Legalize Prostitution?

[Wino]

This is a story that appeared in the Nation a few weeks ago. Do you think it is wise to legalize prostitution?

UDON THANI: -- Udon Thani Industrial Council chairman Prayoon Homewong has called on the government to legalise prostitution.

"We can never get rid of it. So, I think we should pass laws to regulate it," Prayoon said at a meeting with relevant authorities in Udon Thani.

He described "prostitution" as an old profession, which many foreign countries have recognised legally.

Prayoon added that if the flesh trade were stamped out altogether, sex crimes would soar.

"If there were laws to regulate prostitution, sex workers would be eligible for legal protection and benefits, while the government would earn income from the tax," Prayoon said. "And it would be easier to control."

He added that red-light district zoning could be imposed once laws were passed, before urging MPs and ministers to seriously consider his proposal.

Register would stigmatise

Friends of Women Foundation director Thanavadee Thajeen agreed with imposing zoning and providing prostitutes with access to social security in line with other careers, but moves towards a prostitute-regulation system could only come after consultation with relevant groups.

"There are so many karaoke lounges and other night spots with covert prostitution and some are located near temples and schools. Zoning could help solve this problem," Thanavadee said.

"However, I don't agree with the registration system because it could adversely affect sex workers. Registration means a woman is willing to be stigmatised for the rest of her life as a prostitute, which may effect her chance of finding another other job in the future," she said.

Thanavadee urged relevant agencies to organise public forums in each region for prostitutes to discuss their problems with women's rights activists. Then it would become clear whether the prostitutes want regulation or not, she said.

Regardless of whether prostitution was legalised, she said the government should help prostitutes gain access to the social security system. Prostitutes' employers should be forced to register with their Social Security Office as employers, she said.

"Campaigns among men to deter them from buying sex from women should help - if there are no buyers, there won't be sellers," she said.

[MidTMike]

I think they should legalize it. But, I think the USA and every other country should as well. What 2 people do with their body is their own damn business. IMHO.

[lvdkeyes]

Legalize it, yes, regulate it, HELL NO.

[eleothegreat]

mass safe sex education is the key. so what if people choose to have sex/buy sex - it's their business. the huge underlying problem that comes with prostitution are the diseases that come along with unprotected sex.

[Wino]

Legalize it, yes, regulate it, HELL NO.

Government will not legalize prostitution without some sort of regulation and tax. I would be for legalization and regulation of safe sex through required medical check-ups. Some sort of license for the prostitute may satisfy the government's need for revenue.

[Beer Chang]

"There are so many karaoke lounges and other night spots with covert prostitution and some are located schools".

This is just about the perfect location for karoake lounges since they're only open during hours when the schools are closed.

That way the noise won't bother people trying to sleep, other than the night watchman.

Even better land use would be to rent out classrooms to karoake entrepreneurs. Or to barowners that dress their hostesses in school uniforms.

[eleothegreat]

Go legalize it.

A lot of women (I suppose from Thailand as well, or perhaps in Thailand specifically) believe that the existence of prostitution reduces rape incidences by some number.

[Thaimo]

Legalize it, yes, regulate it, HELL NO.

I agree with you. For all intents and purposes it already is legal. Prostitution is against Thai law, but there is little or no enforcement of that law and I see no evidence that there ever was enforcement. There is so much prostitution in Thailand that I doubt the police have the manpower to even try to enforce it or enforce regulating it if it becomes legalized.

[lvdkeyes]

Go legalize it.

A lot of women (I suppose from Thailand as well, or perhaps in Thailand specifically) believe that the existence of prostitution reduces rape incidences by some number.

I don't have statistics to back this up, but I doubt prostitution has little bearing on instances of rape. Rape is not a sex crime, it is a crime of violence.

[eleothegreat]

Ooookay..LOL. I just read this somewhere, and it just stated that "some women believe so". Which I presume does not have to be proven statistically because that's waht they think - not necessarily the facts. But thanks for the info, though!

