# Why is prostitution illegal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 5, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491 "2019-05-05T01:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/21 "2019-05-05T22:24:40Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I think it’s illegal because sex with women is seen as highly valuable and a thing to protect for men with some kind of more legal and patriarchal right to get it. The same reason rape has always been such a big deal even though women’s other rights of autonomy have so often been ignored - it’s treated somewhat as a property crime rather than a violent crime. Disagree. If that were true, then prostitution would be considered no worse that fornication or adultery. The fact that the latter two have been decriminalized and for the most part accepted as private matters in modern society while prostitution remains illegal shows that people are not continuing to criminalize prostitution because of some archaic property right in women. If a poster here says that he would not want his daughter becoming a prostitute, then does that mean that he is upset because he won’t receive a nice dowry when he “permits” her to marry? If not, then your reason is incorrect. This makes good fodder for feminist and leftist readers, but it doesn’t stand up to the slightest bit of scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/22 "2019-05-05T22:36:15Z")
Because it’s easier than the alternative. Virtue signalling, moral outrage, and scapegoating are easy ways to get votes without having to actually work on societal problems. It’s theater. Sometimes, like where there are for profit prisons, there’s also money involved. Additionally, even if you remove corruptive influences, it’s just not easy to convince people that legalizing vices ought to be a high priority. Or at least, it didn’t used to be. The sweeping marijuana reform may indicate some sort of sea change. Another way to look at it is, what are you doing to change things? If not much, there’s your answer. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/23 "2019-05-05T22:59:42Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > IIRC studies of the question are inconclusive. …which studies are you referring too? ---
**Author:** ![LAZombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@LAZombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAZombie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/24 "2019-05-05T23:09:53Z")
California is slowly working toward legalization. Immunity From Arrest For California Sex Workers Passes Senate > **[Immunity From Arrest for California Sex Workers Passes Senate](https://californiaglobe.com/legislature/immunity-from-arrest-for-california-sex-workers-passes-senate/)** > > A bill to prohibit the arrest of a sex worker when they are reporting a crime done to them just passed the Senate. SB 233 by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)  would also make evidence of possession of a condom inadmissible to prove a... ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/25 "2019-05-06T07:22:24Z")
Since prostitution is legal in Australia, New Zealand, and many countries in Europe, there probably are studies on the effects of legalising it, including the effects on pimping. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/26 "2019-05-06T10:25:00Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Your first sentence is not fascinating at all. You always go after the suppliers. If you want to stop cocaine, do you go after Pablo Escobar or the guy next door who buys it every now and again? > > But if you state your second sentence differently, it is unremarkable as well. Presumably if we enacted harsh penalties for buying cocaine, we could stop new users and/or seriously cause current users to stop or switch drugs and maybe put a dent in the problem. > > If we go after guys who are lonely and looking to get laid, we aren’t going to turn off their sex drives. But if we go after someone who deliberately profits from the illegal trade with harsh punishments, they may decide to switch to another line of work. You’re ignoring the reality that most women who turn to prostitution don’t have a lot of other options. Turning off their need to eat (or their aversion to being beaten by a pimp) doesn’t make any more sense than turning off the customers’ sex drives. Pablo Escobar they ain’t. In any event, the quaint view that customers were innocent victims of wicked women has gone the way of polio and the evening paper. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/27 "2019-05-06T20:41:43Z")
According to the Epic of Gilgamesh (tablet VII c. 1,300 BCE) it was Enkidu who cursed prostitutes to a life of misery. Formerly they were the priestly caste. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/28 "2019-05-06T22:15:39Z")
Why is prostitution illegal? So that lawmakers can get good time slots with their favorite hookers. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/29 "2019-05-07T05:36:39Z")
If all prostitutes (or even a healthy majority) were free agents, I would buy the “Women have agency over their own bodies” argument in a second. But it’s so frequently not the case that I cannot. We patriarchal white men want pro girls available for when we need them, but would rather our wives and daughters not consider this as a career option every time they’re down by 20 dollars. As always, we men are the culprits. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/30 "2019-05-07T06:54:33Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > If all prostitutes (or even a healthy majority) were free agents, I would buy the “Women have agency over their own bodies” argument in a second. But it’s so frequently not the case that I cannot. And those who are free agents should be prevented from working why, exactly? Why don’t you address the issue of those who aren’t free agents and leave alone those you are? And how exactly getting arrested help those who aren’t free agents, anyway? If you discover that work safety regulations are frequently not respected in, say, coal mines, you’re going to propose to arrest miners as a solution? ---
**Author:** ![SOJA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SOJA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SOJA)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/31 "2019-05-07T07:03:48Z")
I’d prefer to call them sex workers. Webcam models are also sex workers, and in a way they are prostitutes. From my own anecdotal findings, they aren’t very bright people and seem to be unhinged when it comes to their emotions. Much like drug addicts, if you made it a free for all, people will do dumb things **they may** later regret. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/32 "2019-05-07T07:41:50Z")
