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PUBLIC OPINION > Prostitution Should Be Legal

SodaHead Living 2012/07/26 21:00:00
The Global Commission on HIV and the Law issued a report suggesting that nations eliminate laws banning "consensual sex work" -- i.e., prostitution. It's an interesting claim coming from an organization aimed at preventing sexually transmitted disease, but their hope is that legalization would lead to regulation and safer practice. We asked the public if prostitution should be legal.

sodahead prostitutes

Nearly two-thirds of the population admitted that it thinks prostitution should be legal. However, it's important to understand that this doesn't necessarily reflect the public's moral opinion of the topic. The question is explicitly legal. Most people think it should be a choice. One commenter wrote, "By legalizing it, mandatory health screenings can be required for the safety of the prostitute and the buyer. Trying to keep it illegal only keeps the thing in the dark where roaches like to live. Bring it into the light of public attention and those roaches will scurry."

Men Are More Willing

Should we be surprised that men were more likely to support the legalization of prostitution? Of course, the Global Commission was not referring solely to female prostitution, but it is more often thought of as a service targeted at men. Actually, the difference wasn't that big. Men were only 11% more supportive than women. Women were still more likely to support legalization than refuse it.

Christian Resistance

Religion and politics provided the biggest defenders of criminalization -- Christians and conservatives. Both demographics were significantly less supportive than the rest. Since religion and politics are often closely related, it's probably not too much of a leap to assume that religion drives this one. Allowing the nation to embrace something that Christians consider to be immoral is a tough call to make.

Older Voters Are For It

Typically, older voters respond similarly to conservative voters. In this case, that means we would predict the older a voter got the less willing they would be to support the legalization of prostitution. Not so. Actually, most age groups were relatively similar. The only one that stood out noticeably was the 55-64 group, and they were 11% more likely to support legalization.

If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about legalizing prostitution. We'd love to hear from you!
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Top Opinion

  • Jiorgia 2012/07/26 21:30:50
    Jiorgia
    +18
    Seriously Christians, you see transactional sex between two consenting adults as worse then the rapes, abuse and murders that you are allowing to happen by keeping it illegal...

    Women in sex work cannot go to the police about rapes or abuse because of their profession and that is plain and simple WRONG.

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Opinions

  • RevBH Thank y... 2012/08/01 04:56:13
    RevBH
    +1
    In most states, exchanging money for sex is illegal. That's why prostitutes get charged with "prostitution." Pimps get charged with "promoting prostitution." Johns (theoretically) get charged with "solicitation."
  • Thank y... RevBH 2012/08/07 14:29:31
    Thank you but no...
    Ahh, you are talking about the US? Sorry, I was speaking from the UK, and the law is different here.
  • RevBH Thank y... 2012/08/07 19:44:37
    RevBH
    +2
    Lucky you!!!
  • Paul 2012/07/31 14:34:11
    Paul
    +5
    Any reason for prostitution to be illegal is bogus bulcrap, so yes, it should be legalized.
  • Aida 2012/07/31 14:26:52
    Aida
    No are you crazy?
  • Thank y... Aida 2012/07/31 14:48:47
    Thank you but no...
    +4
    How has making it illegal ever benefited mankind at any time in our history? In countries where it is legal the rates of sex crimes are lower and and women are safer and incidences of sexually transmitted infections are lower.
  • Bouts2getitpoppinz 2012/07/31 06:09:19
    Bouts2getitpoppinz
    +3
    to be honest the only reason its no llegal is because the government cannot tax it just like marijuana if the government cant get to your money they make the act illegal. Im not glorifying prostitution im just stating thats why it isnt llegal. Porn is llegal but not prostitution? the difference the government taxes porn so they allow it.
  • Starchild Bouts2g... 2012/07/31 12:40:16
    Starchild
    +2
    Very insightful. I think you're right that when governments can't profit from something by taxing it, they criminalize it.
  • Scott Bouts2g... 2012/07/31 19:06:27
    Scott
    +1
    The only reason the government can't tax those things is precisely because it is illegal. Make it legal and the government could tax it, just like any other service industry.
  • Bouts2g... Scott 2012/07/31 19:30:23
    Bouts2getitpoppinz
    +2
    no they couldnt because prostitution is roam based. Its not something that requires paperwork. Now if they made it so you had to go through a business to prostitute then they could tax it. Brothels are legal you know why? because they are taxed. The government cant track everybody a girl is sleeping with for money and prostitutes make big bucks anything thats under the table money government doesn't like. If you dont have to report your earnings from it they dont like it.
  • Scott Bouts2g... 2012/07/31 20:37:08
    Scott
    +2
    Brothels are legal only in Nevada, and I don't know what you mean by "roam based" but customers, if given a choice between going to a legal house where all the women are licensed, tested for HIV weekly, and clean, the street prostitution trade would dry up. To put this another way the only reason it is "roam based" is because it is illegal. Does that mean there would be no more streetwalkers? No, but there would be far fewer of them. As long as it's illegal it encourages street prostitution--working out of a house is too risky. Legalize it and the opposite happens.
  • Builder Scott 2012/08/02 18:37:40
    Builder
    I agree because when I was in Amsterdam I was approached by street walkers!
  • Gwendolyn Harper 2012/07/31 04:06:11
    Gwendolyn Harper
    Whether or not it is legal should not be the question. I think that it is a great tactic to use during wartime. Have the party of the century and let the women think the men "have it all." Then bomb their headquarters and take all of their women for prizes.
  • Bryony 2012/07/30 20:38:03
    Bryony
    +3
    No way! It will influence young people such as children and teens to engage in sex and the rise in rapes and abusive sex will fly! The problem is prestitutes can't go to the police about rapes and abusive sex because it was there chose and its basically there job to be raped! Its just wrong! Imagine being 30 yrs old and beeing a grandmother already! The amount of deaths form aids and stuff will be massive! No one will learn the true meaning of sex and also how to be safe!
  • Starchild Bryony 2012/07/31 12:18:31
    Starchild
    +5
    Where is the evidence for *anything* you claim here? Did you know that prostitution is legal in many countries (see http://chartsbin.com/view/snb)?

