Legalizing Prostitution

A. THE DEFINITION OF PROSTITUTION

Prostitution is the exchange of sexual favours for money or other material goods, devoid of any emotional involvement.

B. WHAT THE CRIMINAL CODE ENTAILS (Procuring, Soliciting, Communicating)

Under Criminalization all forms of prostitution are criminalized. This approach is motivated by the twin beliefs that prostitution has no intrinsic social value and can be completely eradicated through vigorous and uncompromising enforcement of the criminal law. [4] Canada practises a hybrid form of criminalization in that although prostitution itself is theoretically legal in Canada, practising it is not. The Criminal Code prohibits all forms of public communication for the purpose of prostitution (s. 213 [5] ), and most forms of indoor prostitution as well: owning, running, transporting or occupying bawdy house (ss. 210 [6] and 211 [7] ), procuring or living on the avails of prostitution (s. 212 [8] ).

While the trend in other western countries has been to move away from criminal sanctions for prostitution, Canada has done the reverse, legislating a tougher anti-communication law (s. 213) in 1986. More recently, various government committees and task forces have called for even tougher laws as well as more vigorous enforcement of the current legislation. In 1990 the Standing Committee on Justice recommended yet more strengthening of the laws including fingerprinting and photographing prostitutes [9] and the removal of drivers licenses for those charged with communication for the purpose of prostitution. [10]

C. COMMON CAUSES OF WOMEN ENTERING PROSTITUTION

1. Economic Neccesity

2. Exploitation

3. Big Sister Recruitment

4. Family Background

http://web.viu.ca/crim/Student/Sturdy.htm

http://www.walnet.org/csis/papers/sdavis.html#criminalization

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As we can see from the brief outline above, prostitution is no cut-and-dry issue. It is impossible to argue for the sanctity of one side without heading the cautions of the opposition; unless of course, you're a religious fanatic. However, as carefully as our law-makers have sought to obfuscate the issue, prostitution is essentially illegal.

Prostitution is an ancient art, one that has supported the livelihoods of a great many men and women. From the earliest times when Og the man lusted after Wog his neighbor's wife, to when "nurses" would "socialize" with the soldiers, nature took care of its own. It is one of those careers which has not changed dramatically over the years either; with the exception of legal bounds. It has remained a business transaction, one where sexual favors are exchanged for material goods - most commonly monetary.

However, the onslaught of modernism and the rise of the post-modern feminist movement have brought with it tremendous social stigma against prostitution. Beginning most visibly with Puritanical New England, women in North America were increasingly under pressure to seek “wholesome” roles in society. However, the demand for brothels did not decrease with this push for morals and virtues. What it did lead to, however, was a lot of sexual frustration and in some cases, the release of that frustration in the form of crime. It was not unheard of for the town priest to have visited a brothel the night before, and then burn all of its tenants at the stake. Such was the degree of hypocrisy and allowance of double-standards.

Although this was some 200 years ago, the social structure in regards to prostitution in North America has not changed much at all. Prostitution is considered amoral, and unwholesome for any and all practitioners of it. Components of the morality argument have pushed for a case based on sanctity of marriage. They argue that sex outside of marriage destroys that holy matrimony. Furthermore, prostitution is considered a danger to the public, bringing with it the prospect of crime. A huge part of organized crime revolves around the prostitution and narcotics ring. This in turn brings about the trafficking and exploitation of women and children. Moreover, proponents of harsher criminal measures argue that the prostitution demeans both the women who offer it and the men who take it (assuming heterosexual transaction).

What has changed, is the the application of increasingly stringent laws against prostitution. Ironically enough, current statures do not seem to help mitigate the situation. The increasing criminalization of prostitution has brought about increasing cases of reported rape. According to former American Bar Association Director Linda M. Rio Reichmann, a 149% increase in sexual assault resulted after brothels were closed down in Queensland, Australia during the 1950's. In another case, the positive profit margin gained by organized crime has skyrocketed. Prostitution rings and pimping groups flourish, recycling that profit into more serious criminal activities such as narcotics and racketeering.

To the arguments concerning morality and loss of dignity, I say that liberty of necessity trumps all. A marriage is commonly seen as broken when one spouse becomes romantically involved with another person. However, prostitution is by definition, sexual involvement DEVOID of emotional involvement. Thus, the purchasing of sex would not endanger that a contract of “love” between husband and wife. Prostitution can therefore be seen as an activity which fulfills a necessity for both the buyer and the seller.

For those who buy it, sex is as necessary a component of life as water or food. Some may argue that criminalizing prostitution cuts off the demand and thereby eradicates the supply. What would happen if you cut people off from water or food? For the seller, prostitution is simply a professional attitude. Does she want to demean herself? Probably not. But what choice does she have if she needs to feed a toddler and pay the bills for her aged parents? The government only seeks to criminalize her actions, instead of helping her get rehabilitated. Often, girls enter the sex-trade at a young age, seeking to get a quick buck and get out. But due to the criminalization of prostitution and subsequent social stigma, she may be forced to continue working there for a prolonged amount of time.

In concluding, I see no reason for the continued criminalization of the world's “oldest profession.” Morality and virtue are important to society, but lie outside the jurisdiction of the law. Our laws are made to better keep our democracy and our liberty, not to govern out individual tenants concerning morality and virtue. Legalization of prostitution truly maximizes our charter rights to life, liberty, and security of person. Legalization provides hope to the mitigation of organized crime, the protection of many girls from prostitution rings, and the allocation of safe channels of access for men and women.