it's immoral for us to let this go on unchecked. it's like having a loaded gun" (Trugman, 1998, p
This precedent was set in the state of California in 1987 when Harold Freeman, a pornography director, was freed by the California Supreme Court on charges of pimping (for hiring adult actors to perform sex acts). Freeman's arrest was part of an attempt by California law enforcement to put an end to the industry; however, their plan backfired when the Supreme Court of California ruled in favor of Freeman, and "the making of hardcore pornography was effectively legalized" (Zirkle, 2010, p
She accepted the offer and learnt that being a date meant buying sex when she was taken to a hotel room. At only fifteen years, she became a sex object and she turned out to be a prostitute, a trend that she could not abandon (Barry 24)
Legalization of prostitution offers approval to violence, devaluation and control of women. Through legalizing prostitution, a country imposes laws with which they can manipulate one class of women as prostituted (Bishakha and Dianne 28)
As a result, the completeness of human experience and human self is lowered to will, consent, intent, as though these are the aspects that are entailed in violation. Human will is the cornerstone of liberal law and theory, which makes an individual in Western idea of rights (Di Nicola 89)
Prostitution is a form of sexual exploitation just like incest, battering, genital mutilation and rape (Di Nicola 89). Sexual exploitation refers to the practice through which women are sexually overpowered through abuse of violation of physical integrity and sexuality as a way of obtaining power and domination including gratification, advancement and financial gain (Falconberg 476)
As a result, prostitution entails infringement of human rights given that organ trading is an example of violation of bodily integrity and human dignity. Although women do not completely exchange their sexual organs for money, they use these organs as a source of income (Gruen 103)
In Dominican Republic for instance, there is a huge population of minors for who streets have become their home, and who have faced the hostile world from an early age. Most of these street children beg as a way of survival, a third of them turn to robbery and other means of enhancing their survival while a fifth of them engage in prostitution (Johnson 82)
Scrambler affirms that sexual colonization of bodies of women is a material reality, and the establishments of this colonization include pornography, law, prostitution and marriages. Part of this colonization relies on presenting prostitution as a private contract (Scrambler 70)
For male children in Singapore, the punishment for sexual abuse is even more stringent. All acts of homosexuality are illegal in this country, but homosexuality with children is punishable with life in prison (Chua)
Since the mid-2000s, Cambodian officials have been making an attempt to crack down on this portion of the child prostitution clientele following international pressure. Much of the government and police forces in Cambodia have reportedly used the illegality of prostitution to get free sexual favors and payment from the various brothels (Colet 211)
This is particularly true since much of the customers for these children come from countries where prostitution is illegal, let alone prostitution of children. Perverts and monsters from "civilized" countries are going to these poor nations for the sole purpose of exploiting their children (Eirienne)
Child prostitution is illegal all over the world, but in some countries the laws against child prostitution and the use of underage people for sexual interactions are lax and often go unenforced. The World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children has declared that child prostitution "constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children, and amounts to forced labor and a contemporary form of slavery" (Lim 170)
This is an enormous sum considering that most Thai citizens earn about $300 per year ("100" 2009). Even worse than Cambodia, Thailand is reported to have between 60,000 and 200,000 children who are engaged in prostitution (Marquez)
Even though there are laws prohibiting child prostitution, the crimes that occur are an open secret in Cambodia. In broad daylight, tourists are approached by pimps and madams willing to offer their young charges for a pittance (Piore)
Violence is used as a deterrent, as are drugs. Perpetrators often get their charges addicted to methamphetamines or heroin in order to keep them docile and dependent upon their employers for their fixes (Ray 90)
Drug use is a symptom of societal sickness, and making "war" on a symptom without addressing the disease itself is useless, expensive, and makes everything worse. Sanho Tree (Goldberg, 2005) points out that "By treating this as a criminal justice problem, our range of solutions has been sharply limited" (p
Unfortunately, the courts and social service agencies often do not see that the teen has a drug problem or send the child for drug treatment. In New York, it was estimated that at least 97,000 "people under the age of 16…are heavy drug abusers in the state, most of them in New York City" (Kerr, 1988, p
Drug Abuse and Prostitution Researchers have known for a long time that drug abuse and prostitution frequently go hand in hand (Medrano, Hatch, Zule & Desmond, 2003; Yacoubian, Urbach, Larsen, Johnson & Peters, 2000; Young, Boyd, & Hubbell, 2000; Potterat, Rothenberg, Darrow, & Phillips-Plummer, 1998; Kerr, 1988, and Goldstein, 1988)
This, in fact, brings into attention the "Swedish model," as described by Mark Egerman: "This model recognizes prostitution as a form of trafficking in women, criminalizing those who traffic in sex workers, namely pimps and Johns, while decriminalizing sex worker, and providing significant resources to those sex workers in need." (Egerman, 2008)