> [@SOJA](#): > > I’d prefer to call them sex workers. Webcam models are also sex workers, and in a way they are prostitutes. **From my own anecdotal findings** , they aren’t very bright people and seem to be unhinged when it comes to their emotions. Much like drug addicts, if you made it a free for all, people will do dumb things **they may** later regret. …your “anecdotal findings” ain’t worth shit in a Great Debate. This is probably the worst justification for the continued legalization of prostitution I’ve seen on these boards: and I’ve seen a whole lot of really bad attempted justifications. ---
**Author:** ![SOJA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SOJA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SOJA)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/33 "2019-05-07T07:45:31Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …your “anecdotal findings” ain’t worth shit in a Great Debate. This is probably the worst justification for the continued legalization of prostitution I’ve seen on these boards: and I’ve seen a whole lot of really bad attempted justifications. Might not be worth “shit” because your comprehension is terrible. Where in my post was I advocating for the legalization of prostitution? Might also want to look up what the term anecdotal findings mean. Debate doesn’t always rely on facts. If it were so, everything would be clear as day. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/34 "2019-05-07T07:54:38Z")
> [@SOJA](#): > > Might not be worth “shit” because your comprehension is terrible. Where in my post was I advocating for the legalization of prostitution? …indeed. I meant “continued criminalization of sex work.” My mistake. > [@](#): > > Might also want to look up what the term anecdotal findings mean. Debate doesn’t always rely on facts. If it were so, everything would be clear as day. I know exactly what “anecdotal findings” mean. It means you know at least one sex worker whom in your opinion “isn’t very bright”, therefore they are incapable of making decisions about their own body for themselves. As I said: the worst rationalization I’ve ever seen on the boards. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/35 "2019-05-07T08:06:06Z")
Sometimes it helps you understand a word if you break it down. So let’s do that now. Shall we? PROS-- Doesn’t mean anything. Forget about that. TIT. I think we all know what that means. TU-- Okay, TU. And --TION, of course… …from the Latin… …“to shun.” To say, “No thank you, anyway. I don’t want it.” “To push away.” That doesn’t even belong here. Let’s get rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![SOJA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SOJA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SOJA)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/36 "2019-05-07T08:24:40Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …indeed. I meant “continued criminalization of sex work.” My mistake. > > I know exactly what “anecdotal findings” mean. It means you know at least one sex worker whom in your opinion “isn’t very bright”, therefore they are incapable of making decisions about their own body for themselves. > > As I said: the worst rationalization I’ve ever seen on the boards. Fair enough. Thank you for apologizing. That wasn’t all I was alluding to. Someone who gives up their body in exchange for money usually has some affliction. It isn’t merely brightness, but mental aptitude in its entire scope. There is something developmentally wrong there. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/37 "2019-05-07T08:29:15Z")
> [@SOJA](#): > > Fair enough. Thank you for apologizing. That wasn’t all I was alluding to. Someone who gives up their body in exchange for money usually has some affliction. …cite? > [@](#): > > It isn’t merely brightness, but mental aptitude in its entire scope. There is something developmentally wrong there. Cite? Oh sorry, I forgot. You are your cite. How many sex workers have you interacted with, how did you evaluate their “mental aptitude”, and how did you determine there was something “developmentally wrong there?” ---
**Author:** ![SOJA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@SOJA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SOJA)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/38 "2019-05-07T12:31:52Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …cite? > > Cite? > > Oh sorry, I forgot. You are your cite. > > How many sex workers have you interacted with, how did you evaluate their “mental aptitude”, and how did you determine there was something “developmentally wrong there?” Citations stating otherwise? The problem with citing studies such as “The mental health of female sex workers” or " The Motivation and Mental Health of Sex Workers" is that it goes 100% against a study conducted in 2001, “The Mental and Physical Health of Female Sex Workers: A Comparative Study.” This is true for all research. There is always one study to counteract the findings of another, sometimes even during the same time period. Sample pools are going to be small, less than 200 often, and be confined to one particular area due to the nature of such broad studies. It doesn’t matter; if someone is giving up their body in exchange for money and or drugs, there is something wrong with them mentally. I implore you to provide data that says this is normal behavior. I’d say the same about a school/university student who merely has sex with multiple partners. And by that I mean dozens, which isn’t rare for a college bicycle. I’m atheist. I’m liberal as hell. I still see a problem that many tiptoe around. We’re not going to sugarcoat anything here and pretend being a sex worker is remotely health, aside from the risk of STIs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/39 "2019-05-07T14:11:35Z")
> [@SOJA](#): > > It doesn’t matter; if someone is giving up their body in exchange for money and or drugs, there is something wrong with them mentally. By extension, does this include people who play a sport professionally, which carries a high likelihood of causing them permanent harm to their bodies (e.g., football, hockey, etc.)? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491/40 "2019-05-07T14:19:12Z")
> [@SOJA](#): > > Someone who gives up their body in exchange for money usually has some affliction. It isn’t merely brightness, but mental aptitude in its entire scope. There is something developmentally wrong there. This seems weird. I like to have sex with women. If I could legally get paid to do it, I would. Why is that indicative of a mental illness? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-prostitution-illegal/833491.md?page=3)