On Legalising Prostitution

There seems to be an argument about to erupt about over prostitution. I've got all sorts of opinions about this. First, let's fill in some background:

It's currently illegal to take money for sex in UK, though apparently it's not illegal to offer money for sex. It is illegal to "kerbcrawl". I have never seen a definition of "kerbcrawl" which bothers me enormously, but it seems that someone can be charged with kerbcrawling if it is deemed that they are attempting to hire a prostitute from their car. As far as I know, it is not illegal to walk the street with a view to finding and hiring a prostitute. Nor is it illegal to give money to someone for a 30 second massage, and then have sex with them for free for 30 minutes.

Discussions now appear to be taking place with a view to changing the law in such a way as to make customers of prostitutes more accountable. Currently, as far as I can tell, the only way a customer can commit a crime is by kerbcrawling, and I suspect that the definition of this is so loose, that it is essentially just a loophole waiting to be exploited. It seems that ministers, all of which appear to be female, are suggesting that it should be made a crime to offer money for sex.

It seems that we even have a minister in charge of tackling prostitution. I don't know who it is now, but until last year it was apparently Fiona McTaggart, whoever she is. Ms McTagggart apparently dismissed arguments that prostitution was an inevitable part of society, adding: "We have always had murder - that doesn't make it right. The price of prostitution is enormously high for women...[And] the more vulnerable the woman is, the cheaper the price is for men."

OK, here's my take on the issue:

First, I don't know how anyone can possibly think that prostitution is not an "inevitable part of society". Every society has had prostitution, since the dawn of time itself. It's in every town in every country of the world. You may not like it, but you cannot deny that it is. And no measure, however draconian, has ever managed to stamp it out. And that comment about murder; yes murder is also an inevitable part of society, and has been since the time of Cane and Abel, but it's mercifully rare, and more serious that selling sex. More importantly, potentially prostitution is victimless, whereas murder never can be.

Secondly, and this really annoys me, I don't know why it's always turned into a feminist issue. I'm not saying that life as a prostitute is not tough, but no one has to do it. I'm not talking about under age children who are forced into it, I know that is exploitative. I'm talking about adults. I'll concede that women get swept up into a life of prostitution and can't see a way out. I'll concede that women do it to feed drug habits. But I simply can't accept that women are being forced to work as prostitutes in this country. Just about every prostitute made the decision to do it. They're not being exploited, they are simply providing a service. There are plenty of other professions that drag people in in the same way.

And while we are on the subject, exactly who is being exploited here? Is it the women, or the men who can only make a decision with their genitals and pay them for sex? I'd say there was a case for suggesting that these women are exploiting weak minded men, or men that can't get sex in the 'normal' way.

Read the artical in the Guardian and they'll have you believe that this campaign is only taking place out of concern for the women involved - bullshit ladies and gentlemen, utter bullshit. The ministers involved here are concerned about prostitution because it is distasteful, and they are making a moral judgement. Making the lives of these women better is not a difficult task. It could be done overnight. You just have to stop treating them like criminals. The difficult part is doing it without being seen to promote prostitution. Politicians don't want to be seen to allow prostitution for image reasons.