Shall we leave them to their own beliefs?

[Wino]

Go legalize it.

A lot of women (I suppose from Thailand as well, or perhaps in Thailand specifically) believe that the existence of prostitution reduces rape incidences by some number.

In Roman times and in the early days of the Christian church, prostitution was condoned. Not sure if it was to reduce rape but maybe just to release man's pent-up energy???

[WannaGo]

The whole world should take a lesson from two events in American history: Prohibition and the "War on Drugs." That lesson? The more you try to control human vices, the faster and wider you spread them. It's like throwing water on a grease fire. Also, the the further you force people involved in these vices toward the fringes of society, the more corrupt and violent the situation is going to become.

I don't know if prostitution actually is the world's oldest profession, but it certainly has been part of human history for thousands of years. Supposedly, the legal Code of Hammurabi from the 18th century B.C. contained references to the inheritance rights of prostitutes. I'd be willing to bet that, as a practice, it is nearly as old as the human race. Do the morality police really believe they can stamp out something that is part of human nature?

Prostitution can operate as a safe and profitable enterprise for all involved, under the right circumstances. I remember visiting the Altstadt (Old City) of Nuernberg, Germany when I was a young soldier stationed over there. Prostitution was legal and tightly controlled. The prostitutes had physical protection and regular medical check-ups (although I understand this is no longer a requirement). Because this was conducted in clean, legal brothels and not in sleazy alleys and backstreets, there usually were no worries about getting hurt or robbed for either the sex workers or the customers. The prostitutes even paid taxes.

Prostitution is just like marijuana...common sense says we all would benefit from legalizing and regulating it.

I do feel strongly that it should be regulated to ensure that prostitutes are not being forced to work against their will. We've all heard about the trafficking of women from Eastern Europe and parts of Asia for the purposes of prostitution. No woman should ever have to endure that, and governments must take action to stop the practice. One way to do that is to bring prostitution out of the dark corners, so that regulators can offer protection to all sex workers.

The non-profit ProCon.org has an excellent page here that gives information about the prostitution policies of 92 countries around the world, including Thailand. A quote from a 2003 newspaper article cited on the page:

"The industry is estimated to account for an estimated 3 percent of Thailand's economy, or about US$4.3 billion a year."

[Wino]

The whole world should take a lesson from two events in American history: Prohibition and the "War on Drugs." That lesson? The more you try to control human vices, the faster and wider you spread them. It's like throwing water on a grease fire. Also, the the further you force people involved in these vices toward the fringes of society, the more corrupt and violent the situation is going to become.

I don't know if prostitution actually is the world's oldest profession, but it certainly has been part of human history for thousands of years. Supposedly, the legal Code of Hammurabi from the 18th century B.C. contained references to the inheritance rights of prostitutes. I'd be willing to bet that, as a practice, it is nearly as old as the human race. Do the morality police really believe they can stamp out something that is part of human nature?

Prostitution can operate as a safe and profitable enterprise for all involved, under the right circumstances. I remember visiting the Altstadt (Old City) of Nuernberg, Germany when I was a young soldier stationed over there. Prostitution was legal and tightly controlled. The prostitutes had physical protection and regular medical check-ups (although I understand this is no longer a requirement). Because this was conducted in clean, legal brothels and not in sleazy alleys and backstreets, there usually were no worries about getting hurt or robbed for either the sex workers or the customers. The prostitutes even paid taxes.

Prostitution is just like marijuana...common sense says we all would benefit from legalizing and regulating it.

What you say here makes a lot of sense to me. Like Nuremberg, Amsterdam either legalized or looked the other way with their red light district. Prostitution, marijuana, hash (and maybe other drug use) were essentially confined to one part of town. If you did not like what was going on, you stayed away from that section of town. Made perfect sense to me.

