By Matthew Alexander
We see them every night in tight, skimpy outfits hollering for gentlemen or even female callers. We see them being portrayed as bad, sinful and dirty but they are people nonetheless. They’re mothers providing for their children or just people trying to make a living the only way they know how. But what we don’t know is how they are being raped, abused and shunned.
Sex work by all means is not always a glamorous lifestyle. It is filled with the uncertainty of whether or not the next customer will take your life, refuse payment or beat you. Society still largely abhors the idea but it’s very different when poverty is all you know, basic survival needs are not met and people are forced to steal just to make a living.
So why shouldn’t we legalise and control the sex work industry?
Money Can Buy You Love
Or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof.
PICTURE: The Meister
Why does society prohibit people from doing what they need to do to survive, regardless of how ‘perverse’ we may think it is? It’s our right to do whatever we want with our bodies. There are clear ways to protect our women and men, but a simplistic state of mind stands in the way of a legislation that could save lives. If it’s an issue of morality and the transaction of such a practice, we might as well correlate domestic work with legalised slavery for a minimum wage that won’t even sustain a family.
Believe it or not, we as youth are affected by this issue more than what you might think. Think of students that resort to prostitution to be able to pay for their tuition. At this point, you might say that drug dealer students sell drugs to make money too, but they’re selling harmful substances that could destroy lives… and that ain’t cool.
If brothels and prostitution were legalised, sex workers could be offered a place to reside under a real roof. Government could make it compulsory for brothels to provide adequate childcare facilities away from the premises. They could make brothels offer job training in various fields, proper healthcare and regular testing of STDs of all their workers. There might also be counselling and various other forms of psychological help. They could have rehab centres for all their workers who are addicted to various substances. Apart from self-defence training for their workers, brothels could also ensure protection in the form of on-site well-trained security guards.
By legalising brothels, we can effectively create a safe environment for sex workers. We can stop the abuse and rape of most sex workers and provide them with healthcare, stable incomes and (most importantly) peace of mind by screening all clients for security reasons and removing the threat of prosecution. We’d be protecting the women or men from any people trying to take advantage of them. It’s a way of providing a safe, clean and honest environment for sex workers to practice their trade.
If government officials took the time to interview sex workers, they would be appalled by the traumatic conditions and circumstances these people endure. But since society has ‘cast out’ prostitutes because they might not live up to the values of the its ‘ideals’, the legalisation of brothels and prostitution is seldom even considered.
PICTURE: nbcbayarea.com
These provisions would provide peace of mind and body. They might also eventually equip the workers with the necessary skills and tools to leave the sex trade behind. It is all achievable and affordable for the government if they placed a ‘sin tax’ on the brothels, which would increase the state’s income and finance all of the above-mentioned services. The Daily Planet brothel in Melbourne, Australia has an annual turnover of between 6-9 million dollars and the company receives 3 million dollars whilst the rest of the money goes to their workers.
Do we care so little for our own that we cannot even accept prostitution as a legal trade in our country? Almost every corner has someone selling themselves just to get by or out of fear of someone who has a hold over them. Prostitution is ugly because we make it so. Some of the women and men that sell themselves are caring mothers or fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters… yet we treat them as lepers. They are people affected badly by poverty and unfortunate circumstances in their life.
The legalisation of prostitution and brothels would ultimately benefit both the government and all sex workers, but society’s views on the matter are stopping people who need help from getting it. Prostitution is a dangerous and unpredictable profession within our violent society, one that can lead to death if not monitored and controlled properly. It is also a profession that can lead to greater revenue for the state while providing protection and economical shelter for those who need it.
If done right, the lives of so many women, children and men may be spared. So why don’t we give a s#*t?
PICTURE: seastarprositution