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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 09 2017, @03:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the touchy-subject dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Around the world, there's a growing movement to decriminalize sex work. Last year, Amnesty International, the largest human rights group in the world, came out with a recommendation that governments should decriminalize consensual sex work and develop laws that ensure workers are "protected from harm, exploitation and coercion." A United Nations commission has also come out in support of legalizing prostitution.

But the idea is a divisive one, stirring impassioned debates and concerns about the ways varying approaches could harm sex workers. Amnesty's recent policy drew strong support from public health advocates and intense backlash from those aiming to end prostitution completely.

Understanding the scope, harms and public health implications of policies addressing the world's oldest profession is really tricky. While prostitution - the buying and selling of sex - is a multibillion dollar industry, the sex trade is clandestine by nature. It's taboo. That makes it really hard to study, especially in the United States.

That's most often the case, except in this one part of the country, where the laws of prostitution were totally upended. It's a peculiar story that's largely left out of the current discussion. The place in question is not Nevada, where there's a small number of regulated brothels in certain rural counties.

It's a whole state - Rhode Island.

For several years, ending in 2009, indoor prostitution such as in massage parlors, strip clubs and through online escorts, was not a crime in this tiny New England State.

The whole thing happened somewhat unintentionally. But at the time, it fueled a heated public debate about sex, crime and health.

Years later, some are revisiting the lessons learned.

Source: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/105393-prostitution-decriminalized-rhode-islands-experiment


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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday August 09 2017, @03:50PM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 09 2017, @03:50PM (#551161) Journal

    No, no, of course I don't think it's easy to collect taxes on illegal activities - that's the point I'm making. The tax man isn't collected ANY tax on prostitution when it's illegal - but he's unlikely to get a full accounting of a private prostitute's earnings. Now, if the prostitute works in an established brothel, then MAYBE there will be a proper accounting. But, the woman trying to make a few bucks extra on the weekend is unlikely to put that on her tax forms.

    The customer isn't filing any information, either.

    The tax man is going to have a hell of a time collecting taxes, no matter whether it's legal or not, so from his point of view, we might as well keep it illegal.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @08:25PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @08:25PM (#551282)

    True story - tax men have a problem collecting taxes. My babysitter almost certainly didn't declare her (cash) weekend income. Nor did my lawnmower (another neighborhood person, paid in cash). Nor did the outside-the-HomeDepot hotdog salesmen. It is dubious whether the jeweler paid taxes for adjusting my watch links and reseating a provided new battery ($8, cash discount, $20 otherwise). It seems likely that the we-come-to-you massage people also misreport incomes. Making these activities illegal for tax purposes doesn't make any more sense than keeping prostitution illegal for tax purposes.

  • (Score: 2) by TheRaven on Friday August 11 2017, @08:39AM

    by TheRaven (270) on Friday August 11 2017, @08:39AM (#552204) Journal

    The tax man isn't collected ANY tax on prostitution when it's illegal

    That's not actually true in the USA, because a lot of people learned the Al Capone lesson. The IRS is not permitted to share information with law enforcement, so if you declare illegal earnings you pay tax, but if you don't then you can be prosecuted for tax evasion, which is a lot easier to prove than prostitution.

    --
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