that such activities take place. Ignoring them will not make them go away. Prohibiting them will only heighten the danger these women could be in.
Economically, if the government would recognise it as a real job, taxes could be collected, and this would evidently go back into the community.
The question one must ask themselves is this: do the benefits outweigh the deficits?
Putting all your moral and ethical views aside, look at it from a different perspective. If women are going to do it regardless, and continue to put themselves in danger, wouldn’t it be better to legalise it than to allow it to fly under the radar, and hope and pray that it will one day stop?
Let’s face it, if Jesus couldn’t stop it, what chance do us mere mortals have?