(Untitled)

[the_questess]

Police arrest six in Spokane prostitution sting

SPOKANE -- Officers disguised as potential Johns arrested six known prostitutes in just two hours on Friday night

Comments

[hippydippymama]

I really don't see the point of arresting prostitutes and not Johns and pimps. I would much rather see a police force organize a sting to go after the pimps that get their girls coked up so they'll do anything for a fix. And I would rather see the women sent to some kind of halfway house, if they wanted, instead of a prison. Hell, if we're willing to rehab sex offenders, I don't see why prostitutes can't be.

[the_questess]

I'm not sure about Johns, but being a pimp is a felony whereas being a prostitute is only a misdemeanor (at least in Washington, and I think it's pretty standard).

Oops, this was actually posted by Mark, forgot to log out and back in since I'm on the laptop

[kresentia]

I'm a big believer in legalization and regulation. In my hopes that would keep everyone healthy (or healthier - hey, do drug tests and stop people - take their license - who don't pass them if you want to in addition to regular STD testing, require vaccinations, etc.), allow regulation and actually protect sex workers so they don't need abusive pimps to protect them - they could cry rape or abuse and go to the police. I don't see a lot of difference between strippers and prostitutes in the sense that I think if they enjoy their jobs they are equally valid choices and neither are dirty or wrong. My emotional reaction to both would be about the same as if you said you you were a zookeeper. I believe that everyone should be free to make their own sexual choices from being gay, to being poly to stripping or being a prostitute. I have a friend who would probably enjoy being a prostitute if it were legal. We've joked about it before

[chop_sockey]

This, 100%.

[beanpop]

Exactly what I was going to say.

[geminiwench]

If you are going to arrest people,.. arrest the Johns,.. especially those who frequent street walkers who are known to be more violent and less likely to wear protection than the men who visit other types

[the_questess]

"You can GIVE sex away and thats fine, but as soon as you sell it, its illegal?"

Exactly

[ladymandrake]

If you were not aware from previous posts of mine, I spent 7 years of my twenties as an exotic dancer. I never crossed the line from dancing over into having sex but I know lots of women who did. My best friend is one of them. She went from being a dancer to being an escort and still escorts to this day. She would never be caught on a street corner, has a house and a husband and a teenage daughter. She doesn't have a pimp and hand picks her clients from very well to do men. This is how she's chosen to live her life. I worry about her, getting hurt/raped/killed but I don't question her decision to do what she has to do to support her family

[tesslouise]

why not do what nevada does and do mandatory testing and licensing to ensure that diseases are not spread. To me that seems more logical than arresting women taking part in the oldest career known to man...

This, but I believe there's only one county in Nevada where prostitution is legal and regulated--the rest of the state is like the rest of our country, unfortunately.

[darlingfreak]

Actually, on an interesting side note

[the_questess]

Well, I wrote that to be more like what I maybe _used_ to think... the women on sprague were worlds apart from me... then this gal, here she walked right into my life, face-to-face.
And it was about how I don't think like that anymore.

Certainly they may be a different class of people though... but many "sleezy" types don't sell sex at all... and most of the ones I think of are men! *g*

Escort girls... aren't they still illegal though? I guess I mention Firefly because she was operating legally.

[darlingfreak]

I see what you mean. Sorry.

And escort services and agencies are perfectly legal, with the subtext of the illegal sex heavily implied and common knowledge but never officially recognized. And in some states prostitution isn't even illegal.

My point that your television fantasy of the expensive, specially trained, highly educated and highly sought after woman who sells sex was by no means a fantasy.

In fact, courtesans who lived and were patronized by the nobility and even lived among them existed well into the Victorian era.