    Why isn't the news full of stories about children having sex, people getting raped, and 30-year-old grandmothers in places like Canada, Chile, and Germany?

    It's because the fears you state above have no basis in reality.
  • Builder Bryony 2012/08/02 18:48:22
    Builder
    You think they need influence? The majority of Kids these days have access to all kind of sexual material. All I had in my day was playboy and my friend's father had an 8 mmm and we would sneak and watch his x-rated reels. Nothing will stop rape because according to stats rape isn't a sexual crime. However there was much less rape and other crimes when I was in Amsterdam because men were allowed to have access to legal sex. Also when it is made legal prices are regulated allowing more men to get sex!
  • Scott Bryony 2012/08/02 18:50:55 (edited)
    Scott
    Actually the evidence is quite the opposite. Countries where prostitution is legal generally have lower rates of rape and teen pregnancy, and not by just a little bit. And the only reason prostitutes can't go to the police is BECAUSE it's illegal. As for claiming that it's a prostitutes job to be raped ... the ignorant bigotry in that statement is stunning. Rape is rape whether it's a prostitute or not.
  • Nomad58 2012/07/30 19:53:39
    Nomad58
    +2
    Probably already said but,

    Any State that has legalized abortion should automatically legalize Prostitution.

    1) It a Woman's Body & she has the Right to Chose, correct?
    Therefore, if she can legally murder her unborn child why can't she rent out the factory?

    2) Apparently, morally is suborned to a woman's rights so what justification does the Government have to regulate the sex trade?
  • ThinkAb... Nomad58 2012/07/31 08:10:15
    ThinkAboutIt!
    +1
    Good point.
  • hannah 2012/07/30 16:25:24
    hannah
    how can the public opinion be that prostitution should be made legal? what is wrong with society today? ugh and my faith-in-society meter plummets another 100 notches downward. its steadily lowering to the bottom. who knows. might even soon break THROUGH the bottom and into the negative zones. ugh seriously.
  • Starchild hannah 2012/07/31 12:11:58
    Starchild
    +5
    How can YOU feel that government should police what people do with their own bodies with other consenting adults? Laws against prostitution are immoral, and thousands of years of human history prove they are futile as well! All they do is waste taxpayer money and divert law enforcement resources away from real crime.
  • hannah Starchild 2012/07/31 15:41:03
    hannah
    i do agree real crime should be dealt with. however prostitution should not be legal. if its legalized we'll have a bunch girls lined up on the streets selling their bodies. i dont see how thats right to legalize that.
  • Scott hannah 2012/07/31 19:14:15
    Scott
    +3
    Actually if it's legal there would be fewer prostitutes on the streets and more working out of houses. You could even have zoning laws insuring those houses aren't near schools or neighborhoods. You are pointing at the consequences of it being illegal and trying to use those as arguments for it should stay illegal, but really everything you are pointing out are reasons to legalize it, not reasons to keep it illegal. If it were legal where do you think the customers are going to go? To the licensed houses where they know the women are clean, get mandatory HIV test weekly, and won't rip them off? Or to the unlicensed illegal streetwalkers where they have no such assurances and risk arrest themselves as well?
  • hannah Scott 2012/07/31 23:35:23
    hannah
    so we should condone people selling their bodies for money? really??
  • Scott hannah 2012/08/01 14:32:54
    Scott
    +1
    People sell their bodies for money every day. Everyone who does any kind of physical labor for a living is selling his or her body for a living. Makes little difference whether it's sex or digging ditches. They use their bodies to provide a service and get paid for it.
  • hannah Scott 2012/08/01 23:14:33
    hannah
    its not the same. and prostitution is wrong. so maybe we should allow people to sell drugs too because its "providing a service" right? i dont think so. neither is right
  • Scott hannah 2012/08/02 03:56:43
    Scott
    +1
    Actually selling drugs is NOT selling your body--it's selling drugs. Completely different. And no one ever died from an overdose of sex, so again, bad analogy.
  • Starchild hannah 2012/08/01 16:07:21
    Starchild
    +1
    I don't see how it's right to keep criminalizing adults for consensual sex, because governments have no right to tell us what to do with our own bodies. Every dollar spent going after prostitution is a dollar less available to fight real crime.

