Is the problem with sex trafficking really mostly society's attitude? (Marines, regular)
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It thrives because of demand. Demand by perverted men. Until law enforcement start targeting and prosecuting the 'johns', and the pimps/mamasans then trafficking and prostitution will never go away.
That still doesn’t remove the demand. People will always want sex, and those that can’t get it through normal means seek out prostitutes.
You’re committing the same fallacy as those fighting the drug war. You seek to stop one aspect (in this case, demand, in the drug war, supply) without really addressing the problem. The problem is that men who can’t get sex are seen as “unworthy” of it by society, and rather than giving them an out, society seeks to enforce conformity and shame those who partake in it.
I also think women in particular fight legal prostitution for the same reason they shame “easy” girls. They are giving men access to sex and leaving “normal” women incapable of withholding sex in order to get what they want. If any man can just go to a brothel and get laid whenever he wants, he’s not going to put up with crap from his wife/girlfriend, and that seriously scares women.
Are some prostitutes exploited? Of course, but the vast majority are just girls either seeking to make extra money or to feed their own drug habit. And just because someone’s made bad choices in their lives doesn’t always mean they were forced into it.
Where do you draw the line? Are men that go to strip clubs perverts too?
All in all, I say prostitution needs to be legal and regulated, just like drugs. Get rid of the shady, underground black market, which is the real reason why so much negativity surrounds prostitution.
But it doesn't thrive because the victims can be dismissed but rather, because there is a desire there that propels a criminal market where money can be made. That's the way any crime works. If someone figures out a way to make money off of a desire, then a market can exist.
The way to get rid of almost any crime, at least the money making ones, is to destabilize the market that propels it.
OR... and here's a crazy idea, because we seem so fond of trying to "remove the supply" rather than actually addressing the problem, I'd say it's a form of job security because you, I and they all know it won't work.
TAKE the market from them by making it legal and regulating things. That way we'd be making money instead of spending to fight a "problem" that's always existed among humans and always will.
As long as no one is forced to do anything, prostitution shouldn't be seen any differently than going to a strip club or watching porn.
One of NY's current Congresswomen was a county DA that did "Operation Flush the Johns" around 5 years ago, arresting over 100 men and publishing their names and photos.
Unfortunately, out of 104 cases, only 1 was convicted at trial. 18 pleaded guilty before the trial to a misdemeanor charge.
Hardly successful given the waste of time and money.
That shows that it's not really societies goal to help these men or even punish them, just to shame them and show the world what a "bad" person they are because they did something that's not "socially acceptable".
As another user has already pointed out, there has and always will be men and women that, for whatever reason, cannot get sex any other way, so they pay for it.
Frankly, I look down on people who visit prostitutes less than "players" who feed men/women a bunch of lies in order to get them into bed, and who want nothing more than sex anyways. At least the one visiting a prostitute is being honest.
How about we give them an out and try to help them instead of just trying to catch and shame them?
OH WAIT, I KNOW, it's because the American justice system cares more about punishing those that dare break the rules rather than helping to rehabilitate people. Or acknowledging that they don't belong in jail in the first place.
Right. The problem with the way the prostitution laws are written is that a trafficked child is treated as a criminal, not as a victim. Maybe you didn't realize this.
You can be kidnapped, forced to endure a life of slavery and repeated rape, and then be put in jail for it. And not only that, but the criminal record will follow you for life, preventing you from obtaining employment and housing. An awful lot of pimps and traffickers use the very real threat of this, to make sure that their victims know that no one will help them.
Some states have laws that will permit a lawyer to get the record expunged in these situations, but they are very rarely used. These victims rarely have the money to afford good representation, after all. There was an effort to change the law in Texas so that victims of child trafficking would be protected from prosecution, but it was vetoed. The Governor does not seem to understand that children cannot consent, and feels that this is a sort of legalizing prostitution, and he doesn't want to do that. So, Texas will continue to put kids in jail for being raped.
