# Legalizing and Regulating Prostitution **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753 "2015-02-15T22:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/61 "2015-02-20T19:30:35Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > The reaction by some of the people in this thread to the mere idea of sex in exchange for money has been of physical revulsion. Imagine instead of sex work, we were talking about gay sex, and we had posters here expressing physical revulsion at the mere idea of gay sex. Those people would have been taken to task by other posters: and deservedly so. But sex work? No one really cares. I do think it’s interesting that American society has liberalized so much on some sexual-morality issues (like homosexuality) but our opinions about prostitution (and things like extramarital sex) haven’t changed much over the last few decades. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/62 "2015-12-29T13:56:26Z")
Bumped. An interesting article on legalized, War Department-sanctioned prostitution in Nashville, Tenn. during the Civil War: [The Curious Case of Nashville’s Frail Sisterhood | History| Smithsonian Magazine](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-curious-case-of-nashvilles-frail-sisterhood-7766757/?no-ist) ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/63 "2015-12-29T17:09:35Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > 1. All licensed prostitutes must undergo testing for all STD’s every 3 months. The prostitute shall submit the results of each test to the Dept. within 3 days. Failure to do either of these will result in the license being suspended. Are you trying to legalize prostitution or not? There is no testing for a number of common STDs, and even the definition of ‘STD’ is tricky. For example, there are no tests for HPV in men, and only tests for some specific cancer-causing strains in women. There is no general herpes test, there’s just an antibody test that’s not usually included in panels because it’s expensive and doesn’t actually say whether you have herpes or not. Both HSV 1 (cold sores) and HSV 2 (herpes) can spread through sex and kissing, but HSV1 isn’t generally considered an STD, even though it is transmitted sexually. Also, you your regulation only has a requirement that the test be run and results submitted to a government organization, not that anything in particular happens with them. Is a prostitute with any STD forbidden from working, or do they have to disclose on a form, or what exactly? Bear in mind that the CDC estimates that anyone who has had sex has some strain of HPV, and that 80% of the population has HSV1, so if you want to disqualify people for having any STD, you’re going to keep most prostitutes illegal. How does this legislation interact with medical privacy laws, and especially with specific laws regarding disclosure of HIV/AIDS status and forbidding workplace discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS? Does it just remove medical privacy for anyone working in the field? This piece of the hypothetical law seems to entirely be based on abject ignorance of STDs, testing, and their prevalence. > [@](#): > > 1. The Dept. shall maintain an internal database of all registered prostitutes listing their full name, business name, dates of registration and licensing, the results of health inspections, and any disciplinary action. What happens when this database inevitably gets leaked, or hacked, or looked into inappropriately, or found to fall under public records laws, or a later law opens it up in the interest of public safety? Like people pointed out during the first life of the thread, a lot of people would rather gamble on operating illegally than have their name officially listed as a prostitute. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/64 "2015-12-29T17:50:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Bumped. > > An interesting article on legalized, War Department-sanctioned prostitution in Nashville, Tenn. during the Civil War: [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-curious-case-of-nashvilles-frail-sisterhood-7766757/?no-ist](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-curious-case-of-nashvilles-frail-sisterhood-7766757/?no-ist) That is interesting. Some things don’t seem to change much–their system of regulation is quite similar to much of my proposed system. Some of the posters in this thread seem to be oddly upset with my system. I don’t know why–even a little thought on the matter ought to convince anybody that legalizing prostitution will never happen without some sort of regulatory scheme. I admit that mine is not perfect, but I maintain that it’s a good starting place. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/65 "2015-12-29T18:48:03Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > …In the past, there was more of a stigma towards having a casual fling (adulterous or not) but much less of a stigma towards paying for sex. The brothels used to be the domain of the “middle class” hooker and up until World War II they operated more or less out in the open even in places where they were ostensibly illegal. That they started getting shut down during the post war period when the sexual revolution was just starting up is a reflection of the shift in society’s attitudes, not necessarily just those of law enforcement… I have a friend who lived next to a brothel in London in the 60s. He said the ladies were very judgemental with respect to young women who “gave it away”. Partly, they recognized it would be bad for business, of course, but partly they were morally appalled. He said they mostly had regular customers who would visit them the same evening every week. I imagine much the same thing happens in the US today, but the guy buys the lady a dinner and drink instead of giving her cash. > [@wellanuff](#): > > …Re: prostitution, aside from that county in Nevada which seems to be an anomaly, I can’t think of any time that I have heard a politician say that we should take a good hard look at legalizing prostitution, because to do so would be political suicide still. And I suspect it will be for the foreseeable future… Yeah, I think the question is moot. