Sienna Stern

Shannon Freestone
English 10
12/1/2014

Argumentative Paper: Legalizing Prostitution

The topic of prostitution can arise many controversial arguments over whether or not it
should be kept illegal in most states in America. Many people may associate prostitution with
illegal crime and dangerous disease while bypassing the possible positive outcomes of a
potentially legitimate business. Though prostitution remains a widely taboo topic among most
Americans, choosing to see it as a beneficial and economically powerful tool can often be hard
for most. However, if prostitution became less of a negative topic, more people could see it as
simply another type of business. Aside from the social stigma that prostitution casts, seeing it as
a tool to help reduce crime, prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease and help to boost
the economy could thoroughly benefit our country.
I believe that prostitution should be made legal in America because of its potential ability
to lower crime rates. If prostitution were to be made legal, the amount of rape based crime could
be lowered due to the availability of prostitutes to cater to paying clientele. According to a study
conducted in Queensland, rape rates went up 149% after legal brothels were closed in 1959
(Psychological and Sociological Research and the Decriminalization or Legalization of
Prostitution by Linda M. Rio Reichmann, JD). By taking away the legality of prostitution as a

legitimate business we see that the effects produced by this can be closely linked to the exact
type of product that prostitution has to offer in a legal and humane manner. If the ability to allow
readily available sex with consent was made legal with payment under the supervision of a
business-like employer/company, rape would decrease significantly: It is estimated that if
prostitution were legalized in the United States, the rape rate would decrease by roughly 25% for
a decrease of approximately 25,000 rapes per year (Prostitution and Sex Crime by Kirby R.
Cundiff, PhD). By providing prostitution as a consumer product, we could expect rape related
crimes to decrease by one fourth due to the readily available services that could be legally
provided to paying customers in a professionally controlled atmosphere. In this type of consumer
to business type manner, rape could be eliminated by the consent of a legitimate, working
prostitute to the customer. However, from an opposing standpoint the argument that legalized
prostitution could help prevent rape may sound counter intuitive.
Some people may argue that prostitution is just a form of more socially acceptable rape:
"Prostitution cannot eliminate rape when it is itself bought rape. The connection between rape
and prostitution is that women are turned into objects for men's sexual use; they can be either
bought or stolen (Coalition Against Trafficking in Women). The official definition of rape
according to the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services states that rape is: The carnal
knowledge of a person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is
incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or
permanent mental or physical incapacity. Legalized prostitution cannot be considered rape due
to the consent of the victim, or, in the case of prostitution, the employed prostitute themselves.
Along with the reduction of crime, legalized prostitution could also lower the rates of
sexually transmitted diseases (STD's), in particular, HIV/AIDS. Because the spread of HIV

depends of the type of risk factor that those who are affected will delve into, the risk level must
first go down in order for any positive changes to arise: For HIV/AIDS prevention to succeed,
the conditions of risk have to change. The context - legal, social, economic - of sex work has to
change, with repeal of criminal laws, access to visas and work permits, freedom of movement
and association, and occupational safety and health regulations, to reduce the imposition of risk
from above (Contextual Risk Versus Risk Behavior by Priscilla Alexander). In order for the
spread of HIV/AIDS to be preventable, prostitution must first be made legal. By doing so, the
steps that would have to be taken in order for it to become a legitimate business would depend on
a work permit which, in turn, would depend on the screening of workers (prostitutes) for any
STD's, including HIV/AIDS. If we look at Nevada, a state where in most counties prostitution is
legal, their laws for weekly STD/HIV testing have been effective since 1992 (NAC441A.800
Testing of sex workers; prohibition of certain persons from employment as sex worker). If
Nevada's laws of prostitution were to apply to the rest of the nation if prostitution were to
become legal, the spread of STD's and HIV/AIDS would decrease significantly due to the nature
of sex workers having to be screened prior to and during their employment. If the risk factor for
illegal prostitution is high, the legalization of prostitution would immediately lower that risk
factor to a minimum or non-existent one, due to the laws that are responsible for determining
who is deemed eligible to become a legal prostitute based on STD and HIV/AIDS screening.
Those who oppose prostitution may argue that sex workers are capable of hiding the fact
that they test positive for an STD or HIV. However, according to Nevada law, section 441A.800
states that: Each sample and specimen required pursuant to this section must be collected under
the supervision of a licensed health care professional and must be identified by, as applicable:

