Feminist civil war over strip club

[Admiral X]

I'm all for legalized prostitution anyway, so I see no problem with that either as long as all parties are consenting (and are legally able to consent).

[Yukaphile]

Yeah, and cut down on sex trafficking.

[LittleRaven]

As I mentioned before, Yuka, there's absolutely no evidence that legalizing prostitution cuts down on sex trafficking, and quite a bit of evidence that it causes sex trafficking to increase. Significantly.

Admiral X is presumably in favor of legalization for ideological reasons (which is fine) rather than empirical ones, because as far as I know, the latter doesn't really exist.

[Admiral X]

The main reasons are that it would mean less people in prison for what amounts to a moral crime, it would decrease the risk if spreading STDs because it could be regulated in much the same way the porn industry is, and that it would mean prostitutes would be less prone to be victims unless they worked completely independently, and if something did happen, they would have legal recourse without fear of getting thrown in jail themselves for being a prostitute.

[LittleRaven]

Those are all nice theoretical reasons to support it, but at least some research suggests it doesn't really work that way in reality. Now granted, academic research in this area is pretty scant, so maybe we just need to do more, but it's pretty easy to construct a theoretical counter-argument.

The big problem seems to be that by legalizing prostitution, you create a big uptick in domestic demand, but no corresponding uptick in domestic supply. Lots more men suddenly want to buy sex because they can't get busted for it anymore, but not very many women suddenly become interested in selling sex, because for a lot of reasons that usually doesn't end well for them. So the market does what it always does...it rewards people who 'provide' extra supply. Trafficking skyrockets as a result. Domestic prostitutes who are working legally do now enjoy some measure of protection, but you've also massively expanded the black market, which is full of women who enjoy no such protection.

It's a thorny problem, and good solutions appear difficult to find. But there are reasons beyond morality for why prostitution has been traditionally illegal. It...causes a lot of ugly distortions.

[Admiral X]

Limiting freedom because of some assholes will commit crimes is not something I'm ever going to support.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Those are all nice theoretical reasons to support it, but at least some research suggests it doesn't really work that way in reality. Now granted, academic research in this area is pretty scant, so maybe we just need to do more, but it's pretty easy to construct a theoretical counter-argument.

The big problem seems to be that by legalizing prostitution, you create a big uptick in domestic demand, but no corresponding uptick in domestic supply. Lots more men suddenly want to buy sex because they can't get busted for it anymore, but not very many women suddenly become interested in selling sex, because for a lot of reasons that usually doesn't end well for them. So the market does what it always does...it rewards people who 'provide' extra supply. Trafficking skyrockets as a result. Domestic prostitutes who are working legally do now enjoy some measure of protection, but you've also massively expanded the black market, which is full of women who enjoy no such protection.

It's a thorny problem, and good solutions appear difficult to find. But there are reasons beyond morality for why prostitution has been traditionally illegal. It...causes a lot of ugly distortions.

What part of this study talks about expansive demand?

[LittleRaven]

What part of this study talks about expansive demand?

The study doesn't, it merely notes the uptick in trafficking. I was making a theoretical argument in an attempt to explain the observed effects.

[LittleRaven]

Limiting freedom because of some assholes will commit crimes is not something I'm ever going to support.

Which is perfectly fair, but this is an ideological argument, which is where I suspected you were coming from.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

What part of this study talks about expansive demand?

The study doesn't, it merely notes the uptick in trafficking. I was making a theoretical argument in an attempt to explain the observed effects.

Well I was trying to look for what leads to the problematic aspects you described. The study is aimed at a broad look on the sex industry and trafficking in different countries. So what excerpts concern correlation of sex trafficking to areas where sex work is prevalent?