    Besides, there are *already* prostitutes offering their services on streets in the U.S. where prostitution is against the law, and I don't think this is much if any different than places where prostitution is legal.
  • hannah Starchild 2012/08/01 23:13:25
    hannah
    i still dont think it is right.
  • Kae Kam hannah 2012/08/02 15:19:12 (edited)
    Kae Kam
    Why? Why would you care what two consenting adults are doing behind closed doors?
  • Starchild hannah 2012/08/05 13:15:11
    Starchild
    Sure, and I don't think it's right for someone to expect someone else to enter into a long-term monogamy contract, but that doesn't mean conventional marriage should be illegal.

    We've got to let people make their own choices if they aren't initiating force or fraud against others, even if we disagree with those choices.
  • LaLa 2012/07/30 15:55:53
    LaLa
    I agree. Especially in a free country.
  • JCD aka "biz" 2012/07/30 15:11:19
    JCD aka "biz"
    +1
    If prostitution is legalized, or tolerated, as it is in many countries, strong action should be taken against the men (and some women) found guilty of forced prostitution. Hard labor.
  • ivegotloveinmypants 2012/07/30 14:20:10
    ivegotloveinmypants
    +4
    Prostitution is not a crime. There is absolutely nothing wrong in having sex for a living, except if you are being coerced, you are underage etc etc.
    Those who are Christian should keep to their own people. They can't guarantee that the whole of their flock is averse to prostitution, anyway.
    People are too busy thinking about the morals behind it, and less about the women themselves. They are the ones who have to do the work, and they are often subjected to diseases and abuse. At least it we legalize it then we can cut down on these problems.
    Common sense.
  • artistheweapon 2012/07/30 09:20:12
    artistheweapon
    +3
    oldest occupation on earth and theres no way to stop it, so why try?
  • Truth 2012/07/30 08:49:49
    Truth
    +3
    People please in one way or another we are all selling our selfs and others? You work for somebodie they work for someone too and so on thats the way it is, I.E. PROSTITUTION!!! RESEARCH HISTORY PEOPLE PLEASE!!! Prostitution has only been illegal in the good old U.S.A. for about 130-150yrs or so,as for the christians only about 600-800yrs and befor that it was legal every where for men and wemen historic fact!!! And now if you take the time to do the research you'll find in reallity in place's were prostitution is legal sex crimes agenst wemen and children are much less than were it is illegal!!! But everyone has their own opinion, right or wrong good or bad moral or immoral, it is and allways will be just another service you pay way to much for and it's over in 20-30sec's!!! SO WHAT!!! TRUTH!!!
  • TheTruth1313 2012/07/30 07:42:03
    TheTruth1313
    +4
    No question about it. It is time to legalize it, regulate it and tax it. The so-called "War on Prostitution" is a failure and a farce.
  • CatX3 2012/07/30 05:01:08
  • Pug For Huck 2012/07/30 01:15:21
    Pug For Huck
    +1
    Just shows where are society is headed.
  • Starchild Pug For... 2012/07/31 12:19:56
    Starchild
    +2
    Yes -- toward more freedom, tolerance, and sex-positive values. Yay!

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