Prostitution: A Negative Institution

Chris Liakos

Prostitution exists in nearly every big city in this country. Typically, whenever prostitution is found, crime and disease are found too. The people involved in this activity almost always have a negative history, including drug use and school drop-out. The illegal institution of prostitution promotes degradation of women, drug use, and disease, and should remain a crime.

In large cities such as Miami and San Fransisco, the crime of prostitution is not typically found in the middle-class and higher-end neighborhoods. Prostitution is most prominent near nightclubs and ghettos. Such places lend themselves to crime more easily than family-style neighborhoods. Nightclubs in particular contain much late night partying, drinking, and oftentimes drug use. Much crime is related to drugs and alcohol. The close proximity of prostitution and alcohol and drug use is not merely coincidence. Many gangs are involved in prostitution either by soliciting it or indulging in it. To legalize the crime of prostitution would be to justify these criminals’ way of life.

Abuse of women is also a detrimental effect of the crime of prostitution. Many of these women are victims of drug use, and as such cannot hold steady jobs. Women in this position resort to prostitution to support their drug habits. The pimps who solicit many different women also usually have drug problems. Pimps sell these women for an hour at a time and in return receive the money needed to support their drug habits as well as their whores’ drug habits. Logic states that most of these women would not participate in such sexual activity if they did not have a drug habit to support. Some of these women do not have any drug habits, but rather they resort to prostitution to survive on the streets. Instead, such women should be taken in, educated, and employed. To legalize the crime of prostitution would be to continue chaining these women to a negative and hopeless way of life.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are a big problem in the United States, especially among the groups of people who indulge in prostitution. Prostitutes have sex with many different partners. All it takes is for one of those people to be infected with an STD to spread it to the prostitute. The prostitute then spreads it to everyone else with whom she has sex. This chain reaction can mean anything but good. Most of these diseases lead to very uncomfortable symptoms that are incurable, but some of them including HIV lead to a painful death. Dishonest husbands who engage in prostitution risk contracting STDs and then bringing these diseases back to their wives waiting innocently at home. To legalize the crime of prostitution would be to encourage the spread of disease among the population, even to innocent people. Sometimes standards and principles must be upheld. Crimes should not be legalized so that they can be regulated. Crimes, including prostitution, should remain illegal so that criminals don't get their way.

The legalization of prostitution would start a destructive pattern of incrementalism in this country that would be quite difficult to halt. Once prostitution is legalized, then illegal drug use might be legalized. Then another crime and another would be legalized. Pretty soon, not much would be illegal, and society would be detrimentally affected as a result. Rather, prostitution should be cracked down upon as well as the crimes typically associated with it. These women should be educated and employed, not forced to resort to dangerous and illegal activities. Programs should be instituted to give these women temporary benefits, emphasizing the word temporary, to help these women climb out of these holes.

Prostitution represents a moral degradation of society, encouraging sex as a service rather than a privilege within the institution of marriage. Prostitution is an abuse on women, preventing them from progressing to a positive lifestyle. This crime encourages other crimes including drug use and gang activity. Prostitution also aids in the spread of such diseases as AIDS. Legalization of this crime would incrementally lead to legalization of other crimes. Legalization of this illegal practice would set this country on a slippery slope, harming Americans in the present as well as future generations.

Chris Liakos serves as President of the Political Science Club at Georgia Perimeter College-Lawrenceville. He is also a chapter leader for Students for Saving Social Security. You may contact Chris at chris_liakos@yahoo.com