Poll about Legalized Prostitution

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Um, if sex trafficking doesn't exist in Western countries, then why were the Chinese couple who owned the house opposite to my parents' convicted of it? Also why do guys like this get caught: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/2 ... an-orphans
I even have an acquaintance who uses prostitutes here and in Amsterdam and he admits that it happens.

You do get a lot of foreign prostitutes who aren't trafficked and I'm not arguing for prostitution to be illegal.

I don't get what you mean by 'sex negative' feminists, though. You can be against prostitution on principle and not be sex negative because not all sex (believe it or not) is prostitution. You can even be against PIV and not be sex negative. 'Sex negative' is just a smear. I do admit that focusing on the worst abuses of the industry is not an adequate reason to call for prohibition.

Also, how would prostitution being cheaper and more competitive help the women? I fully admit I don't give a monkey's about the johns as consumers because I don't care about anyone who pays for sex (I can't help it) - male, female, gay, straight.

Who ever made mention about it cheaper and more competitive would be betyer for the girlies? It would be better for the punters. Free market and all that. Any arseholery should be stamped on.

Anyway, enough from me. I am in a Canarian open air pub having a very cheap pint of cider.

Also, no response was forthcoming from my PM. I'll take the hint.

It seems to me that we are conflating two separate ideas.

The first is the freedom for any person (and most, but not all are women) to do with their bodies what they choose. I see no objection to the principal that a woman can make the choice to exploit her own sexuality for money, and to earn her living doing so. And frankly, what could be more feminist than that?

But prostitution is not simply people controlling their own bodies and living off the avails of their own prostitution. Prostitution has been been largely exploited by others--madams and pimps, organized crime gangs and human traffickers. This is the ugly reality of street prostitution in the contemporary world which cannot be countenanced.

So, does the legalization of the former, serve to mitigate the poisonous influence of the latter? I would like to believe that it does. I want to believe that groups of clean, sober, careful sex workers will gather together in cooperative business models and open clean, healthy, tax revenue generating brothels that people will feel free to patronize with their heads held high.

I would also like to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.

At the end of the day, I support sex workers who are challenging laws that put impediments in the way of their business. But I am loathe to see us move piecemeal into a world in which some sex workers have improved their working conditions, while legitimating the exploitation that happens to the poorest and most vulnerable. We must, therefore, put in place mechanisms to allow women who are being exploited by others to extricate themselves from exploitation; suppress the organizations that would perpetuate the trafficking, and leave the sex work to those who willingly embark on it as an affirmative choice.

prostitution is legal here in NZ; here are the laws regarding it and how it affects the ah... "trade" I guess.

no pimps = so no crack addicted whores or beatings.
prostitutes must carry and utilize condoms = safe sex.
prostitutes must carry out a blood test every few months to check for stds and contact clients if something comes up. = safe sex.
prostitutes can not be on the street and must work in brothels or other establishments. = no skimpy outfit whores on street.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWHKBN-wBSA[/youtube]

I just watched, and recommend, a movie relevant to this discussion: Whore's Glory

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1327628/

It follows the activities of ejaculatory specialists and their clients in Bangkok, Bangladesh and Mexico. A triptych, as they say.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhgpTrgLYt4[/youtube]

It made me nostalgic for Thailand, where no big deal is made out of the profession.

Sex workers are in the service industry.
They perform an indispensable service.
So why is this industry illegal?

Prostitution has been legal in New Zealand for ten years now, and there aren't any problems with the situation.

The prostitution industry didn't get any bigger after it was legalised, it just got safer.