Debate

Front 1

) Prostitution is one of the oldest professions known today. It dates all the way back to the 18th century in Mesopotamia or Ancient Iraq. Prostitution first became illegal in 590 AD in Spain. A fact most people do not know is that Prostitution was legal until 1910-1915 in the US.

Back 1

. More than just the implied street walker is included with the broad term of prostitution. Pimps, brothels, sex clubs, strip clubs, and massage parlors all fall under the umbrella of prostitution according to the ProstitutionProCon group. Many places still allow prostitution including most of Europe, Australia, France, and most of Asia according to the Budapest Group.

Front 2

. In an article by the Associated Content nearly 50% of American men have engaged in a sexual activity with a prostitute and 70% of every men around the world has been with one. There is an estimated number of 40 million prostitutes in the world. Prostitution is more prominent and widespread then we all might think.

Back 2

I will be arguing against the legalization of prostitution which holds that the selling or buying of sexual acts should be illegal.

Front 3

I believe that controlling the health of all sexual acts in prostitution is impossible.

a. In the health mandates that are proposed if prostitution becomes legal only the prostitute would be screened and not the client for health risks and STDs. If a client had an STD it could still be passed along to the prostitute if a condom wasn’t used.

Back 3

. According to the CATW (coalition against trafficking in women) 47% of prostitutes stated that the male clients expected to have sex with no condom. 73% of men would pay more to not use a condom and if the prostitute refused to perform without a condom 45% of the time she was physically abused.

Front 4

Now I will be covering how the legalization of prostitution affects children.

Legalizing prostitution would increase child prostitution in the United States

Back 4

a. When the Netherlands legalized prostitution in 1999 child prostitution rose from 4,000 in 1996 to 15,000 in 2001 according to the Amsterdam Child Rights Organization. This is a tragic pattern than is seen in many countries with legal prostitution. When children grow up watching their mothers make money with few hours they want to follow in their footsteps.

Front 5

The US already has 1.2 million children working as prostitutes and the average age for women entering prostitution in the world is 14. If the US legalized prostitution we would just be adding to this statistic and making it higher. According to the ECPAT (end child prostitution and trafficking) low income countries send their children to other countries with legal prostitution in order to make money to send back to their families.

Back 5

Nigeria was reported sending 5,000 young girls to the Netherlands for prostitution. Considering how much more money prostitution gets in the United States compared to other countries we could expect more illegal immigrants if prostitution is legalized.

Front 6

I believe the economic gain Prostitution will bring to the economy is not significant enough

Back 6

a. According to The Examiner the city of San Francisco alone spends $11.4 million dollars a year enforcing prostitution laws. If prostitution was legal I believe more money would be spent enforcing the safety and health conditions the law would mandate. This would mean every large city in this country would be spending upwards of $20 million dollars in enforcement alone, making the economic gain reverse to a decline.

Front 7

I will now be discussing how prostitution affects women.

If prostitution was legal it would strip away women’s choice in the prostitution world.

Back 7

a. Most women in the prostitution industry never chose to be there, it was a survival strategy to support themselves and their families. If prostitution was legal women would see it as a job so quitting or refusing a service wouldn’t be as easy as if they were independent. The International Labor Organization has suggested that when prostitution is used as economic gain women feel forced into staying with the job and it would become an alienated labor.

Front 8

Prostitution causes a negative self identity which means there is a less chance that women would report abuse in their workplace according to the CATW (coalition against trafficking women.) When women have a low self esteem or confidence they have a low chance of standing up for themselves or making decisions. Legalizing prostitution would cause women to become defenseless in standing up for their rights.

Back 8

I have argued that prostitution should be illegal to protect women’s rights and save children from being sucked into the sex industry.

Let us remind you that this topic is important because either way society will be widely affected by prostitution, legal or not.

Barbara Walter said, "Prostitution is a world that is here to stay, like it or not it is time to make the best of it" It is up to you to determine what would make the prostitution world better.