To the delight of civil libertarians and libertarians alike, the Canadian courts have been leading the world in dealing with conflicts between privacy principles and morality legislation. I am serving as an expert in the review of Canadian polygamy laws in British Columbia. In the meantime, the Ontario Superior Court may allow three prostitution laws to die this Saturday.
In September, the Court struck down the laws. The federal government is charging that this is nothing short of a “social experiment unprecedented in this country.” However, it is also a frank acknowledgment that consenting adults came engage in sex for money as a consensual choice. Currently, an individual can have sex with any number of partners but can be arrested if they accept anything of value in exchange for sex. They can receive gifts as part of a “relationship” no matter how fleeting but not as payment.
The Court previously noted that criminal laws force prostitutes in the shadows where they are easy prey for abuse and even homicides. Once legal, protections and regulations can apply to the world’s oldest profession. With the demise of the laws, street walking will be legal.
Source: Star
Jonathan Turley
Canadian Eh,
One way is to use tax revenues from legal prostitution to bolster social services that deal with child abuse from education to enforcement to victim treatment and care. I know in your particular job, you’ve mentioned before both shortages in money and manpower – although if I recall, you had/have some “interesting” managerial challenges that also make your job more difficult than it need be too.
And I think you meant “white collar” criminals, didn’t you? It’s an easy mistake to make when your brain is a little foggy. 😉
@ James…..
You’re absolutely right, any answer would always be the wrong answer to someone.
To be very honest, there was a time when I believed that legalizing prostitution was the right answer. It makes a lot of sense for safety reasons ( disease prevention and making police services available to prostitutes for their own personal safety )and economically. Then I started working with a young woman who, as a child, was abused in every way imaginable by her mother and the many boyfriends that her mother brought into their lives. By the age of 13, she began using serious street drugs to numb the pain, humiliation, rejection, and anger that festered inside of her. By the age of 16, she was employed by one of the many ” escort services ” available in Ontario to support her addictions. By the time that I had the opportunity to meet her she had been married twice, to abusive men, had completely recovered from her addictions, and had 3 beautiful children under the age of 5…..by this time she was 24 years old. She was a wonderful mother, had struggled to acheive her HS diploma, and then a college diploma as a nursing assistant. Even with all that she had managed to overcome in her short life, she continued to identify herself as ” worthless ” and was tortured with anxiety and depression. She talked in great deal with me about the ” things ” that she felt forced to do while working with the ” Escort Service “.
So you ask, how do you educate something like this? In situations like this, ( which are the norm among protitutes ) you can’t educate. It becomes a matter of putting more money into childrens’ services and providing safe, nurturing environments for kids who are ” at risk ” of falling victim to this type of lifestye. It means having more social services
( counselling, re-hab, psychiatry, vocational, education etc. )accesible to teen-aged runaways, young men, and single uneducated mum’s so that they are able to gain self respect and a feeling of worth and eventually obtain and maintain gainful employment.
All of these answers require a great deal of money from governments who are far more interested in bailing out blue collar criminals than investing in the futures of damaged people.
So then what is the answer, fill the jails, clog the courts, keep it out on the streets where yes its an ugly business, but one that’s been around since day one, and will get uglier?? Don’t say education is the key as how do you educate this?? It seems no matter what is said and done about it there is a no win situation, ban it you drive it underground deeper and much worse, legalize an you get everyone complaining that that’s not right.
So whats the answer then to the worlds oldest profession…..I ask you in all seriousnes as greater minds over time have tackled this and come up with nought??????
In Wisconsin prostitution is illegal and there is not much of it. The illegal prostitution that there is may involve minors, HIV, and forced prostitution and probably results in various problems but it probably doesn’t involve many people.
In Nevada where prostitution is legal there is a lot more prostitution both legal and illegal than there is in Wisconsin. Therefore there are a lot more problems involving prostitution in Nevada where it is legal than in Wisconsin where it is illegal.
Almost forgot…..Hi AY, as usual I got a little chuckle from your comment.
Thank-you Swarthmore Mom…..it’s nice to be back 🙂
” Look at the liquor industry, its legal, yet we still have drunk drivers, look at the cigarette industry its legal and we still have cancer problems, But I feel less so in alcohol as what it was like in prohibition where where whole sale killings went on on a daily basis. same with the marijauna situation here, yes its a problem but by legalizing it you remove many of the serious problems, not all mind you but many, lesser of 2 evils?? “….Jim C.
