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21 May 08
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On Jan. 19 the Times reported on a book recently published in France by a person known only as Laura D, who is 19 years old. She paid for her first year of university studies by working as a prostitute and wrote the book to warn others against following her example.
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Janice Turner, writing in the Times on Feb. 23, commented that the vast majority of women involved in prostitution wish to escape. She described the legalized brothels in Holland as “magnets for organized crime, drug dealers and traffickers.” Conditions in the legalized centers for prostitution in Nevada are no better, she added, with many women often cruelly treated.
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“Prostitutes are doing something that is fundamentally dehumanizing in order to accommodate instincts that in a truly ‘better world,’ would be channeled into more fruitful and dignified relationships,”
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“Selling your body is not a behavior to take pride in, for as we humans are psychologically constructed, a woman’s sense of self-respect is invariably tied up with her sexual behavior,”
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Matthews, professor of criminology at London South Bank University, points out a number of drawbacks with prostitution and its legalization. Some who favor its decriminalization describe prostitution as a victimless crime, he observes. This, he replies, is a very superficial affirmation.
Those involved in prostitution, especially the women who practice it on public streets, are one of the most highly victimized social groups, Matthews argues. Many of the women involved have long histories of abuse and neglect, and a large number are addicted to drugs. Estimates vary, he observes, but studies carried out in various countries put at 50-90% the proportion of street-based prostitutes who have suffered from child abuse or neglect.
As a group they are also more prone to suffer from homelessness, unemployment and poverty. Their vulnerability and low self-esteem often makes many of these young women open to exploitation by those who groom them for prostitution, Matthews adds.
Contrary to those who portray prostitution as a free choice or as a means of liberation for women, Matthews points out that many of the women do it to support a drug habit or to find money for other pressing needs. He also cited research that put at 10-15% the number of those who are coerced by pimps to prostitute themselves.
The media sometimes presents a glamorized view of prostitution, but according to Matthews: “Behind the facade of independence and autonomy there are a large number of disillusioned women, whose sense of self-worth is continually being eroded.” A problem that becomes more acute as the women age and their looks fade. -
Legalization, combined with taking it off the street, may appear to solve some of the problems associated with prostitution, but is only an attractive option on the surface, one of the book’s chapters explains.
Matthews looks at the experience of the Australian state of Victoria and finds that the legalization of prostitution has not only led to an explosion in the number of brothels, but also to an increase in illegal prostitution. Work conditions for in many cases have not improved and the number of women trafficked has actually increased. Violence against women, another problem associated with prostitution, has likewise increase with legalization.
The same problems occurred in the Netherlands, Matthews commented, which in recent times has led authorities to close down many legal brothels. Turning to Germany, he said that rather than reducing the scale of street prostitution, legalization has instead encouraged its expansion.
With regard to the claim that regular health checks carried out in legalized establishments would be a positive move, Matthews maintained that this does little to improve matters as checks are not carried out on clients. Health checks, he continued, are of limited value and may even lead to a false sense of security.
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