Each year in the United States, between 70,000 and 80,000 people are arrested for prostitution, costing taxpayers more than $200 million annually. 204 out of 100,000 people involved in sex work are murdered. In San Francisco, 82% of prostitutes have been assaulted and 68% have been raped while working as prostitutes. In an effort to decriminalize and regulate prostitution, the United States would safeguard the human rights of sex workers, protect the health of everyone involved, and stop using taxpayer dollars to harm more than help affected parties . 67 countries around the world have legalized or limitedly legalized prostitution in their country and appear to benefit from it since legalization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In the United States, prostitution was sporadically controlled until the federal Mann Act of 1910. The Mann Act, also known as the White Slave Traffic Act of 1910, states that engaging in the interstate or foreign commercial transportation of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose" is a crime. Although the law was put in place to stop sex trafficking and prosecute men who have sex with minors, the term "immoral purpose" came to light in the Supreme Court's ruling in Caminetti v. United States (1917), which declared “unlawful”. fornication”, even consensual, constituted an “immoral design”. Therefore, authorizing the Mann Act to authorize the imprisonment of prostitutes throughout the United States. In 1918, the Chamberlain-Kahn Act was put in place, authorizing the United States government to arrest any woman within a five-mile radius of military bases and quarantine her if she was suspected of having an illness. venereal. If it is proven that she has an STD, after a mandatory medical examination, this would warrant proof of prostitution and would therefore be followed by a prison sentence. Basically, if a woman was arrested while walking 5 miles on a military base with an STD, she would be charged with prostitution, whether she was involved or not. On January 25, 1917, in San Francisco, an anti-prostitution rally organized by Reverend Paul Smith brought together more than 20,000 participants denouncing prostitution. 300 prostitutes were present, claiming they had been forced into prostitution due to poverty and circumstances, but had been ignored. More than 200 brothels were closed the following week. In 1971, Mustang Ranch Nevada's first licensed brothel successfully opened and led 17 counties to legalize prostitution, which ultimately led to the legalization of prostitution statewide. Mustang Ranch's profits nearly doubled all other brothels in the state of Nevada combined. From 1980 to 2009, prostitution was decriminalized in Rhode Island as long as it was done consensually indoors. In 2009, Rhode Island passed a bill making prostitution a misdemeanor. Finally, on April 11, 2018, the United States Congress passed the “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” which imposes several penalties on websites and online platforms that facilitate illicit sex work. Deliberately endangers sex workers and has proven ineffective in catching sex traffickers and their victims. More than a hundred years have passed since the implementation of the Mann Act, countless anti-prostitution laws andyears of debate about the morally reprehensible nature of this practice. But this practice still exists and thrives. “Normalizing the act of buying sex also demeans men by assuming they have the right to access women's bodies for sexual gratification. If paying for sex becomes normal, then every young boy will learn that women and girls are commodities that can be bought and sold. (Jimmy Carter) Setting aside moral biases, whether from religion or an idealistic form of feminism, we must, as a society, determine whether prostitution is illegal due to the patriarchal moral beliefs of the turn of the century or if it is illegal because it violates the regulation and ordinance which may cause harm to others. Prostitution has existed for hundreds of years and affects both women and men. The decriminalization of prostitution will not change the mentality of young boys who present women as a commodity, because prostitution has been and always will be a known thing. Their mentality would therefore have already changed. Anyone can have access to a prostitute right now, even if it's illegal. Whether on the street, on the Internet or through a friend, people can gain access to prostitutes. Whether or not the prostitute is STD-free, doing so voluntarily and safely is not guaranteed. The problem lies in the extent to which we reject individuals, particularly women, who engage in sex work. In the case of porn and prostitutes, we deny them while appreciating the work they produce. By legalizing prostitution, the United States is recognizing something that has been happening for years and creating a system that will harm neither the buyer nor the seller. Living in a society built on the foundation of Christian men, we must ask ourselves whether the illegality of prostitution was formulated morally or whether it is based on plausible reasoning without religion or morality being involved. Morality is aimed at churches, employers, family members, and peers. This is not a question of government and law. Criminal law should not be used here as an instrument of punishment or shame, because sex work is not inherently immoral or humiliating. and imposed. Like drugs, gambling and other crimes against morality, or the alcohol prohibition of years past, the black market thrives on draconian laws that always fail to achieve their objective...”. Whether or not we agree that paying for sex is moral or not, a government's duty is to protect its people and prosecute those who harm others. We are wasting resources on two consensual adults having sex in exchange for money. If your argument against this is "how do we know the prostitute is consenting?" » then my answer is no. We don't know if he is consenting if it is not regulated. The criminalization of prostitution does not help men/women escape from prostitution and legalization does not lock them into it. However, the regulations will protect them whatever their choice. “Some argue that legalizing or decriminalizing sex work helps curb the HIV epidemic because it allows governments to monitor and regulate the sex trade. In doing so, they can ensure that sex workers are empowered to negotiate condom use, improve their access to public services and protect them from violence and abuse…”. In the state of Nevada, where licensed brothels and legalized prostitution exist, there are laws and regulations that they must follow. These lawsinclude: Brothels are not allowed to be located in counties with a population of less than 400,000. Prostitutes must be at least 18 years old and must be employed voluntarily. Prostitutes must be tested for HIV and STDs every week. Prostitutes must have a sex worker registration card. Prostitutes must use condoms. Brothels cannot be located within 400 meters of a school or place of worship. Brothels cannot be located on a main street. Brothels cannot advertise in a public theater, in a public square. street or highway, or in any county, city or town where prostitution is prohibited. People legally employed in America enjoy rights such as a minimum wage, freedom from discrimination, and a safe working environment. Since prostitutes do not work legally, they do not get any of these rights. An analysis of data from 27 European countries found that in countries that have legalized some aspects of sex work, HIV prevalence is significantly lower among sex workers compared to countries where all aspects sex work are criminalized. Dr. Joseph Iser, chief medical officer, addressed the Southern District Board of Health, saying Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, has the highest STD rates in Nevada. Indeed, in Clark County, prostitution is neither legalized nor regulated. As a result, illegal prostitutes who may not have the means or obligation to be tested spread venereal diseases. Dr. Iser said, “The fact is that in surrounding counties that have legalized prostitution, STD transmission is decreased because the workers are monitored,” Iser said. “They are tested every week. I believe that legalizing sex work in Clark County would help control our rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and other sexual diseases. Legalized brothels do not have these STD problems because there are mandatory weekly health checks. In addition to reducing the spread of disease, the regulations also require safer working environments for prostitutes. Nevada brothels offer specific protocols to protect workers in terms of organization of transactions, control of technology, visibility of clients, bureaucratic relationships between clients, managers and workers, and cooperation with law enforcement based on simple fact of their legality. . All of these mechanisms aim to eliminate systematic violence and discourage an atmosphere of danger and risk. In 2015, Amnesty International released a policy recommending the decriminalization of prostitution, saying such action would significantly improve the lives of sex workers through destigmatization. Currently, under New York State criminal procedure law, sex workers who have been victims of sexual offenses, including assault and rape, face greater barriers than other victims. Indeed, women say they were told: “What did you expect? by police officers who refused to investigate acts of violence perpetrated against women they knew were prostitutes. The stigma that one should expect violence when engaging in sex work is dehumanizing. Gary Ridgway is an example. Gary Ridgway said he killed prostitutes because he knew he wouldn't be held accountable. In the end, he was right, he confessed to the murders of 48 women, committed over almost twenty years. A major argument to explain why.