Decriminalize Prostitution?

I completely agree with the post on Azure’s blog about prostitution. I find it ridiculous that people are becoming uncomfortable with the fact that prostitution is illegal. Azure’s post mentioned how Amnesty International claims that sex workers are often harassed and beaten and that because of this, the sex trade should be decriminalized. However, although they may be victims of harassment, many of these workers are aware that this is a risk of what they choose to do for a living.

The post also mentioned how Amnesty International believes that decriminalizing the sex trade would decrease violence towards prostitutes and make it easier to reach out to the police if a crime is committed on one of them. This may be true, but the only reason prostitutes aren’t willing to reach out to the police is because they know they are committing a crime as well. It is also true that these people probably wouldn’t be harassed in the first place if they didn’t choose a “job” with such risks. I agree that although decriminalizing the sex trade may fix one or two problems, it definitely has the potential to lead to many more issues, including the perception of women. Overall, I too believe that the government should leave the debate over prostitution alone and treat it like a crime because it is one.