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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.
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Wednesday August 09 2017, @05:55PM (2 children)
At first I read it as "Prostitution Discriminated" and the recent Google Diversity Manifesto came to my mind, and I was immediately thinking "oh no, that's one place we don't want 50% males!" :)
(Score: 4, Interesting) by lgsoynews on Wednesday August 09 2017, @06:09PM (1 child)
You're joking, but it would in fact be a good thing.
There are already many men in prostitution, and not just for the gay/bisexual population, women also pay for sex! But not as frequently as men (mostly because of social stigmata).
If there were as many women as men who would pay for sex, this would help a lot to solve the BIG issue which is seeing prostitution as what it REALLY is: a job. The fact that it's mostly men who pay for it is one of the reasons that encourages the hypocrites (men & women) to attack prostitutes through the "sex is bad" & "prostitution is rape/abuse" narratives. And since the topic is not easy to defend (social stigmata again), few people dare go against the minority of assholes who claim to act in the interest of the prostitutes while making their lives more miserable...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @08:38PM
Is that where the speech of Christ erupts from your hands and feet?