Aspects Of Commercial Sex Services And A Perception Of Them In Society (Essay Sample)

COMMERCIAL SEX SERVICES Student’s Name Course Professor’s name University City Date Introduction Prostitution has for long been viewed as unacceptable behavior. Women, as well as a majority of the male population, have been ridiculed, perceived with disgust, prosecuted and atrociously pilloried by the general public, family, neighbours, law enforcement officers as well as court personnel (Long, 2012, p. 24). In light of this extreme disapproval of prostitution, the mere notion of legalisation has been met with irreverent laughter and disparagement. Ironically, it is estimated that one-fifth of the adult American population has at a certain point in their lives paid for sex. Additionally, countless men have visited strip clubs, gone through pornographic websites as well as other materials that are X-rated. In as much as the taboo against commercial sex remains important in the society, there is abundant information that suggests that these attitudes are malleable and the negative effects of its prohibition can be reduced when the people consider the various arguments that have pushed for the legalisation of these social “vice.” This paper intends to evaluate whether or not commercial sex should be legalised for women who have reached the age of concession. The adoption of the charter of rights and freedoms in 1982, sparked numerous debates regarding the legitimacy of prostitution and its related acts (Abrol, 2014). Since then there have been several scholarly arguments both supporting and condemning the acts of prostitution moreover these arguments have been further extended to safety and equality. One argument that has been put forward with regards to the legalisation of prostitution is the risk that it puts women as well as the clients who pay these services. Studies conducted in Canada indicated that the criminalisation of the transactional sex put the lives of both parties involved at risk as they were exposed to diseases, as well as the risk of robbery and even murder. For this reasons, various motions have been pushed not only to decriminalise prostitution but as well make prostitution legal. The two terms decriminalisation and legalisation have often been used interchangeably but in the wrong context. In this context, our arguments will be solely based on the legalization of commercial sex which involves allowing those who are within the acceptable age and are willing to engage in the venture to do so while at the same time coming up with provisions that protect the individuals, as well as coming up with regulations for the venture. Nations that have legalised prostitution such as Netherlands have highly esteemed the move as it has made it very successful. By design, the Dutch commercial sex laws were drafted with the objective of combating criminality, maintaining public order and restricting illegal immigration (Abrol, 2014). To accomplish this, the government comes up with policies that issued licenses to control the venture. The permits forced the business people in the commercial sex venture to provide healthy and safe conditions for the sex-workers to conduct their activities. According to the Dutch government, the legalization of the commercial sexual business in the country has eliminated illegal unlicensed business that promoted child sex as well as human trafficking, additionally the legalization has promoted healthy physical working environment for the sex workers whereas the workers and the clients both take safety precautions such as wearing condoms before any encounter moreover, these workers received full health and medical support from the government, therefore, reducing incidents of transmission of HIV/AIDS as well as other sexually transmitted diseases. Feminists too agree that the legalisation of prostitution will benefit women as well as their clientele who are mainly men (Raychawdhuri, 2015). The stigma that is associated with prostitution has put women at risk of police brutality, rape, sexual assault as well as risks that are related to the contraction of diseases and STDs. This is coupled up with the fact that these women cannot report these crimes committed against them anywhere as the act of prostitution itself can land them in jail. The stigma that is associated with prostitution goes further to perpetuate harmful social constructions about the female sexuality; this has led women being labelled sluts and whore as well as other titles that suggest sexual deviances. Moreover, I don’t see prostitution ending anytime soon it is therefore prudent that regardless of its legality, it important to make it healthier for all the parties involved. The legalisation of prostitution will have a far-reaching ripple effect in combating the sex trafficking industry as well as ensuring that the people engaging in the sexual activities are not coerced but are doing it out of their consent and will. In addition to these benefits, the legalization of prostitution could promote the reduction of prevalence of HIV/AIDs among women and girls who statistics indicate the highest number of annual infections, moreover the legality of the prostitution will see the commercial sex workers seek help whenever they are abused by the authorities (Abrol, 2014; Raychawdhuri, 2015).That In the long run, the legalization of prostitution will lessen the stigma that prostitutes face as well as raising the status of women by promoting the notion that the commercial workers do not sell their bodies, however, they sell a service, this manner women will be open about their sexuality without being criticized and the society will understand that women having commercial sex is not similar to women giving up their body and humanity. However, the practice of prostitution has greatly impacted the marriage prospects of women (Edlund & Korn, 2002). As we are all aware, humans enjoy mating but at the same time marriage is an important social-cultural aspect of humans. This theory rests on the notion that men prefer their wives to be faithful a fact that is pushed by the desire of raising their biological children. This has therefore resulted in a great incompatibility between prostitution and marriage. Statistically, the population of the world’s unmarried women is over-represented among prostitutes (Edlund & Korn, 2002). In as much as the commercial sex workers marry, the terms of their marriages are less favourable. Moreover, most societies treat marriages as holy entities and therefore having extra-marital sexual encounters can lead to prosecution. However, according to John Ince, the founder, and leader of the sex party, it is wrong to link prostitution with failures in marriages. Often it is claimed that men who patronise prostitution will have little or no interest at all in long-term relationships that could translate to happy marriages. John argues that prostitution should not be blamed for failed marriages as it only offers casual se...