But the Urban Justice Center argues that prostitution, pornography and other forms of «sex work» provide valuable sources of income for many. The United States lags behind many other developed countries when it comes to considering the impact of decriminalizing prostitution, which is legal in European countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, as well as in other parts of the world. Charleston, who says she was traded to Nevada, told Fox News Digital that she had horrific experiences in a brothel. She said prostitution as an industry is not so much liberating as a trap in which vendors go through violence, slavery and poor working conditions. With the exception of some rural districts in Nevada, brothels are illegal in the United States. [36] However, many otherwise legal massage parlors, saunas, spas, and similar establishments serve as fronts for prostitution, especially in large cities. They are usually located in cities or along major highways. [37] Much of this debate seems to be shaped by how a person perceives prostitution and whether it is inherently objectifying. If not, does industry use participants` bodies in the same way as other industries? NCOSE raised concerns about violence in prostitution, suggesting that it only predisposes individuals to this type of activity. A long list of organizations, including Amnesty International and the World Health Organization, have expressed support for some form of legalization. Overall, the data will never point to a perfect solution to this or any other social problem. In prostitution, emotions and moral instinct are on the red line. Often, the proposed solution boils down to the answer to this question: What is prostitution? Is it a violation of the rights and dignity of others? A job like any other? Or a moral offense as old as the law itself? Nevada is the only state in the Union that allows commercialized prostitution.
Nevada has allowed brothel operations since the 1800s (see: Mining – Gold Rush); However, the first state-sanctioned brothel was not operational until 1971, when the Storey County Commission authorized the Mustang Ranch brothel. After that, the legislature authorized prostitution or solicitation of prostitution in Nevada in designated brothels licensed by a county. State law currently allows counties with fewer than 700,000 residents to issue licenses. (See: NRS 244.345(8).) The inequalities and harms in prostitution are irreparable and unacceptable. Therefore, Nevada residents and their elected leaders should end legalized prostitution and resist local and national decriminalization efforts. Cui bono? Who benefits? Who benefits from legalization and/or decriminalization? Pimps and brothel owners benefit. Sex buyers benefit. Government agencies benefit. But people who are sexually exploited for commercial purposes do not benefit.
The prohibition of prostitution in the United States has been criticized from various angles. [49] Local governments in Nevada that have legalized prostitution receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and brothel fees. These entities are then allowed to act as de facto pimps under the guise of state law, getting their share of what brothels charge for those they prostitute. Internet advertising for sexual services is offered not only by specialized sites, but in many cases by mainstream advertising sites. Craigslist has had such an «adult services» section for many years. After several years of pressure from law enforcement and anti-prostitution groups, Craigslist closed the section in 2010, first for its .pages in the United States and then internationally a few months later. In March 2018, Craigslist`s human resources department was shut down. In 2017, the «Adults» section of Backpage was closed. [35] Currently, Internet advertising is the most important resource for anyone interested in prostitution. There are websites for different clients, from high-end escorts to low-end budget escorts. Among participants in the voluntary drug abuse program, 41.4% of women and 11.2% of men reported selling prostitution services in the past year (March 2008).
[60] In Newark, New Jersey, a report states that 57% of prostitutes are reported to be HIV-positive, and in Atlanta, 12% of prostitutes may be HIV-positive. [61] Decriminalization laws have been passed in Maine and Massachusetts; a similar bill is expected to be submitted to the Washington D.C. City Council in June; and Rhode Island lawmakers held hearings on a proposal in April to examine the impact of decriminalizing prostitution. Child prostitution in the United States is a serious problem. [38] [39] More than 100,000 children are estimated to be forced into prostitution each year in the United States. [40] [41] However, critics again warned that lifting these restrictions would hamper efforts to investigate human trafficking. For example, police could use vagrancy laws as a basis for prosecuting a situation where a minor or adult victim of trafficking could be detected. «We, who have long been in the anti-trafficking movement, have been advocating for years that prostituted people not be criminalized for exploitation,» Alexi Meyers, director of anti-trafficking policy at Sanctuary for Families, told Big Think in an interview about the New York law. «This is the only law where the victim is arrested.
Instead of handcuffing, [prostitutes] need services, need housing, support. Louisiana is the only state that requires convicted prostitutes to register as sex offenders. The state crime against nature under the Recruitment Act is used when a person is accused of having oral or sex for money. Only prostitutes prosecuted under this law must be registered. This led to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights. [44] Alexi Meyers, a former prosecutor and advisor to the Partial Decriminalization Act, told me that if the Stop Violence Act repealed a law that criminalized the «promotion of prostitution» (referring to pimps) at the criminal level, it would take «the bread and butter out of human trafficking cases.» The bill proposes to maintain the most relevant laws at the level of crimes, such as combating trafficking in minors or promoting prostitution in school zones. Typically, an agency charges its escorts either a flat rate for each client connection or a percentage of the pre-agreed price. In San Francisco, it`s common for typical heterosexual market agencies to trade up to 50% of a woman`s reported income (without tipping) for as little as $100.