[eleothegreat]

What you say here makes a lot of sense to me. Like Nuremberg, Amsterdam either legalized or looked the other way with their red light district. Prostitution, marijuana, hash (and maybe other drug use) were essentially confined to one part of town. If you did not like what was going on, you stayed away from that section of town. Made perfect sense to me.

Perfectly said! (applause)

[Wino]

If two consenting adults want to trade money for sex, what is the crime? There is no victime here. Why make it illegal?

[Beer Chang]

Victimless "crimes" should not be crimes.

[Wino]

Victimless "crimes" should not be crimes.

I agree. Why do you think they are crimes?

[lvdkeyes]

The only crime I can see regarding prostitution would be if the person was forced or coerced into prostitution.

[Wino]

The only crime I can see regarding prostitution would be if the person was forced or coerced into prostitution.

Seems to me, that most of the Isaan prostitutes are forced into profession due to proverty. So is this a crime?

[lvdkeyes]

There are many poor people who do not become prostitutes. To say they are forced into it is inaccurate. They choose it.

[Wino]

There are many poor people who do not become prostitutes. To say they are forced into it is inaccurate. They choose it.

Read this interview with a prostitute at http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/6360603.stm Did she have a choice?

[lvdkeyes]

I can't read the article for some reason. Unless she was physically forced or drugged she had a choice. I am not condemning prostitutes, but they make a choice as we all do.

[Wino]

I can't read the article for some reason. Unless she was physically forced or drugged she had a choice. I am not condemning prostitutes, but they make a choice as we all do.

Here is the article. Did this young girl have a choice? If she did, it wasn't much of a choice. Did her friend coerce her into the life. Maybe it is the government's fault?

Many bar girls are sending money to their families back home

Bangkok is a notorious destination for sex tourism. But the lives of many of the city's sex workers are full of danger, disease and the urgent need to send money home.

Pim, who recently left her job in a go-go bar, has a typical story.

"I grew up in the countryside in Phetchabun, northern Thailand. My parents were farmers and I helped them in the fields. We were poor but we always had enough to get by.

When I was about 15, my family fell apart. My father always drank a lot, but it became worse and worse, and he started becoming violent. So my mother, sister and I moved out.

I wanted to study to become a nurse, but when my parents split up I had to leave school and find work as a day labourer, harvesting crops for local farmers. I didn't like it much, and it only paid 100 baht ($3) a day.

At about that time a good friend moved to Bangkok, and when she came back to visit she told me she was earning a lot of money there as a waitress.

Bangkok is known as a prime destination for sex tourists

There was gossip in the village that she was doing something other than waitressing, as she was sending 10,000 baht ($300) home a month, but she always denied it.

She asked me to come with her, but at the time I was still 16 and too scared. A few years later, though - when I had given birth to my daughter, and my husband and I had separated - I changed my mind.

I left the baby in Phetchabun with my mother, and told her I needed to earn some money in Bangkok. But I didn't tell her what I was doing - I still haven't. She'd be so ashamed.

'Can I do this?'

When my friend took me to a bar in Nana Plaza for the first time, I was really shocked. I'd never been to a place like that before, and at the beginning I didn't even know what the dancers were doing.

When I finally realised, I couldn't take it and I walked out of the bar. I kept thinking 'Can I really do this?'

Initially I decided to work there just serving drinks, but the dancers earned a lot more money, and eventually I agreed to do that too.

For the first month, the bar owners allow girls to get their full salary even if they just work as dancers. But after that you have to meet a quota of at least 10 customers a month, or your wages will be cut.

THAI SEX WORKERS

Prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, but the law is very rarely enforced

Estimates of the number of sex workers vary from 30,000 to more than a million

Most Thai sex workers actually cater to local men, rather than sex tourists

Most prostitutes come from northern Thailand, while others are from Laos or Burma

Child prostitution and trafficking is also known to be a problem

My first customer was a Western man in his 30s. It was scary and I really didn't like it, but I just kept thinking about the money.

I couldn't wait for him to leave, and when he did I had a shower for a very long time. I started crying, and thought about what my parents would think if they knew what I was doing.

