Amnesty International row: Should prostitution be decriminalised?

[poi]

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The arguments for decriminalisation
Amnesty's leaked proposal says decriminalisation would be "based on the human rights principle that consensual sexual conduct between adults is entitled to protection from state interference" so long as violence or child abuse or other illegal behaviour isn't involved.
Those who favour decriminalisation say it removes the stigma of prostitution and makes it easier for sex workers to go to the police if they need protection from violence.
It's also argued that it empowers prostitutes to strike open deals with their clients about safe sex. There are various groups across the world that support decriminalisation, such as Durbar in India.
Germany is one of the countries which liberalised its prostitution laws, together with New Zealand and the Netherlands.
One of the main reasons the Germans opted for legalisation in 2002 was the hope that it would professionalise the industry, giving prostitutes more access to benefits such as health insurance and pensions - just like in any other job.
Felcitas Schirow, a German brothel owner and sex worker, says the 2002 law has helped give prostitutes self-confidence.
"The owners of brothels could invest money," she says, "and the women could pick a good employer where they felt at home and who met their requirements."



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[Quesadilla]

Good that this is getting some public debate and very good to see Amnesty International taking the side of decriminalisation. 

Pushing anything into the black market will always result in more crime, not less, and I've yet to see any compelling statistics about the case that legalising prostitution directly results in widescale trafficking. Most stats point to sexual trafficking being primarily around child sex trafficking. In the US there are on average some 2,000 cases of human trafficking investigated each year, with around 300 on average having nothing to do with sex at all. Of those remaining it's about 50/50 adult vs child sex trafficking, and more than 50% of that was related to young boys - so the majority is totally unrelated to mainstream prostitution - ie adult women selling sexual services.  And most importantly - this is in the US where prostitution is illegal in most states indicating that criminalising will not eliminate the problem anyway.  Similar stats are seen in parts of asia where prostitution is illegal but trafficking is still widespread.

My view is this will always happen and is nothing to do with regular prostitution. 

If prostitution is regulated carefully - just as the supply of alcohol is regulated - then much of the crime around regular prostitution will dry up.  Of course there is still a black market for booze and you will never completely eliminate some related crime by decriminialising but I think it can only improve.  If you can go to a supermarket and by branded booze why would you go to a back street bootlegger and risk going blind thanks to dodgy alcohol?  Unless you are really hard up you just wouldn't.  The same with prostitution.  And more importantly I see no viable alternative.  Prostitution is the oldest profession for a reason and is not going away no matter what anyone says - better to provide regulation and protection around it rather than force it further into the shadows.

Anti-prostitution lobby groups are far too powerful and well organised in many countries so it's always going to be an uphill struggle.  The problem is - at least in western nations - that there is such a moral stigma around prostitution and a direct threat to conservative family values - so nobody wants to get involved in regulating it. 

[Steely Dan]

A very annoying thing is when the anti lobby mix facts and made-up facts. There is probably more trafficking for farm workers than prossies. And also I hate that the media uses a street walker leaning on a car to illustrate most stories.

I think the current regs in the UK are about right. I can live without legal brothels. I think though that it should be legal for 2 or more girls to work from the same place.

[temudjin]

Quote from another thread which seems appropriate here:

"Yes bugger whoever, change your sex but god forbid you pay for good sex."