Monday, March 19, 2012

On Prostitution

This has been a topic I've thought and read a lot about. The entire world from a political and social stand point has pronounced prostitution disdainful and most countries deem it illegal. My post today will focus on the legal viewpoint.

Prostitution may have been sentenced as ignoble and illegal for as long as civilizations have existed but nevertheless it thrives.
The ethical and moral elements that purportedly get abused in this profession has been talked about to no end. In my opinion, there is no denigration for someone who accepts a fee in exchange of a sexual act. If the transaction takes place with the voluntary consent of both the parties, I do not see how it dilutes the laudable social framework we have managed to uphold by the sweat of our brows. India, as sexually repressed as the society here is, houses a widely-spread market; illegal as it may be.

The debate on legalization of prostitution has seen quite a few people 'for' it. Yes, legalization has it advantages. For starters, the government will be able to ensure the well-being and upkeep of the workers. The industry being as big as it is, both the institutions and employees can be taxed for their wages just like any other citizen. Regular monitoring of the workers can at last enable the government to curb the spread of STDs.

Legalization however poses a serious threat in the form of exploitation of the 'legal' status. Women can be blackmailed to stay locked in the profession. Teenagers can acquire false IDs to fend for themselves by working as prostitutes. Women who need to be liberated will no more be able to appeal to the illegality of the profession they've been forced into.

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This post has remained a draft for a month now. I do not feel like finishing it. So this goes up as it is.

4 comments:

Karthik Manamcheri said...

How different is it from forcing women and men to work as construction workers ? Huge construction companies pull these people from villages and make them do manual labor and give them paltry salary. Construction work is not illegal !!

Ken said...

and i'm sure these women and men would rather work themselves helpless for meagre wages than to have strangers rape them.

Karthik Manamcheri said...

it's all the same .. they faint doing construction work .. they get horrible diseases because they don't get enough nutrition for the physical labor they do .. its all taking advantage of the poor and the weak .. sigh

Ken said...

the topic is prostitution and issues involving its legalization. Let's not digress.