This post deals with the moral responsibility of a society
towards the abuse of prostitutes.
Because I am a Christian who believes that we are created by
God, I find the idea of exchanging sex for money highly contradictory to my
personal morals. However, as a Christian
I want to, and am even commanded to, love people, love mercy, and advocate for
those who are being abused.
So here is the question: should prostitution be
decriminalized?
An automatic response by much of the Christian church must
no doubt be an absolute “No!” in an effort to steer our country away from a
lewd society void of any morals, but I would ask you to really consider the
question and not just respond before you think.
Women who are in prostitution are often not there by choice,
but even if they are, they are subject to environments of high abuse, violence,
and the constant danger of murder. When
a prostitute is being beaten or tortured, who can she call? Her environment is dangerous, and the police,
the protectors of the powerless, function as the enemy who should be avoided at
all cost. They are doubly bound and have
no way of help.
So, if that is the case, what is the ethical response? Throwing abused women in prison doesn't fix
anything, and it’s not economically feasible.
Because the system that is currently in place perpetuates abuse and
binds abused women from every angle, what is a society’s ethical response? Providing a source of help from the police
might be the necessary first step.
As a last word, I want to say that I am genuinely open to
feedback from anyone who would like to comment in the box below this post. However, since this might be a touchy topic
for some people, I’m going to ask that each post be gracious. If there is vulgarity or prejudice or
sweeping and mindless claims, I’m going to take them out. This is a place for mature, rational, ethical
discussion.
Is Prostitution really that bad of a thing in todays society? One could argue that people who date and have pre-marital sex are exchanging sex for gain. Maybe you're dating someone and they are paying for the apartment you guys are living in, but you're not contributing to the bills or antyhing, and you're sleeping with that person. How is that not prostitution in some form?
ReplyDeleteBut, as for "abuse" and "prostitution".. there are places in Europe and Las Vegas where they have forms of "legal prostitution" and there are bouncers and men in the other rooms so if someone starts to abuse you or cause you harm you can push a button or pull a string (depending on the location) or maybe even call out and someone will come to your rescue. People who get into that kind of work realize there is a risk. However, if it was decriminalized I think we would be able to spare many men and women from harm. Better to have a "Place of Business" that could be taxed than to be standing on the side of the road. Plus, in places like Las Vegas, you have to be clean of STD's so that could help stop the spread of sexual disease.
Prostitution is not a "new concept" it's been around since Biblical days.