None of my customers ever asked me about my life; they didn't care. There was one time a guy asked me if I was okay, but I didn't know what to say, so I just looked away.

While I was working in the bars, I was often worried about disease, and also about safety. Some girls earned extra by going out of the bars with the men, but I always used a room upstairs as I was too scared of the risks involved.

My friend once went with a guy to his hotel room, and found lots of other men there too. She wouldn't tell me what happened after that, but she was shaking for a long time when she got back home.

I also had some scary experiences myself. One time a Japanese man followed me all the way home at the end of the night, and he kept screaming at me.

Taxi drivers can also be threatening to bar girls, and we would only dare go home in groups.

Looking forward

Despite these problems, new girls often arrive. Many customers prefer children or young girls, and the bar owners always encouraged us to recruit teenagers from our home villages.

Even though I got used to it in some ways, I always hated working in the bars. I made some good friends but there was nothing good about the life I was leading.

Nightlight gives jewellery-making jobs to ex-bar girls

I felt good about sending money home, but I didn't feel good about myself. Soon I was getting penalized as I wasn't getting enough customers.

That's when a friend of mine told me about Nightlight [a Christian charity offering training and employment for former sex workers, through a jewellery-making business].

Since I've started working there, my life is so much better. I don't earn as much as I did in the bars, but it's worth it, and people here listen to me and care for me.

I've now got the opportunity to look forward in life. I want to finish school, and study accounting, so I'll be able to pay for my daughter to have a good life.

I wish I had never become a sex worker. I think some foreign men think it's okay to pay for sex here in Thailand, as they think the girls actually want to do this.

But these men don't understand that most of us have no choice - we're just trying to earn money for our families, and waiting for a chance to leave."

Interview by Kate McGeown, BBC News, Bangkok.

From http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/6360603.stm

[WannaGo]

It's the same deal you get with kids who grow up in shitty neighborhoods and start slinging rock on the corner. Were they forced into it? You could make the argument that they didn't have a whole lot of options, that with the lack of education and opportunities and given the choice between making minimum wage at Mickey D's or making $3,000 a week selling rock (which, to them, everybody seems to be doing), it's only natural they would be out on the corner.

Is it a valid argument? On the one hand, a lot of kids from that neighborhood don't start selling crack. On the other hand, it's very difficult to see all your options when some of them are very tiny and others loom so large. The kid probably doesn't make an informed choice so much as he just gradually slips into a life that's extremely difficult to get out of.

There are always choices (except for those forced into something against their will, of course). The reality is that no one has to sell crack or become a prostitute. But, when you're in certain circumstances, your perception is that there are no other choices. I guess your view on this subject depends on whether you accept that because people sometimes can't see all their choices, it means they effectively didn't have them.

But regardless of whether a prostitute made an informed decision to choose that life, are you victimizing her by using her services?

I'd say it depends on the prostitute. If she hates doing it, feels degraded by it, but does it because she feels like there is no other way, then, yes, you're probably contributing to her victimization. But if she's OK with it, sees it as just another job and would rather be doing that than working a 9-5, then no, there's nothing wrong with it.

[Wino]

But regardless of whether a prostitute made an informed decision to choose that life, are you victimizing her by using her services?

I'd say it depends on the prostitute. If she hates doing it, feels degraded by it, but does it because she feels like there is no other way, then, yes, you're probably contributing to her victimization. But if she's OK with it, sees it as just another job and would rather be doing that than working a 9-5, then no, there's nothing wrong with it.

In my travels, I met a young lady that was very nice until I admitted to her that I sometimes use the services of a prostitute. In her mind, I was worse kind of person on earth for contributing to the victimization of these poor women. At the time, I blew it off. She did not talk to me anymore and we went our separate ways. As WannaGo states, she may be right? I suppose it depends on the situation. If you took a poll of all the prostitutes, I would guess that not too many would say, I like what I am doing.