I'm torn on this. Sort of. As I have two differing perspectives on the prostitution industry, and thus a not-so-black-and-white opinion on whether or not to legalize prostitution.

I have met dominatrices, escorts, and even street prostitutes who work for themselves and have no (obvious) signs of addiction. They appear to have very lax attitudes and morals on sex, yet didn't necessarily acquire this laxity through abuse. Some of them are in the industry as it is the fastest and easiest way to make money. A few tricks (hours) can net them the same amount of money most of us gross in an entire week. They use their money to fund lavish lifestyles, or in the hopes of starting their own business (typically an escort service), and there are the trans-gendered who are using it as a fast way to get the cash they need to pay for their operations and medications. A majority of these people are there because they want to be. They enjoy this type of work, wouldn't want to do anything else, and feel their rights are being violated by current anti-prostitution legislation. Not to mention that they are not afforded the same protections as every one else. For example, there is still the idea that you can not rape a prostitute. I mean, she's a prostitute, right? If you steal services from a prostitute, as in failure to pay, there is no recourse for them to get their money. A prostitute can not take a john to court and sue him for the services rendered.

The other side of prostitution is much darker. A side that most of us are already aware of. The teens and preteens coerced into sexual slavery. Or sold. There are a multitude of children who run away from abusive homes, only to find themselves in much worse conditions. Now they are homeless, starving, as well as scared. There are many ways that a runaway child is coerced into prostitution, but it all ends the same way. The child feels s/he has no other real choice for survival; prostitution or death. A lot, if not all, of these kids rationalize the same way. It may be no better than what they ran from, but at least they are now getting paid for it. Eventually a lot of these kids convince themselves that it is their choice. They rationalize that instead of being repeatedly raped by their abuser, they are now making the choice to have sex for money. Some of these kids begin to view themselves as empowered, instead of the victim they once were. Then you have the girls from Canada's northern reserves who are tricked into prostitution. Someone they know and trust, often a family member, promises them a better life in the city. A better life with a job. Once these girls make it to the city, they discover the "job" waiting for them is forced prostitution. Often times the family member sells them to a prostitution ring, and from there the girls are lost. Repeatedly beaten, repeatedly raped, forced onto drugs, and forced into prostitution. Scared and brainwashed, these girls see no way out of their predicament.

The question of whether or not to make prostitution legal is not as black and white as many would like to think. It is not about morality, morals have no place in the law. It is about protecting the rights of individuals. It is about protecting the rights of one, while not infringing upon the rights of another. Law is about protecting society at large, not just one group. So how does the law go about protecting the rights of the victims, while not infringing upon the rights of others? Unfortunately it's not as simple as moving prostitution into brothels, or red light districts. Other countries have shown us this. Young girls are routinely sold into brothels and forced into prostitution. Criminalizing street prostitution while legalizing brothels and escorts services is only one small step. If lawmakers wish to legalize any form of prostitution, there would have to be a whole new department within the government. The government would have to find a way to protect the victims being sold into brothels, while not infringing upon the right to run a brothel. I can't even begin to imagine how this could be done. It is just far too convoluted. And I do not wish to run this post into redundancy.

I'll just say: I believe prostitution should be legalized. If there is a way to protect victims of forced prostitution, then I see no reason why a person should not be allowed to sell their bodies if that is what they want to do. In the meantime, perhaps we should simplify the issue from the broad topic of prostitution. Perhaps the law should, for the time being, focus on the dominatrices and escorts who are fighting for the right to prostitute themselves. Let them get licensed. Let them jump through the reams of red tape, and pay taxes on their earnings. Let them comply with whatever rules, policies and laws the government dreams up in order to regulate their industry. Lord knows, illegal prostitution rings would never wish to jump through the hoops and cut their way through miles of red tape just to pay taxes.