Prostitution is the act of participation in sexual intercourse for money, practiced by individuals, usually, women, called prostitutes. The prostitution industry, although has been around since ancient times, has grown significantly in recent decades. Consequently, some countries have gone as far as legalizing the practice. Individuals involved in this role undertake this job of prostitution for different reasons and there exist different types of prostitutes too.
Research shows that there are six general categories in which prostitutes can be divided considering the nature of their job (Fuchs, 2013). An independent call girl is self-employed as she does not work for any agency. She indulges in sexual activity with the client at private places or hotels. Brothel workers work at a specific location dedicated to prostitution. Unlike call girls, these workers are employed by the brothel owners and hence, she is paid only a part of what she earns. Escort agency employees are paid by the agency too but they are not confined to a brothel. Window workers in Netherland attract clients and keep a separate room for clients, unlike brothels. Some prostitutes reach a consensus with clients at casinos and make themselves available for intercourse later. The client is responsible for the prostitute’s expenses during the time of stay. Finally, the streetwalkers who indulge in sex in the streets rather than indoors. They are paid the least and are most susceptible to crimes (Fuchs, 2013).
Prostitutes around the world are facing issues including, but not limited to, verbal and physical abuse, human trafficking, medical complications, and murders. Alaska Native/American Indian women in Minnesota were studied to determine the social and physical abuse by those women. Although they constitute only 1% of the total population of the state but 20% of the total AI/AN youth and 11% of the adults are homeless. A significant number of women of AN origin have undergone forced prostitution (Farley, 2016). Most prostitutes have conceded that the activity has caused severe and consistent muscle pain to them. A headache, post-traumatic disorder, dizziness, stomach and neck pain, and memory loss are very common among them. A substantial number of prostitutes working at the brothels have complained of slavery and were convinced that prostitution should not be considered a long-term job (Vicente, 2016). Over 40% of women at brothels were subject to intercourse with more than 500 men each.
45% of prostitutes in Minnesota were trafficked. One-fourth of this number was unaware of what they would be going through. The women alleged that they were trafficked by means of trickery and were facing intense violence. Some have been associated with the job to run away from domestic or family disputes. A staggering 92% of prostitutes were raped at least once during prostitution. Besides other medical complications, some of the prostitutes developed AIDS and hepatitis too (Farley, 2016). The majority of the women associated with this job took drugs, particularly cocaine or alcohol, to prevent realizing emotions or pains during the activity. In prostitution, racial discrimination is common which leads to verbal abuse. The women described the abuse as worse than physical abuse (Vicente, 2016).
The advocates of legalizing prostitution argue that the legislation would reduce physical and verbal abuse substantially. They claim that the women who do not share the abusive experiences to avoid detention would be empowered by the decision. Furthermore, they maintain that mainstreaming prostitution would help build the standards for the industry which would keep the health of women above dangerous levels (Weitzer, 2015). The opposition argues that this legalization would prompt more violence since the areas like Minnesota do not have surveillance for trafficking and hence, slavery would persist (Farley, 2016).
Legalizing prostitution should be avoided since most of the people would get a platform to satisfy their sexual urges and hence, marriages would be discontinued over time which would reduce the taxes substantially. It would increase the violence to alarming levels.
Works Cited
Fuchs, Erin. “The 6 Types Of Prostitutes And Where They Work”. Businessinsider.Com, 2013, http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-6-types-of-prostitutes-and-where-they-work-2013-11. Accessed 22 Apr 2018
Weitzer, Ronald. “Researching prostitution and sex trafficking comparatively.” Sexuality research and social policy 12.2 (2015): 81-91.
Farley, Melissa, et al. “The prostitution and trafficking of American Indian/Alaska Native women in Minnesota.” American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online) 23.1 (2016): 65.
Vicente, Agustin. “Prostitution and the Ideal State. A Defense of a Policy of Vigilance.” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice19.2 (2016): 475-487.