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun to argue and/or speculate about. I imagine legal organized brothels would be better for both the ladies and their customers than street walkers. A better brothel might advertise it did STD testing. If the customer was robbed, he would have a fixed business to complain to. Presumably, the ladies would have a panic button, or could scream to summon muscle. And if the girl was mistreated anyway, the brothel might be able to blackball the customer with other brothels, and might also have his ID on file if prosecution seemed appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/66 "2015-12-29T21:24:13Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Some of the posters in this thread seem to be oddly upset with my system. One reason might be that your system requires a potential prostitute to do something that is not actually possible (get tested for all STDs), and even if it was possible doesn’t specify what happens with the results of the tests, which would normally be protected medical information. Trying to dodge ‘hey, this isn’t actually possible, and if it was would have some major issues’ with ‘some people seem upset’ is not making an honest argument. ---
**Author:** ![T.M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@T.M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.M)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/67 "2015-12-29T21:41:34Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Cecil’s column that is currently featured is about prostitution. He briefly mentions the need for regulation if it were to be legalized, which reminded me of a book I read about historical prostitution in Colorado. One thing I was surprised to find out is that Victorian society was more pragmatic than we often think. Many pioneer towns managed the remarkable feat of regulating prostitution, even though it was illegal. It was apparently quite common to have a varying system of fines–for example, the fine for prostitution might be $10 north of Main Street, but $20 south of Main Street. > > I’ve been thinking off and on about how a modern system of regulation might look if prostitution were legalized. I’ve come up with something of a rough draft that hopefully will spark a good discussion. > > * * * > > A Regulatory Scheme for Prostitution > > 1. Every person who wishes to be a prostitute must be registered with and licensed by the state Dept. of Health. > > 2. Doing business as a prostitute without a valid license shall be a Class 4 felony. > > 3. All licensed prostitutes must undergo testing for all STD’s every 3 months. The prostitute shall submit the results of each test to the Dept. within 3 days. Failure to do either of these will result in the license being suspended. > > 4. The Dept. shall maintain an internal database of all registered prostitutes listing their full name, business name, dates of registration and licensing, the results of health inspections, and any disciplinary action. > > 5. The Dept. shall maintain a public, searchable database of all registered prostitutes listing everything above except for full name. > > 6. All licensed prostitutes shall advertise and do business under their registered business name and no other. > > 7. Licenses must be renewed every two years. Renewal shall not be automatic, but rather shall take into account the prostitute’s compliance with the regulations. Denial of renewal can be appealed to the Head of the Dept. I think that dept. should be responsible for carrying out the health check this will ensure that the health checks are correct. Prostitution is something that you cannot stop, so better that it is regulated and taken out of the hands of criminals ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/68 "2015-12-29T22:05:17Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > One reason might be that your system requires a potential prostitute to do something that is not actually possible (get tested for all STDs), and even if it was possible doesn’t specify what happens with the results of the tests, which would normally be protected medical information. Trying to dodge ‘hey, this isn’t actually possible, and if it was would have some major issues’ with ‘some people seem upset’ is not making an honest argument. 1 Why do you think it is necessary to be tested for all possible STDs? Most sexual health clinics have a range of tests they do (HIV, Hep B, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syfylis in these parts) and other things will only be looked at when there is a reason to suspect you have it. Given the time it takes for some of these infections to be measurable, being 100% save is going to be impossible anyway. 2 You don’t have to make the information public, but you could inform Johns that they should ask girls for their recent results before they do anything with them. This gives the women a choice to have work, or to retain their medical information. I actually know places where this is possible (in Europe). In any case mandatory testing and registration will mean a big illegal market will remain. Many women in this profession don’t want to have it registered anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753/69 "2015-12-29T23:41:20Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > 1 Why do you think it is necessary to be tested for all possible STDs? Most sexual health clinics have a range of tests they do (HIV, Hep B, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syfylis in these parts) and other things will only be looked at when there is a reason to suspect you have it. Given the time it takes for some of these infections to be measurable, being 100% save is going to be impossible anyway. Did you read the OP, and especially the part of it that I quoted in my first reply to this thread? The OP said that testing for ALL STDs would be required under his proposed system, and that’s what I was responding to. Since I said that it’s not possible to be tested for all STDs, I’m really not sure why you would think that I think it’s necessary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legalizing-and-regulating-prostitution/712753.md?page=3)