And Then Lorr Starts More Trouble!
I went to the Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking website to research facts for my Economics essay and found a bunch of... well, inaccurate information. So I decided to contact them about this and here's what we have so far:
"To the Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking,
After reading your online Legalization Fact Sheet PDF, I noticed a lot of errors and inaccurate quotes you have. I also researched why they are wrong:
"Since we know that prostitution always harms women..." --- "It is intrinsically harmful and traumatic."
Prostitution is no more intrinstically harmful than guns; what makes them harmful is the way they are managed. Guns can be used for self-defense that saves someone's life or to murder an innocent person; it's all determined by how that gun is used.
In addition, legal prostitution does not cause the same psychological and physical damage seen in illegal streetwalkers. In fact, Sarah Romans, M.D., found that there are no differences in mental health between female prostitutes and females who aren't prostitutes (“Prostitution”).
Sex itself is very beneficial. A study conducted by Queens University found that having sex reduces the risk of depression, prostate cancer, heart disease or strokes (by 50%), and provides weight loss, pain relief, a 30% increase in levels of an antibody known to boost the immune system, and better bladder control (“Is Sex Necessary?”). By providing a steady supply, legal prostitution would actually increase the health and happiness of prostitutes and customers alike through these benefits.
"Prostitution is not labor, it is paid sexual exploitation. It is often paid rape."
Legalized prostitution is neither exploitation nor rape. It is not exploitative because the women willingly choose to become legal prostitutes rather than being forced by illegal pimps, and it is not rape because they consent to sex.
"Wherever legal prostitution exists, nearby illegal prostitution increases."
I can't find any statistical reports verifying or refuting this, but it seems inaccurate simply by the economic law of supply and demand.
Legal prostitution competes with illegal prostitution. Since legal prostitutes offer higher-quality, cleaner, and safer sex than illegal streetwalkers, it would be more valuable, attract more customers, and ultimately beat out its illegal competition. Demand for illegal prostitution would plunge, forcing streetwalkers who could no longer profit from their business to take it elsewhere or quit.
This quote makes no economic sense and I can find no statistical sources supporting or explaining it.
"Women can report rapes and assaults to the police under current laws. The problem is that contempt toward prostitutes stays the same whether prostitution is legal or illegal."
This is incorrect on several accounts. I agree that illegal prostitution is dangerous. A study of 130 primarily homeless illegal streetwalkers showed that 80% had been physically assaulted, some raped between 8 and 10 times a year or more ("PENet").
But as far as reporting rapes and assaults to police, only 7% seek help and only 4% report the rape to the police ("PENet"). Why? Because if they go to the police, they will be arrested instead of helped.
"Regardless of its legal status, women would prefer to get out of prostitution and usually feel ashamed of it."
Actually, 97% of call girls and brothel workers experienced higher self-esteem than before they became prostitutes ("PENet").
"Almost everyone in prostitution was raped as a child before she got into it. Incest and rape are boot camp for prostitution."
Yes, many illegal prostitutes are victims of child abuse. Sexually abused minors who run away from home in search of help often must resort to prostitution to survive. As a result, they are manipulated and exploited by opportunists... but if one of these minors came to a legal establishments to join, the establishment would be required to turn these children over to Child Protective Services, who could then arrest the perpetrator to prevent further harm and make sure the child is taken care of properly ("Legalized Prostitution").
"MYTH: Decriminalizing prostitution would save a lot of money because police wouldn’t have to arrest prostitutes or johns or pimps."
Decriminalizing it actually would save money. It costs $2,000 to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate a prostitute, and cities spend an average of $7.5 million every year, from $1 million in Memphis to $23 million dollars in New York ("PENet"). Inconvenienced justice departments must process them through expensive systems, and in the end these measures have little or no impact on prostitution ("Legalized Prostitution"). Once they are released, prostitutes immediately return to the streets because it is their only source of income and the only life they know.
As if that's not bad enough, studies show a prevalence of corruption and racism as a result of the law. One study reports a surprisingly high number of police officers demanding sex from prostitutes in exchange for avoiding arrest ("Why Is Prostitution Illegal?"). This corruption not only makes the law even more inefficient but actually helps spread disease. In addition, a disproportionate number of the prostitutes arrested and incarcerated are women of color, despite the fact that they make up a minority of most prostitute populations ("PENet").
"The Netherlands and Germany are considering repealing legal prostitution because of the crime, trafficking."
This is hard to believe for a number of reasons. With legal prostitution, law enforcement agencies can invest their time, effort, and resources in deterring crimes more effectively, and overburdened justice systems are free to address more serious cases ("Legalized Prostitution").
This quote claims that the Netherlands has a crime problem caused by legalized prostitution, but this is not accurate. Amsterdam, the capitol of the Netherlands, has the least number of murders and rapes, the second lowest suicide rate, a low number of prisoners, and no HIV/AIDS epidemic ("Legalized Prostitution").
