Response to 'Criminalized Prostitution Isn't Working'

My colleague Matt over at the criminal justice blog posted a well-crafted piece today about his views (which I disagree with with) on the criminalization and legalization of prostituion.  There is also a very lively debate happening on this subject here.  Here are three responses to both Matt's arguments and the debate as a whole:

Legalization and Decriminalization Are Different Policies

So many people talk about "decriminalization and legalization" as if they are synonyms, when in fact they are very different policies.  For the most part, when we use the word "criminalization" we are talking about how, when, and to what extent to enforce a law against an illegal activity.  For example, homicide is illegal and highly criminalized.  Double parking is illegal and minimally criminalized (and here in DC, sometimes outright ignored).  Legalization of prostitution would mean that by law, exchange of money for sex would be legal for all parties involved.  Decriminalization of prostitution is a discussion of the policies around enforcement of the laws against prostitution.  Matt, you yourself state that prostitution is "in a league by itself" of demeaning and dangerous jobs, and that it is "very rarely the case" that it happens between consenting parties.  I see no viable argument to make legal an institution which by its nature commits violence against women and children, removes the opportunity for freedom and consent from individuals, and furthers the commodification of women's bodies and the reduction of their humanity by society.  The image above is of a legal brothel in Nevada.  At first, I thought it was a prison.

Decriminalization Is Different Policies

"Decriminalization" in and of itself is complex.  There would be hundreds of ways to "decriminalize" prostitution, so it shouldn't be viewed as one blanket policy.  One model is the Swedish model, which legalizes selling a sex act but makes the act of buying one illegal, with the goal being to shift the criminal prosecution of prostitution onto men.  Another is the "Las Vegas" model, which is to keep prostitution technically illegal, but allow it to run rampant thinly veiled as escort services.  Another model (and I don't know of a place which as tried this) would be to shift all undercover vice stings involving prostitution to focus on identifying and arresting pimps and johns.  A better question than "should we decriminalize prostitution", which could mean any number of things, is "do we need to change the way we address prostitution as a country and a society?"  I would answer that last question yes.  But it is not productive to lump all changes in enforcement policy under the umbrella of "decriminalization".  In fact, I would argue that some of the changes I would like to see involve greater criminalization of pimps and buyers, especially buyers who commit violence and rape against the women they purchase.

The World's Oldest Profession Argument is Hackneyed

Saying that prostitution is "the world's oldest profession" and thus will never go away is talking a cheap out.  This is a system that degrades, hurts, and kills millions of women.  Rape has been around for a pretty long time, does that mean we should aceept it?  Breast cancer has been killing women and destroying their bodeis and lives for a while as well, so should we give up finding ways to fight it?  One of my favorite quotes sums this up nicely.

"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated."

Some of you might recognize the author as Albus Dumbledore.  It is one thing to argue about how to best protect women and reduce human trafficking in a world where prostitution exists, legally or not.  It is quite another to throw up our hands and turn our backs on the millions enslaved by it.  We have both the ability and the reponsibility to address this.

I am also a firm beleiver that it is morally wrong to pay for sex.  I also believe that it is morally wrong to allow women and children to be abused and enslaved in the commercial sex industry.  But this isn't about me.  It's about all of us women keeping our bodies, our sexuality, and our lives as an extension of ourselves, not products for sale to men.