” The main reason prostitution is an ugly business is the same reason drugs are an ugly business, when moralists try to criminalize it then criminals run it, and the victims cannot appeal to law enforcement without admitting wrong-doing, and then only the desperate will resort to it. “….Tony C.
Are you both really resorting to a comparason of substances to people ? This is exactly why legalized prostitution is a problem, it gives society permission to look at people as objects for sale to the highest bidder.
One difference is that large segments of the population are using illegal drugs and large numbers of people were using alcohol in prohibition but large numbers of people are not currently involved in prostitution.
It sounds to me like if prostitution were legal then there would be a lot more prostitutes and more brothels and more money spent on prostitution and therefore more crimes and misery associated with prostitution, but I don’t see exactly what the benefits would be since even in Nevada where prostitution has been legal for years there is forced prostitution, child prostitution, HIV and brothels paying off government officials (according to USDOJ). If it were so easy to regulate prostitution, then the situation in Nevada would be better than it is.
Look at the liquor industry, its legal, yet we still have drunk drivers, look at the cigarette industry its legal and we still have cancer problems, But I feel less so in alcohol as what it was like in prohibition where where whole sale killings went on on a daily basis. same with the marijauna situation here, yes its a problem but by legalizing it you remove many of the serious problems, not all mind you but many, lesser of 2 evils??
What exactly are you proposing to accomplish w legalization?
Look at the porn industry where they continue to have HIV problems.
LOL kudos to Buddha is laughing on his da ” pointy headed dude ” and his band of brothers who allow such a heinous sin to continue unabated, it is ” damages control by distraction,” the mans a walking contradiction……………….
I fail to see what all the fuss is about here. The ” oldest profession ” should be legalized, and regulated, turned into a business like any other illicit dealing. The making and selling of alcohol was at one time illegal until it was reigned in and legalized. Yes there are those who to this day in this country who make and sell illegal alcohol and it will always be so, same for smokes and Mary Jane.
The thing about legalizing it is that it would be better controlled and dealt with on a better level. While true I am sure that there would be problems in this, face it what legalized thing does not have problems & issues. By legalizing it you would clear up a vast majority of the issues associated with it, and true it would not be a perfect answer it may go a long way to solving some of the more dangerous issued associated with it.
The naysayers grip and whine about the evils of it, paying for sex with money, but is not the state of marriage much the same way were one pays for that priveledge to have their groceries cooked and continues to pay in many cases long after the idylic bliss and the bloom has worn off??
When I was imprisoned without a criminal charge I shared a cell with a prostitute. She said she had like 20 regulars. They were communicating face to face generally without witnesses.
Incidentally, she was a white woman who said she had a college degree. She told me all about a job she had had as an accountant and how dedicated she had been. She said she became a prostitute to afford crack. She did not have bad teeth. She loved to play cards and was pretty good at it.
Kay,
“not public to any other person”? Color me dense… Could you elaborate on this one? Thanks.
adult on adult
not public to any other person
potential customer indicating their desire to be solicited
What if people who want to hire prostitutes were allowed to advertise in a restricted access forum that they want to hire a prostitute and will pay X amount for Y acts? The customers could make representations as to the steps they would take to ensure the safety of the prostitute — will provide safe location at hotel, will wear condom,
Kay,
But what would those “very limited circumstances” be?
One option would be to make it legal for an adult woman or man to solicit prostitution under very limited circumstances and to criminalize it under any other situation.
Kay,
Yes. I don’t disagree. Women and others are being exploited, as well — these are “issues” for me, as well.
While decriminalizing or legalizing prostitution may pose some significant challenges, is it better to allow it to go on “as is?”
It is not just children who are exploited as can be seen by USDOJ publications.
Tony C. wrote:
“The main reason prostitution is an ugly business is the same reason drugs are an ugly business, when moralists try to criminalize it then criminals run it, and the victims cannot appeal to law enforcement without admitting wrong-doing,…”
—-
I also agree…
Having said this, and following up on Swarthmore mom’s point, “expoitation of children is an issue” for me, as well…
When adult prostitutes are working a bar, there are other people adversely affected. Women who are in the bar looking for a dance partner, a boyfriend or husband, or someone to discuss politics with will likely be offered sex for money and it will be assumed that they are in the bar offering sex for money. So when prostitution invades a bar, it becomes useless or dangerous for straight women. Women walking down the street have a much greater chance of receiving lewd or threatening comments. A woman who has an apartment in the area may be assumed to be a prostitute. Stores selling to children or women may find that their customers avoid them if prostitution moves into the neighborhood.