I hope this sheds some light on why I believe your website gives misleading information. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. My sources are:
Bazelon, Emily. "Why Is Prostitution Illegal?" 10 Mar 2008. Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC. 4 Mar 2009. <http://www.slate.com/id/2186243/>
Farnham, Alan. "Is Sex Necessary?" Forbes.com Inc. 2006. 4 Mar 2009. <http://www.forbes.com/2003/10/08/cz_af_1008health.html>
Liberator, Mark. "Legalized Prostitution: Regulating the Oldest Profession." GigaGod Productions. 8 Dec. 2005. 4 Mar 2009. <http://liberator.net/articles/prostitution.html>
"PENet: Prostitution Issues: Statistics." 4 Mar 2009. <http://www.bayswan.org/stats.html>
ProCon.org. "Prostitution." UnderGod.ProCon.org. 15 Feb 2008. <http://prostitution.procon.org/viewanswers.asp?questionID=000106>
Sincerely,
--Jessica E. Murphy
WVU full-time senior
English Language and Literature Major"
"Jessica,
You are not discriminating between scientific evidence and sex industry hype.
You're confusing sex and prostitution. Farnham, Alan. "Is Sex Necessary?" Forbes.com Inc. 2006. 4 Mar 2009. <http://www.forbes.com/2003/10/08/cz_af_1008health.html>
The sex acts performed in prostitution are not "sex" for the person who is being prostituted.
You're quoting people who begin their statement with "The following page is a fact-based positional paper on prostitution, not a scientific study. " Legalized Prostitution Regulating the Oldest Profession by Mark Liberator (e-mail: editor@liberator.net) [Updated: December 8th, 2005]
Third, you're citing PENET which is a pro-pimp organization and a lobbying group, not a research organization.
I suggest reviewing the evidence at http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/laws/000151.html
We're a research organization, and some of our findings are reported at nevadacoalition.org and in the book, Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connections, 2007. Check it out!
Melissa Farley, Ph.D., Executive Director
Prostitution Research & Education
www.prostitutionresearch.com
Phone: 415-922-4555
Email: mfarley@prostitutionresearch.com"
"Ms. Farley,
Yes, it is a fact-based paper but not a scientific study. I am forming logical conclusions based on these facts.
I noticed most websites, including Nevada Coalition's, are based on the generalization that legal and illegal prostitution are the same thing that have the same effects. This could not be further from the truth. While sex acts performed in ILLEGAL prostitution are not "sex" for the prostitute as you said, legal prostitutes do not suffer the same stress as their illegal counterparts. Illegal prostitution is disease-ridden, deadly, prone to racism/sexism/child abuse, and based on control... but legalized prostitution provides incentives for establishments to take good care of their workers by providing security, health checks, a comfortable environment, income, enforceable rights, and the option to quit. As a result, legal prostitutes benefit from choosing their line of work.
Every website I can find about PENet claims it's valid. According to http://www.sexwork101.com/prostitutes-education-network/, PENet is an "information service about legislative and cultural issues as they effect prostitutes and other sex workers" with information from activists/educators who study issues of decriminalization, human rights, violence against prostitutes, pornography, and current trends in legislation and social policy.
In addition, it reportedly includes materials from a variety of international organizations like The National Task Force on Prostitution (U.S.), SWOP-Sex Worker’s Outreach Project (Australia), Toronto Safe Sex Project (Canada), and SWAV - Sex Worker’s Alliance of Vancouver (British Columbia), to name a few. You say PENET is not a research organization but it also includes AIDS reports, testimony and stories by workers, health and community outreach reports, and reports from "sex workers and others who research prostitution issues." Everything I've read actually sounds very reliable to me.
I did look into the link you provided (http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/laws/000151.html) but again found that they don't differentiate between the effects of "legal" and "illegal" prostitution. I stopped listing erroneous statements because the entire website is based on this generalization, but here are a few:
1. It equates prostitution with slavery, which is inaccurate to the point of being offensive. Slavery is "forced labor where a person is compelled to work for another... held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation (such as wages) in return for their labor." While this is accurate for most illegal prostitution, numerous studies have shown that legal prostitutes feel much more protected and free to quit the business than their illegal counterparts.
2. It claims that prostitution is extremely dangerous "regardless of legal status" despite the fact that legal establishments provide security measures, enforceable rights, mandated condom use, and weekly health checks for sexually transmitted diseases. Countries with legalized prostitution reported a drop in crime, rape, and murder as well. Legal prostitution is actually much safer than illegal prostitution, but again this report fails to differentiate between the two.
3. It claims "the sexual exploitation of children and women in prostitution is often indistinguishable from incest, intimate partner violence, and rape" ... which is yet again inaccurate almost to offense. First, it discusses sexism while being sexist itself by not mentioning male prostitutes; not all prostitutes are women. Second, legalizing prostitution allows registering sex workers and routine checks during which child prostitution/abuse can be found and prosecuted while the victims can get access to help. Third, prostitution is not by any means comparable to incest because family members can't legally purchase sex from one another. Fourth, the rate of violent crimes plunge when prostitution is legalized, so it certainly is not "indistinguishable" from violence and rape.
I hope this helps explain my frustration with this issue. It's not that illegal prostitution isn't a devastating and manipulative industry that should be reduced as much as possible, but that legal prostitution simply is not the same thing.
Sincerely,
--Jessica E. Murphy"
More to come later.