Is having sex with a prostitute as bad as raping her?

[bilby]

No, it really isn't.

Not everyone shares your attitude towards sex; to suggest that sex is a special case, always and for everyone, simply because to you it is 'sacred' is as good an example of bigotry as one could wish for.

There are plenty of jobs, mental and physical, that are extremely distasteful to some people, while others see them as a good opportunity to make money.

If you really don't think that there are people in this world who would view a career in book-keeping with a similar revulsion to that which you express for prostitution; or if you really think that there are no people for whom having sex for money is a transaction with a similar emotional value to working in an office 9 to 5; then you need to get out more.

"I would hate it, therefore nobody could possibly do it voluntarily" is a very poor argument indeed. But you don't appear to have another.

And yet, every statistic that I've seen shows that the vast, overwhelming majority of sex workers would leave the profession if they felt they had a viable alternative. And a very considerable number of prostitutes are under aged or began the profession as an under aged sex worker.

Even in areas where prostitution is legal and regulated, there are still significant numbers of individuals--not only women but also young boys and very young children who are trafficked.

Would you care to share these statistics? Or should I just take your word for it?

How many is 'a very considerable number'? What age is 'underage'? Are these stats from areas where prostitution is illegal, or where it is legal, or both? What constitutes being 'trafficked'? How significant are 'significant numbers'? And has legalisation helped or hurt? Has prohibition helped or hurt? Is there even a connection between these unfortunate people and whether or not prostitution is legal, or whether or not some prostitutes enjoy their work, or freely choose their profession? How does, or could, preventing a person from choosing a career as a prostitute help prevent trafficking or the exploitation of children?

There are a LOT of very dodgy claims out there, based on misleading or completely fictional statistics, often originating from people who are pushing an agenda.

How do I separate your claims here from those?

 

[Toni]

And yet, every statistic that I've seen shows that the vast, overwhelming majority of sex workers would leave the profession if they felt they had a viable alternative. And a very considerable number of prostitutes are under aged or began the profession as an under aged sex worker.

Even in areas where prostitution is legal and regulated, there are still significant numbers of individuals--not only women but also young boys and very young children who are trafficked.

Would you care to share these statistics? Or should I just take your word for it?

How many is 'a very considerable number'? What age is 'underage'? Are these stats from areas where prostitution is illegal, or where it is legal, or both? What constitutes being 'trafficked'? How significant are 'significant numbers'? And has legalisation helped or hurt? Has prohibition helped or hurt? Is there even a connection between these unfortunate people and whether or not prostitution is legal, or whether or not some prostitutes enjoy their work, or freely choose their profession? How does, or could, preventing a person from choosing a career as a prostitute help prevent trafficking or the exploitation of children?

There are a LOT of very dodgy claims out there, based on misleading or completely fictional statistics, often originating from people who are pushing an agenda.

How do I separate your claims here from those?

How about you post your stats about prostitute satisfaction and sources and I will look up the same stats and citations I've posted several times before?

You first since I've posted them on other threads about prostitution.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's a good point that there's always going to be underaged prostitution and human trafficking. Even where the profession is legal, there's generally not enough supply to meet the demand and safety, hygiene, regulatory and other measures which are associated with legalized prostitution are things which drive up the price and there's always going to be customers who don't give a shit about that and are happy to save a few bucks on the illegal options (knowingly or unknowingly). My impression (granted, it's not an issue I've researched too deeply) has been that where it's legal, the police don't really pay much attention to the industry and, with few resources assigned to it, the dark underbelly of it can flourish fairly unimpeded.

 

[DrZoidberg]

It's a good point that there's always going to be underaged prostitution and human trafficking. Even where the profession is legal, there's generally not enough supply to meet the demand and safety, hygiene, regulatory and other measures which are associated with legalized prostitution are things which drive up the price and there's always going to be customers who don't give a shit about that and are happy to save a few bucks on the illegal options (knowingly or unknowingly). My impression (granted, it's not an issue I've researched too deeply) has been that where it's legal, the police don't really pay much attention to the industry and, with few resources assigned to it, the dark underbelly of it can flourish fairly unimpeded.

Wouldn´t legalised prostitution act to lessen human trafficking? Regular prostitutes would now have an incentive to contact the police and report such activities. They are in a position to learn about such things in a way the police aren´t. This is just a hunch I have, but I suspect that prostitutes are against trafficking about as much as people in general.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's a good point that there's always going to be underaged prostitution and human trafficking. Even where the profession is legal, there's generally not enough supply to meet the demand and safety, hygiene, regulatory and other measures which are associated with legalized prostitution are things which drive up the price and there's always going to be customers who don't give a shit about that and are happy to save a few bucks on the illegal options (knowingly or unknowingly). My impression (granted, it's not an issue I've researched too deeply) has been that where it's legal, the police don't really pay much attention to the industry and, with few resources assigned to it, the dark underbelly of it can flourish fairly unimpeded.

Wouldn´t legalised prostitution act to lessen human trafficking? Regular prostitutes would now have an incentive to contact the police and report such activities. They are in a position to learn about such things in a way the police aren´t. This is just a hunch I have, but I suspect that prostitutes are against trafficking about as much as people in general.

Yes, it would lead to less. There are absolutely no aspects of the prostitution industry which aren't made better by having it be legal instead of illegal.

My point is that it doesn't go away and when it's legal, the police don't tend to prioritize a vice division (or whatever the division that targets the prostitution is called) and therefore the traffickers don't have much to worry about from the authorities. I'm at work, so my ability to google about prostitutes is limited to find the reference but I recall an article (maybe from a previous thread) about how Amsterdam is a major center for sex slavery, despite prostitution being legal there. The police don't devote manpower to the industry due to it mainly being legal, so the traffickers pretty much operate with impunity.