Exactly. None of the girls Jeffery Epstein was involved with would have been legal and he didn’t want them of legal age. I do think prostitution be legalized, but it won’t end sex trafficking. There are plenty of girls and women who do sex work voluntarily already to service any man who wants one. The girls that are trafficked are in that position either because they are underage or because the people who traffic them want all the money.
Legalizing prostitution will allow these girls more freedom to go to the police though.
Plus if it’s regulated then it’s possible for law enforcement to (1) identify who is and isn’t legit and over aged and (2) focus their efforts on stopping underage prostitution.
That shows that it's not really societies goal to help these men or even punish them, just to shame them and show the world what a "bad" person they are because they did something that's not "socially acceptable".
As another user has already pointed out, there has and always will be men and women that, for whatever reason, cannot get sex any other way, so they pay for it.
Frankly, I look down on people who visit prostitutes less than "players" who feed men/women a bunch of lies in order to get them into bed, and who want nothing more than sex anyways. At least the one visiting a prostitute is being honest.
How about we give them an out and try to help them instead of just trying to catch and shame them?
OH WAIT, I KNOW, it's because the American justice system cares more about punishing those that dare break the rules rather than helping to rehabilitate people. Or acknowledging that they don't belong in jail in the first place.
I happened to know one of the “Johns” who was outed by this. It ruined his marriage (which is fair play) but also his business which employed close to 50 people. The effect it had went far beyond shaming a single person.
But it helped get Kathleen Rice elected to Congress. Her Wikipedia listing mentions nothing about this very public case.
Right. The problem with the way the prostitution laws are written is that a trafficked child is treated as a criminal, not as a victim. Maybe you didn't realize this.
You can be kidnapped, forced to endure a life of slavery and repeated rape, and then be put in jail for it. And not only that, but the criminal record will follow you for life, preventing you from obtaining employment and housing. An awful lot of pimps and traffickers use the very real threat of this, to make sure that their victims know that no one will help them.
Some states have laws that will permit a lawyer to get the record expunged in these situations, but they are very rarely used. These victims rarely have the money to afford good representation, after all. There was an effort to change the law in Texas so that victims of child trafficking would be protected from prosecution, but it was vetoed. The Governor does not seem to understand that children cannot consent, and feels that this is a sort of legalizing prostitution, and he doesn't want to do that. So, Texas will continue to put kids in jail for being raped.
It is important to note that CA has made progress in how they treat children in prostitution. They no longer charge minors in such cases with prostitution but rather remand them to services for help. No, this does NOT mean that child prostitution is legalized; instead the johns are charged with the much more serious crime of statutory rape which also carries a much heftier penalty.
My opinion, is why stop there? A human sex trafficked individual should be treated as a victim under all circumstances.... adult or child.
It is important to note that CA has made progress in how they treat children in prostitution. They no longer charge minors in such cases with prostitution but rather remand them to services for help. No, this does NOT mean that child prostitution is legalized; instead the johns are charged with the much more serious crime of statutory rape which also carries a much heftier penalty.
My opinion, is why stop there? A human sex trafficked individual should be treated as a victim under all circumstances.... adult or child.
I agree with you, but make the distinction that an adult at least CAN consent. So there is the question of whether they are doing voluntary sex work, or being exploited.
Minors should not be legally permitted to engage in any kind of prostitution and in particular the very young ones are 100% victims of exploitation, not voluntary sex workers.
In one case there's a determination to be made, in the other...not so much. So it SHOULD be easier to work out how to handle so-called "child prostitutes" which is a term I don't even want to see, honestly, call them what they are, victims of exploitation, rape survivors, trafficked kids, kidnapping and slavery victims. They are not "prostitutes." A "prostitute" sells sex of their own free will. A child cannot consent, and therefore, cannot be this.
I happened to know one of the “Johns” who was outed by this. It ruined his marriage (which is fair play) but also his business which employed close to 50 people. The effect it had went far beyond shaming a single person.
But it helped get Kathleen Rice elected to Congress. Her Wikipedia listing mentions nothing about this very public case.
Sex with underaged kids cannot (and should not) be legalized, though. That's a big part of the sex trafficking industry.
I never said anything of supporting that at all.
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