(a)The name of the sex worker from whom the sample or specimen was collected, as that
name appears on the local work permit card of the sex worker; or
(b)The name of the person from whom the sample or specimen was collected, as that name
appears on the application of the person for a local work permit card. Due to this law, sex
workers who are under the employment of a legal prostitution business must give their
information and place of employment, in the event that they do, in fact, test partitive for any
STD. In the case that a sex worker did test positive for an STD, the person shall immediately
cease and desist from employment as a sex worker (NAC441A.800).
The legalization of Prostitution could help economically support the country. If
prostitution became a legitimate business the revenue from income taxes could be substantially
beneficial. Looking at Nevada's economic success with legal prostitution, we see that if the
nation as a whole reaped the type of benefits that Nevada experiences a significant economic
boost could be expected. According to The Times writer Chris Ayers: The average annual
income of an employee at one Nevada brothel working only one week per month is at least
$100,000. Based on this figure, each legally licensed sex worker would contribute more than
$20,000 in federal income taxes per year. If this were to be applied to the estimated one million
legal prostitutes in America, the outcome would be an estimated $20 billion per year (T.P
Sonttag). Along with the direct earnings of these businesses, if a tax were to be imposed upon
individual brothels or sex workers, the revenues could be used to help benefit the state in which
the business is held. Extra revenue could be used to better the basic needs of the state by going
towards fixing roads, local charities, and supporting educational needs.

Along with tax revenue, prostitution could be a career option for those struggling
economically. With unemployment rates at an approximate 6% (Bureau of Labor Statistics),
prostitution could provide those who are unemployed with a legitimate working opportunity.
However, some people may argue that prostitution is an unacceptable solution to poverty: The
prostitution industry exploits to its advantage the fact that most women and children who are in
prostitution come from the most oppressed and vulnerable groups in society (Swedish Division
for Gender Equality Speech by Gunilla Ekberg). This argument only supports the stigma casted
by illegal prostitution, whereas if legalized, the decriminalization aspect of this argument would
help to lift this stigma and shed light on the fact that many women have benefited from the
economic opportunities that legal sex work provides them. In fact according to the Prostitution
Statistics of Illinois, an estimated 1% of women in the U.S. have worked as prostitutes at some
point in their life, showing that if necessary, legal sex work can be utilized as a working
opportunity to reduce unemployment.
In conclusion, the legalization of prostitution could be used as a tool to the nation to help
reduce crime, prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease and help to boost the economy.
By lowering rape rates, legal prostitution provides a legal and humane business that involves the
consent of both sex workers as well as customers. The spread of STD's such as HIV/AIDS could
be lowered if prostitution were to be practiced in a legal setting, where STD testing and
HIV/AIDS screening were required for sex workers on a weekly basis. Lastly, the economy
could benefit from the legalization of prostitution by gaining an increase in tax revenue and
providing the unemployed with a legitimate working opportunity.

Works Cited
Cundiff, PhD, Kirby R. "Kirby R. Cundiff, PhD - Legal Prostitution - ProCon.org." ProConorg

Headlines. 8 Apr. 2008. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

<http://prostitution.procon.org/view.source.php?sourceID=000749 >.
"NAC: CHAPTER 441A - INFECTIOUS DISEASES; TOXIC AGENTS." NAC: CHAPTER

441A - INFECTIOUS DISEASES; TOXIC AGENTS. NEVADA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, 24

Jan. 1992. Web. 6 Dec. 2014. <http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC441A.html#NAC441ASec800>.
Ayers, C., and T.P. Sonntag. "Case for Legalizing Prostitution." Tax Revenue. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

<http://people.emich.edu/tsonntag/engl444/printtoweb/tax_revenue.html >.
Cowritten with Cohen, Judith B., Priscilla Alexander, and Constance Wofsy, "Prostitutes and

AIDS: Public Policy Issues," AIDS & Public Policy Journal, 1988
"Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject." Bureau of Labor Statistics Data. 7 Dec. 2014.

Web. 6 Dec. 2014. <http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000>.