Legalizing Prostitution - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Today, most countries consider prostitution as illegal, unacceptable, and subject to sanctions. However, these conditions have not killed this practice, as it continues invisibly from the law. Due to this case, authorities cannot address the problems that emanate from prostitution, since they cannot be reported as well. This therefore, puts the whole society at risk. Nonetheless, it is wise for countries to legalize prostitution so that it is practised in an organized manner that will ensure the safety of the prostitutes, their clients, and the society as a whole. According to Floyd, there are differences in the way prostitution was practised in the past, and how it is practised today. These changes are in the form of society’s perception of the practice, and the changes in prostitution itself over the years. Ancient Samaria, which is the present Iraq, holds the record of the earliest prostitution in 2400 B.C.E. This was in the form of temple maidens pleasing the gods and ensuring land fertility through soliciting for temple donations in return for sexual favors. However, in later years, the Greek started practicing prostitution as business. This practice later spread to other areas, including Rome, China, among others. Today, prostitution is practised in almost all world countries in different ways. Weitzer notes that legalizing prostitution means that prostitution is tolerated provided it adheres to the set standards and regulations to ensure control. Legalization therefore, is part of regulation and aims at controlling all activities related to prostitution. When prostitution is legalized, it may involve conditions such as compulsory medical tests, registration of prostitutes, location, or zoning conditions, and registration and licensing of brothels, as well as escort agencies (“Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Legal Business.” 49). All these conditions and new prostitution laws will have to be enforced by the police. In legalized prostitution therefore, any prostitute found operating outside the laid down set of rules is considered a criminal, as they will be guilty of engaging in unlawful prostitution (Dressler 102). Today, in most countries, including the USA, where prostitution is illegal, the government, through the legal system, penalizes prostitutes and their clients for actions they are involved in as consenting adults. In this situation, government finances are spent on efforts aimed at arresting prostitutes and their clients, and enforcing laws regarding prostitution. According to Weitzer, when prostitutes and their clients are arrested, the government incurs costs in the series of their prosecution process (“Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Legal Business.” 48). However, the resultant issue is that the police force and courtrooms are burdened with numerous prostitution cases they have to address, and finally, have very little or no impact at all on the case of prostitution in the country. The prostitutes and their clients are always set free after paying their fines, and so they go back to the streets to continue with their business of prostitution. Therefore, the approach of catch and release employed by the legal system to curb prostitution has never worked nor has it registered any alleviation in the prostitution level in the country (Lehman & Shirelle 88). According to Weitzer, the rate of prostitution has sharply increased in the present years. This increase is attributed to the role the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More