The Oldest Debate

Last year there was a flurry of missives from the rabid feminist wing of the government about changing the laws concerning prostitution. The basic premise was to make paying for sex illegal. Which is the dumbest law ever, because it broadens the scope of criminality. Not only do the clients of street girls (where the majority of problems occur) become criminals, but also the clients of escorts and other sex workers.

So everyone loses: the high class sex workers and those at the bottom, who still end up victims.

This basically pushes the rabid feminist lie that all men are rapists and all women are victims. It doesn't take into account that women pay men for sex sometimes, or have brains and can chose to enter the sex industry and have a bloody enjoyable and successful time.

The same lies were pushed during the instigation of the law making violet pornography illegal. Not once in the consultation phase was it put forward that women should be treated as equals, might have an opinion and want choice and might like that sort of thing, or indeed partake in it. In fact in the case of violent pornography, the consultation document only cited viewpoints from groups that already espoused the rabid feminist rapist/victim viewpoint and a report from the Police saying the usual "can we have more laws please?".

Switch to New Zealand, where prostitution was decriminalised in 2003 and this positive report by the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7927461.stm showing how positive things were for the women involved.

Now I may be unique, but I would like to think that the New Zealand system where women weren't treated like and forced into the role of the victim would be one we should adopt here. Its a system where everyone wins. Clients aren't criminalised, nor are sex workers. The relationship with the Police improves, the Police can move resources to other areas and if traffiking of girls into prostitution is a problem, then the Police would have a whole industry out there ready to point out unlicensed establishments.

I just can't think of a reason not to make prostitution legal, other than a moral/religious one. But in a day and age where even the church is moving forwards by ordaining female priests, isn't it about time the government's attitude towards prostitution moved in the same direction too?