Prostitution Laws- Carol Leigh

Amanda Gardner

Prostitution Laws

There are many issues regarding prostitution law in today’s society.  These laws not only reflect our society’s hypocrisy toward sex, male desire, and women in general, but seem to focus on punishing sex workers versus helping them. The ideas behind these laws are being changed in many countries, and the United States should follow. In Canada recently, social justice for sex workers was improved by a court decision that clarified pimping laws. It also outlawed certain sections of law that stopped prostitutes from working in doors, screening clients, or using body guards. In America, we are starting to make small strides, such as through social work which emphasizes an approach that reduces harm and does not work to punish. “Nothing about us without us” is a common saying that represents the importance in respecting sex worker’s feelings, needs and desires while adjusting laws regarding their livelihood.  The author of this article “Labor Laws, Not Criminal Laws, are the Solution to Prostitution” argues that prostitution laws should be more inclusive of modern day ideas toward sex, and less about “punishing” the sex workers versus helping them.  I agree with this argument, due to the fact these laws are criminal, meaning the prostitute can be convicted and potentially end up incarcerated, many larger and more dramatic issues occur.  Rape is a common problem among this line of work, and these laws prevent women from feeling as if they can receive help from police if they are assaulted because of fear of their own arrest.  This is super important in the feminist movement and toward equality in general.  If women are being prosecuted for selling sex, but men aren’t for buying sex, and more importantly raping sex sellers, there’s a larger issue with our legal system than just prostitution law.  By following other countries' lead, we could reach a point of gender equality sooner than later. A feminist may object to the argument that law should be more inclusive, and connect this to the “housewife” idea.  Women should not become housewives no matter what, simply because they are giving up their position as an active member in society.  Being a sex worker is the same idea, they are below men in this sense when they stoop to this level, and if we let up on the laws for this, it will create a larger margin of women doing this.  This objection does not work in my opinion because at the end of the day, if we do not let up on this type of law, men will still come out ahead through the ability to rape, assault, and belittle sex workers with no repercussions simply in result to the way the law works and the way it leads to women’s fear.  The author would then come back and respond by stating that sex workers are valuable members of our communities and contribute a lot, have families and lives, in which they need to attend to.  They should be not punished, but protected because this is the ethically right move to make for society, no matter what your views on prostitution are,  or what you believe prostitution does to feminism.