Should prostitution be legalised?

Why do the Welsh always rise to bait, ab?

After a long break for family reasons just caught up with this site again. Forgive me if someone has already raised this but, having read a fair number of the comments, I haven't seen one yet that talks about the other group affected by prostitution legal or otherwise. In that group are the spouses, partners, girl/boyfriends of the users of the service who are usually unaware that their other half is using these services. They too have a right to be protected from disease and betrayal. I doubt that many users come home and inform their partners that they have visited a prostitute and had, perhaps, unprotected sex, thus giving them the chance to protect their own bodies. In my view if you think it is ok to visit prostitutes it should be ok to have an open and frank discussion about it and its dangers with your nearest and dearest.

You shouldn't believe that very, very old joke about sheep Grumppa

Having always lived in a big city, I had no idea that the male inhabitants of market towns and their surrounding villages did not have the same needs as other men. I suppose it's the availability of livestock....

Perhaps obieone , but I suggest not a market town with a promenade and definitely not if the promenade has a band stand , takes time to read the names written there and not good if a churned boyfriend writes the name of an ex there , causes problems

Anniebach, you have just come up with the solution to the end of the sex trade!
Make everyone live in small towns!

Craft or farmers market pompa

It could make an interesting market stall

I doubt there would be a request for brothels in market towns , anyone who lives in one will know even an affair is impossible to remain a secret

Grumppa

You put it more eloquently than I did in my 3rd paragraph.

Iam64. Agree, we would love a world where such things did not exist. But life being what it is, they always will and we have to manage the situation as best we can, so that it has as little impact as possible.

I find this a real challenge. I accept prostitution has always and will always be with us. I would like to live in a world where that wasn't so. Where we all had proper relationships in which we loved and cared for each other, rather than exploited, abused and hurt each other.

But apparently Amsterdam still has unregulated prostitution, so regulation is only a partial solution. And a defined red light district is feasible in a large town or city, but how about sex workers in a small market town; would they be confined to an industrial estate?

I am wholly in favour of legalisation as far as it is necessary, but there are practicalities to be overcome.

Men are the main users of the service, and I suspect would continue to be, whatever the regulation.

Depends what you mean by worked.

Of course it is never going to be stamped out, but it is a bit like health and safety. Can we tell how many accidents have been prevented by tighter health and safety rules?
With prostitution it is an even harder thing to quantify.

If the whole industry is better regulated, I suspect that a whole lot more men will try their services.

I have to disagree, whomever takes up the profession is better regulated and safe, than at the hands of criminals, pimps, slavers etc.

Being illegal is only an advantage if we had the resources to adequately police it, which we will never have.

But NOT legalising it hasn't worked either has it?

Hundreds if not thousands of years of the non legalised sex trade has not stamped it out or even dented it a bit.

There is a demand whether we like or agree with it .

So surely it's better to be legal and safer and regulated than ad hoc as it is now?

But it is about us and our nearest and dearest. The people that do and going to do this are someones' sons and daughters.
Legalising things will entice them more. New people join all the time.

The good thing about the Amsterdam model apart from the advantages outlined by TinaF1 is that it is confined to a specific area. You would only go there if you intended to, it does not overflow into residential areas.

Even squeaky clean cities like Singapore have recognised red light districts, in fact the Singapore district is all red lights !.

I also agree that this discussion is not about us or our nearest & dearest following the profession, but about those that do for whatever reason, and their protection.

I went to Amsterdam while ago now and while there did a walking tour of the Red Light District the guide explained how all the girls were registered,paid tax,had regular health checks advise centres etc they even had there own crèche facilities and parish church in the district, it seems that there always have and always will be working girls but to me this is a better and safer way to manage the situation. Also the guide told us that there was an area just by Amsterdam station where unregistered girls worked and it was ther they had a really big drug problem and girls being attacked

I agree with POGS and subsequent posts from Ana and N&G

It will never go away, and if it were to be legalised perhaps those who would not choose to do it but are forced into it would be saved from a life not of their choosing.

I agree Ana .

You're right I wouldn't recommend it as a career choice to anyone but whether we approve, disapprove, legalise it or not it will not stop because of the simple laws of supply and demand .

It's one of the oldest 'professions' in the world .

What I would like to see is that the women and men who are involved are safe, kept as healthy as possible and do it as a personal choice not because they are coerced or working for someone else.

I think it's the best that can be done.

I don't see that it's relevant to the thread whether we 'approve' of prostitution or not as a lifestyle choice. When I think about it, there are some other jobs that I wouldn't want my daughter or granddaughter to do but unless they asked for my advice I'd have to accept the situation.

The main thing is that they should be able to feel safe.

Would you want your daughter or granddaughter to do it? Bet the answer is a resounding no.

Totally agree with you POGS.