i thought this would be an interesting topic to talk about, do you guys think it should be legal to run an escort agency in this country because yes they are only selling companionship however we all know what an escort is selling so what does everyone think? i dont see that big of a problem if the escorts are on board let them do as they please.

The more legal prostitution becomes, the safer those girls are.

If I want to sell a cheeseburger and cuddle with my customer at the same time why can't I?

decriminalize sex work

What country? I believe you are referring to USA, but if it is Iran...

basically that.

there's also moral arguments about whether it should be stigmatized in the first place (it shouldn't) but really the safety argument should be good enough.

+1

Legalization of prostitution services equals safer work environments and allows us to more efficient tax those services. Why would we not want this? The only people who oppose that sort of thing are those banging the 'decency and morality' drums and quite frankly screw those guys.

morality is an important aspect of what most people are okay with

Oh hey, an account with only one post on a topic completely unrelated to the site. Doesn't appear to be selling anything though. Hmm.

On topic, I think selling sex is a bit like selling internal organs, something which is also illegal. In both cases, it is ostensibly consensual on both sides, but very exploitative, so a large part of the people selling are doing so only because they have no other choice. I think the best way to counter this exploitation is not by criminalization, but by not putting people in positions where they are forced to choose between being exploited and starvation or homelessness. I think people should be allowed to work as prostitutes if they want too, but I don't think anyone should be coerced into it prostitution by poverty.

I'm going to be the devil's advocate here and say "no, it should not be legal".

Prostitution should be legal as long as we're talking about individual entrepreneurs or partnerships thereof. An agency/brothel model wherein a significant part of value is captured by people who are not prostitutes themselves is exploitative and should remain illegal. To paraphrase Marx, sex workers should have full control of the, ahem, 'means of production'.

how is it more exploitative than similar commercial entities?

People who work an assemblyline only receive a tiny fraction of the profit the assemblyline reaps.

Morality is an issue. I once watched an interview with a specialist telling that USA is a dichotomy at this point. At one side, it was colonized by puritans and they still have a strong presence and at the other hand it is the biggest porn producer of the world. Hard to create a consensus with that background.

Although I agree with that argument, things are not that simple. The illegal market offers more money and there are some other problems to consider, like pension.

why not legalize

prosecuting sex workers' clients creates the same problems; the nordic model does not work

It is this way more or less here in Brazil. Prostitution is not a crime, nor paying for services. Pimping and brothels are illegal. In practice, it did not work either, pimping and brothels still work and are overlooked by police. Because prostitutes without brothels are like doctors without a hospital.

Most prostitutes that work alone desire to join a brothel where they have guaranteed work and security. Only the most famous are able to work alone with security.

You can't stop it from happening though. Anyway, prostitution MIGHT be bad for women, but illegal prostitution for sure is bad for them.

HIV among sex workers is 33-46% more prevalent in countries where it's illegal (other STDs too). Because they can't access health care and social services. Rape among these women declines by 31% largely because they can now freely approach the police, so there's ramifications for perpetrators.

Up here in Canada, the exchange of sex for money is legal (just like in Nevada for some reason), but pimping and brothels is illegal. Brothels look like they're becoming legal up here if they haven't already.

You just got to get rid of the pimps. Once they're gone, it gets a whole lot cleaner and it protects minors (since pimps were the main problems in that aspect).

But to go back to your point, Door, is prostitution objectively bad for women? It's a victimless crime except in the cases where the woman has been kidnapped (human trafficking).

Yes, the man or woman is, without being kidnapped, choosing to have sex for money. However, the same argument could be made for minimum wage and workplace safety laws, and yet we keep them around because we believe that it is unethical for anyone to be put into such working conditions. Whether or not you think prostitution falls under this domain is a matter of opinion, but an argument of this nature is not without precedent.

I agree. The best option, in my opinion, is decriminalize prostitution (which in many parts of the world it was already done). Legalize brothels (but not the prostitution) and combat pimping, human trafficking and slavery.