Should Prostitution be Legalized in New York - Research Paper Example

 Should Prostitution be Legalized in New York? Prostitution involves the sale of sexual services to another for money; all over the world, women are forced to impose such a tortious path unto their lives for lack of education or monetary means. Prostitution has been regarded as one of the easiest ways for women to make money and nowadays, there are even people that set up brothels and invite women to come and impart their services to others. This entire service has an array of advantages and disadvantages on its path because of several reasons which have been further discussed. Those who manage brothels are known as ‘pimps’ and this entire process is banned almost all over the world except for a few cities and countries that have legalized it. Should prostitution be legalized in New York? This paper helps to discuss the pros and cons with respect to this topic and the merits and demerits that the same will bring upon legalization. New York City is one of the most vibrant, if not the most vibrant and lively, city in the world. This city has been known since times immemorial to never sleep; people slog during the day time and party all night long, indulging in some of the worst crimes that have been known to be banned by law. For example, the sale, purchase and intake of harmful drugs, indulging in prostitution, committing murders and being a part of other petty crimes. The police are almost always on a watch because of the high rate of crimes that take place; the jails are almost always full of offenders. Prostitution is again one such activity that is rampant in New York because every single day thousands of people, both rich johns as well as poverty stricken helpless men, try to satisfy their sexual needs through a variety of escorts and prostitutes. Since the 18th century, prostitution has been alive in New York because of officials not being able to regulate the large numbers in which they take place. At the time, around 75% of men in New York were diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases because of the same. Even today, this is one of the main harmful effects of prostitution. In the 20th century, city officials even eliminated licenses of a number of massage parlours in New York because most of them were brothels from the inside. Nevada is the only state to have seventeen counties have prostitution legalized with Mustang Ranch being the largest legalized brothel in the state. The brothel adds to a huge part of the state’s revenue as well, more than all the other brothels combined. It must be understood that at the end of the day, there are helpless women who have absolutely nothing and thus in order to earn some money they begin to grant sexual favours to other people. In states like Nevada this has been recognised and the law states that as long as these women are screened from time to time, prostitution will not prove to be a problem. This is because laws can be regulated regarding the use of condoms, treatment of women etc which can help to curb down the issue and take it from being a mere taboo to a profession altogether. In New York, the revenue gathered by the government would be at least five fold of what it is in Nevada; this is primarily because of the kind of people that live in the city, the kind of tourism and migration that it faces on a daily basis, as well as the night life that it possesses. If New York were to have prostitution legalized, then the headlines would not scream murders in by alleys every single day. The government would recognise the activity as a profession women indulge in order to earn their daily bread. Furthermore, the city would be able to collect a tremendous amount of attraction all over the world because of the laws that it would set up with respect to prostitution, which would also serve as a precedent for other developed countries and cities around the world. The rate of sexually transmitted diseases and spread of HIV would be much lesser if prostitution were to be legalized and regulated. The use of condoms would be much more popular and the population growth rate could also be regulated. “Legalizing prostitution will make the whole business safer for johns, hookers and the citizenry. It will eliminate violent, extortionist pimps, create cleaner, safer work environments, and impose mandatory condom laws and STD screening of registered prostitutes by the Department of Health. In Nevada, where prostitution is legal in nine of its 17 counties, there hasn't been a reported case of HIV amongst registered prostitutes since mandatory screening began in 1982.” (Hamill Denis) In big cities around the world, especially places like New York, it should be understood that this practice will never come to a standstill. Thus, even though the main demerits of legalizing prostitution would be giving the government a bad name by openly admitting to giving into this so called ‘sin’ it would be better to do so than to indulge in the same behind closed doors. It is evident that the biggest of industrialists, businessmen etc indulge in paying for sexual favours from world class escorts and madams; they are their biggest clients and pay them in handsome amounts as well just to be able to satisfy their sexual needs. Thus, if this were to be legalized then the government would be able to regulate the practice, know where each woman is, how she is being treated, and even punish those who commit crimes with respect to prostitution. (Armentano, Paul) At the same time, it must be noted that legalizing prostitution would be a gift to pimps and sex offenders, not to forget a boon to those that indulge in large rates of human trafficking. Furthermore, decriminalizing prostitution will not help to stop the spread of harmful diseases or control the sex industry, but in fact expand it, leading to a number of more problems. People will begin to take advantage of the fact that it is legalized, which will lead to an increase in violent behaviour towards women and children alike. There must be proper regulation on the basis of which prostitution has been legalized within the country in order to not let it go out of bounds and into the wrong hands. Making it in accordance with the law would only motivate more men to buy sexual favours, rather than respecting a woman’s feelings and being with her. Finally, it will only lead to more and more women becoming prey to the industry for want of quick money; this will lead to worsened health situations for women, as well as a loss of adjectives in the world altogether, which involve feelings of love and affection from one man towards another, because it will become so easy for men to simply get the sexual favours they need and not return anything to anyone else. (Raymond, Janice) Since this practice is not going to end anytime soon, looking at the numbers with which people indulge in the same on a daily basis, it is but fruitful for the government to legalize the same rather than to pretend that it does not take place, because legalizing prostitution will also help to bring an end to problems like human trafficking, sex slaves, controlling the spread of life threatening diseases like AIDS, as well as reduce crimes and provide higher taxes - all of which would ultimately help a state and country to flourish rather than to bring doom upon itself. Works Cited Hamill, Denis. "Prostitution Should Be Legal in New York." NY Daily News. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. . Raymond, Janice. "Prostitution Research & Education Website." Prostitution Research & Education Website. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Armentano, Paul. "The Case for Legalized Prostitution." Welcome to The Future of Freedom Foundation. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Read More