The debate on whether to legalize prostitution has been ongoing for an extended period. It is admittedly a complex discussion owing to the dynamics of the trade that is considered the world’s oldest. Many countries in the world such as the US and some Asian countries have formulated laws that prohibit the practice of prostitution, making it illegal. However, are some states have legalized prostitution, which includes German, Canada, Netherlands and Indonesia. Each country’s decision to either legalize or illegalize prostitution is dependent on its understanding of the impacts of the trade to various stakeholders. Prostitutes, just like other citizens are in the business to make a living. Many stakeholders including customers and brothel managers take advantage of illegalization of prostitution to exploit the men and women who provide this service. In this way, the individuals are exposed to dangers such as STIs, HIV/AIDS, violence and rape.

When legalized, the government is likely to put in place policies that will regulate the sexual services business. Such regulations will eliminate the level of exploitation experienced by prostitutes at their workplaces. Consequently, cases associated with the transmission of STIs and HIV will reduce drastically because the sex workers will be examined regularly for medical fitness to serve in the industry. Additionally, they will be provided with condoms to protect themselves from customers whose status they do not know. According to, Lukasz and Pavol (1), in Nevada, one of the states where sex work has been legalized, a mandatory blood test is conducted on all sex workers after every month to test for sexually transmitted diseases. In this way, the government protect the workers and the general public who are the customers in this industry from acquiring and spreading STIs. Ma et al. (235), argues that cases of STIs are more rampant in countries where prostitution has not been legalized because of limited social services and healthcare.

Secondly, legalization of sex work is likely to reduce cases of a sex crime such as rape and violence. Most criminals take advantage of the illegality of sex to forcibly rape sex workers. They cannot report such cases because the law prohibits them from engaging in the business in the first place. There are cases where sex workers have been killed by their customers in the brothels or beaten and left to die, but no one dares to report. A study by Lukasz and Pavol (6) shows that the legalization of prostitution leads to reduced cases of rape cases. For example, Rhode Island, which reportedly legalized sex work; by accidentally removing a clause that prohibited prostitution; experienced a decline in rape cases by 31% within three decades since 1980. By legalizing prostitution sex workers will gain the courage to report any instances associated with sexual violence or those that endanger their profession. Additionally, most of them will be independent of the pimps who treat them more like slaves to gratify the customers thus reducing cases of violence. Most sex violence cases such as rape occur due to inability of people to freely express their sexual desires and satisfy them. Legalization of prostitution will make sex readily available for individuals to satisfy sexual urge at a cost without the pressure of being arrested or negative public image. In this way, cases of rape will most likely reduce especially among minors.

Sex work industry contains all individuals including minors. The lack of regulation has made it an open market where anybody can ply provided they can offer sexual services. In this way, most countries that prohibit sex work have experienced the challenge of dealing with child prostitution. A study by Post et al. (12), shows that approximately ten million children are engaging in sex work globally. In the US alone, the figure is estimated at one hundred thousand children who are sexual slaves, and the number keeps rising annually. According to Weitzer (18), the illegality of prostitution has made sexual exploitation a very profitable business, where sex brokers and pimps reap millions of dollars in due to the high risk involved the trade. The high profit has prompted the pimps to engage vulnerable individuals including children, who they can exploit and make a high profit.  Additionally, it is worth noting that child prostitution exists because of illegalization of prostitution. This has reduced the availability and accessibility of adult sex workers. Customers thus use pimps to get them sex service providers, who provide underage individuals to gratify the sexual needs of the clients. When prostitution is legalized, customers will happily get sexual satisfaction from adults aged eighteen years and above. In this way, the rate of child prostitution will reduce because the government will regulate the legal age and apprehend any individuals who contravene the directive.

Moreover, the legalization of sex work is likely to reduce cases of human trafficking. Pimps and sex work agencies from developed countries like the US pose as recruiting agencies for jobs in factories. In this way, they entice girls and women from non-developed countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, who oblivious of the nature of the job they are being recruited for, are forced to engage in prostitution. The agencies use uncouth methods such as hoarding their passports or not providing them with one at all to ensure they manipulate and dominate them. Legalization of sex work is likely to reduce human trafficking because people will engage in the business at will. Besides, the high profits that propel pimps to engage in behaviors such as human trafficking will be cut shot because sex workers will be independent. According to a survey cited by Ma et al. (235), human trafficking cases reduced significantly when German legalized prostitution. The rate reduced by ten percent within a decade in the period between 2001 and 2011. Besides, the number of children involved in sex work in the country also decreased because minors are no longer forced to join the trade. It is worth noting that the legalization of prostitution is likely to foster a friendly relationship between police and sex workers. In this way, any cover for human trafficking can easily be reported and busted to discourage the practice.

In general, prostitution should be legalized because it will benefit the whole society. For instance, apart from protecting the sex workers from exploitation by other stakeholders, it would discourage child prostitution, human trafficking and the spread of STIs such as HIV/AIDS. Besides, sexual violence such as rape will most likely reduce. Additionally, it will provide a good working relationship between prostitutes and law enforcement officials. In this way, any law-breaking activities could easily be thwarted making the society a better place. The countries where prostitution is still illegal should benchmark with countries such as German and Canada to learn the societal benefits associated with legalization of prostitution.

Works Cited

Lukasz Dylewski and Pavol Prokoan. “Prostitution.” October 2018. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_270-1

Ma, Polly HX, Zenobia CY Chan, and Alice Yuen Loke. “A Systematic Review of the Attitudes of Different Stakeholders towards Prostitution and Their Implications.” Sexuality Research and Social Policy 15.3 (2018): 231-241. Doi: 10.1007/s13178-017-0294-9

Post, Che, Jan G. Brouwer, and Michel Vols. “Regulation of Prostitution in the Netherlands: Liberal Dream or Growing Repression?” European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (2018): 1-20. Doi: 10.1007/s10610-018-9371-8.pdf

Weitzer, Ronald. Legalizing prostitution: From illicit vice to lawful business. NYU Press, 2012.