I have long been an advocate of legalizing prostitution. My support of the oldest profession is based partly on public health (a legally licensed sex worker would undergo rigorous testing for sexually transmitted diseases) and partly in support of those who either can't find an acceptable partner or who choose to have impersonal sex for whatever reasons are important to them.
In Canada we have a curious legal system that states that the act itself is legal while almost everything associated with the act is illegal. While prostitution (that is the sex act) is legal, living off the avails of prostitution is illegal. While prostitution is legal soliciting prostitution is illegal. In our system the Johns can go to jail while the sex worker does not. We wink and nod at column upon column of ads in Craig's List that promote "escort services". A recent Ontario case involving the right to practice prostitution from your home struck down Canada's arcane prostitution laws on grounds that such a prohibition violated the Charter of Rights. That case was appealed and is now before the Ontario Court of Appeal. Whatever the decision the case is destined to go before the Supreme Court of Canada.
North American society is ambivalent on prostitution. While the religious right is avowedly against prostitution, the largest subscribers to TV sex channels is in the bible belt of the US. Religious Jewish young men in New York that are known users of prostitutes have an incidence of HIV-Aids that is significantly higher than those of the surrounding geographical area. One of the greatest increases in HIV-AIDS is in South Florida where seniors who can't find willing partners are patronizing prostitutes with devastating medical results. The state of Nevada that legalizes certain types of prostitution has the lowest incidence of HIV-AIDS in the US.
Many European countries have legalized prostitution in one form or another. The Netherlands is famous for its streets where prostitutes display their wares in storefront windows. Many southeast Asian countries are tourist sex destinations where the abuse of underage girl and boy prostitutes have reached epidemic proportions. While I am an advocate for legalized prostitutions I am clearly not an advocate for the sex slaves, the exploitation of children and the business hierarchy that includes pimps and business managers that leave sex workers impoverished.
What I am for is some clarity about what constitutes criminal behaviour. One Prime Minister Trudeau stated that government has no business in the bedrooms of its citizens. Canada has led the way in legalizing same sex marriage. It's now time to be realistic when it comes to prostitution. I say this knowing that the current Conservative government is not willing to leave well enough alone. It is intent on filling the jails with more criminals convicted of more legislated crimes. As if filling the jails is a solution. However, that is another subject for another post.
For those who believe that my stance on prostitution is extreme let's look at some other behaviour that is legal. Smoking, though it will shorten the lives of the smoker and those around him. Alcohol, though it will lead to countless dead on the roads. What about obesity, though it will cause serious medical problems that will have to be paid for by society in general. If one is concerned that "selling one's body" is somehow sacrosanct what about the model who sells her body or money so that it can be displayed on the cover of a magazine.
There has to be a point where private behaviour trumps government intervention. Where does the body politic have to step in and protect us from ourselves. Surely, smoking or obesity makes a better case for itself than does satisfaction of a primal sex urge. At some point the line in the sand regarding government intervention has to be drawn. Maybe its on prostitution.
Bernie.
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