A pastor, a judge, and an actor are arrested in a prostitution sting. It sounds like the start of a joke, but in this case, it happened in Naples, Florida — in just one of the many police operations across the country that sweep up hundreds of Johns. And there is no doubt many — especially the sanctimonious — will celebrate the public shame and fines these sexual ‘criminals’ will suffer.
But it raises the question, why is prostitution illegal?
Let’s dispose of the moral argument. It was the same reasoning that once made adultery and birth control crimes and made divorce an arduous task. Try reinstituting that — and even the evangelicals will balk at having to have unlimited children and staying with a spouse they despise
Modern law has moved away from legislating morality. As a society, we are moving toward the idea it is up to individuals to make their own decisions on what is or is not acceptable behavior in a victimless crime.
Defenders of anti-prostitution laws will argue that prostitution is not victimless. They may claim that women are coerced into the business. That they are under the thumb of abusive pimps. And that they risk contracting STDs and suffering beatings at the hands of the customers.
But far from being an argument to criminalize commercial sex, it is an argument for legalizing prostitution. Brought into the open, paid for sex can be regulated. Sex workers can ply their trade with less risk of abuse and disease. And pimps would be replaced with professional management. It would be like any other business. Not perfect but significantly better.
Not that legalizing it is the complete answer. Even in Nevada, where prostitution is legal in some rural communities, illegal prostitution thrives in cities like Las Vegas. It caters to a need. And where there is a need there’s a way — as the illicit drug trade shows us.
I suspect that any intelligent and honest police official will tell you that prostitution isn’t going away. And that these sting operations are no more than window dressing for local police forces and politicians to show they are tough on that sort of thing.
Moving beyond morality and common sense the bigger question is why shouldn’t people sell their services? Masseurs intimately touch people all the time, but because they avoid the reproductive organs it’s considered A-OK. But from a biological point of view what's the difference?
Society has decided there are naughty bits - but on what basis?
The argument that prostitution is dangerous has already countered above, but let’s look at it further. Logging, fishing, and roofing are far more dangerous jobs. But we accept that some professions are inherently more hazardous than others. Professional football exists solely to entertain the masses and yet leaves athletes with high rates of CTE. Few people (so far) are arguing to ban it.
Finally, consider this, there are two times when paid for sex is already legal. Sexual surrogacy often uses sex as a therapy for intimacy issues. And most absurdly while I can’t hire an ‘escort’ for a bit of ‘just between us’ hanky-panky, I could hire her to have sex with me as long as I film it and upload it to the internet as an ‘amateur’ porn tape, where everyone can see it.