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Mackenzie Campbell
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
5 October 2016
The Rights and Wrongs of Prostitution
Prostitution is the act of providing sexual favors for some kind of compensation. It has
surfaced in almost every culture throughout history. According to Arnold Clarkson, both a
Bachelor of Medicine and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, prostitution is considered
to be the worlds oldest profession, dating back to 4000 BC. Thousands of women and men use
prostitution as a source of income to support themselves and sometimes other dependents. It has
been considered an immoral and non-respectable act, but also has been used for beneficial
reasons. During the Greek and Roman periods, prostitutes roamed the cities freely, but it was
frowned upon for men of high status to marry them because of their lack of virginity. Later on in
other parts of Europe during the 13th century, prostitutes suffered severe punishments and were
forced out of their homes and deprived of their belongings. The infamy of these individuals
continued through the 17th century in nations such as Paris and England; they were required to
wear special costumes to distinguish themselves (Clarkson). Despite this great shame, sex work
has also been used to benefit certain countries in more recent history. Several societies have
attempted to regulate prostitution to benefit their economy. An example from David Goldman, a
law student who wrote a scholarship essay for Seton University, is Cape Town south Africa,
which has used brothels as a tourist attraction to help elevate the state of their economy.
Meanwhile, other nations like New Zealand have decriminalized prostitution on the basis of sex
rights. In the United States, it is currently only legal in Nevada (Goldman). Many believe that it

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should be legal in all states, while some believe it is too harmful to be further legalized. The
legalization of prostitution is a relevant topic because of the controversy it has created between
the questionable safety and moral aspects of it and the belief that a person has the right to choose
to do what they want with their body.
One reason people oppose prostitution because of immorality comes from many religious
viewpoints. Mathew 5:28 states, But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (King James). This verse
from the Bible refers to adultery, or in other words, sex outside of a committed marriage. To
Christians, sex outside of a marriage is a serious moral crime, whether it be cheating on a spouse,
having premarital sex, or selling sex services. Most firmly believe that people should only have
sexual relations with one person in their life, and that is their spouse. Because prostitutes sleep
with multiple clients, this would make them extremely immoral to Christians. This is such a
popular argument because a large percentage of Christians, although a small few may not have
the same belief, highly encourage individuals to have sex only after marriage.
Critics also believe that legalizing the act could be harmful to anyone involved in the
industry because of the diseases it can spread. Historically, it has shown to have spread syphilis,
HIV, and other epidemics on an enormous scale. England tried to legalize prostitution in their
army and naval districts in the 1800s, and passed The Contagious Diseases Act in 1864. The act
required all prostitutes to attend regular medical examinations. By 1884, they found the bill to be
ineffective and removed it, inevitably allowing syphilis to spread rapidly through the districts.
Stronger regulations on prostitution were required to return that high number of cases to its
normal level (Clarkson). Even with the advancement of technology and medical practices we
have now, opposers believe prostitution could still pose the same problem. The widespread of

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HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases are feared among the majority of Americans. People
also fear that proper procedures for safe sex can not be regulated enough to prevent these kinds
of epidemic breakouts. Dissenters believe not only would these breakouts harm prostitutes and
their clientele, but the epidemics stand a chance to reach people who are not in any way involved
in prostitution services. The issue is pushed by anti-prostitution individuals because of the long
term medical damages that the government can avoid by not legalizing the act.
Despite these reasons, supporters of legalization believe that it is simply human right that
grants a person the choice to do what they want with their body. Furthermore, they believe that
the government should not have a say in those choices; in fact, many believe that sex workers
should actually be supported by the government. Erin Fuchs, writer for Business Insider, says
that sex workers, because prostitution is illegal in most states, do not have labor rights like
people who work different in professions; as a result, they do not have access to safe working
environments, a minimum wage, or even freedom from discrimination (Fuchs). Advocates of
legalization push this idea so that these workers can gain rights, resulting in healthier and
financially stable sex workers. They believe that it is their choice to gain income from being sex
workers, therefore they should gain certain rights just like everyone else. Many advocates want
prostitutes to be treated as professionals, which is why they seek the legalization of the act.
Pro-prostitution believers also push governments to use sex work to help the economy. In
several instances it has proved to work. Nevada has gained roughly $120,000 in tax revenue
from legal prostitution activities. Street prostitution does not keep track of any transactions
made, and therefore cannot benefit the community. On the other hand, when it is kept track of
and the work is monitored correctly, there is room to benefit the state in which prostitution is
made legal (Goldman). By being taxed, it has been shown that it can help the economy by

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allowing the state to collect extra income. On top of that, the prostitution is much safer and can
benefit the sex workers as well. Supporters push this issue to both drive attention away from
other opposing arguments and present to the government an actual benefit they will receive by
regulating and taxing legal prostitution.
Both sides of the argument are represented greatly by all Americans. While many believe
it is unsafe and immoral, may people are attempting to liberate prostitutes by protecting their
rights and protecting them from abuse. They also seek to get support for them, despite their
infamy throughout history. The two beliefs will never agree due to the fact that while one
supports human rights, the other promotes moral and sanitary sex.

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Works Cited

Clarkson, Arnold. History of Prostitution. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, Sept.
1939, pp. 296301. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc537482/pdf/
canmedaj00208-0074.pdf./.latest_citation_text Accessed. 25 Oct 2016.

Fuchs, Erin. 7 Reasons Why America Should Legalize Prostitution. Business Insider, Business
Insider, Inc, 13 Nov. 2013, http://www.businessinsider.com/why-america-should-legalizeprostitution-2013-11. Accessed. 17 Oct 2016.

Goldman, David. You Cant Get Rid of It So You Might As Well Tax It: e Economic Impact of
Nevadas Legalized Prostitution. http://scholarship.shu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1009&context=student_scholarship. Accessed. 13 Oct 2016

King James Bible. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/bible-verses-about-sex/. Accessed. Oct

16 2016.