Prostitution is a term used to describe the trade of something sexual for
money. It has often been thought of as the oldest profession in the history of man.
There is evidence of prostitution up to 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece (Hock).
However, the legality of this profession varies significantly around the world. Illegal prostitution is a world filled with violence, drugs, and sexually transmitted infections. Whereas it is a completely different story where prostitution is legal.
The dangers of prostitution are linked to its illegality and the fact that it is considered a crime. Prostitution should be legalized in the United States.
Violence is a large part of illegal prostitution. Prostitutes are often beaten
and abused. The customers of prostitutes believe they can do whatever they want to them because they are paying them. That means even physical harm. “When they beat you, they paid you. It was OK, they thought, because they gave you extra money” explains Jamiyl Young, writer for Ebony magazine (Young). And the prostitutes themselves cannot go to anyone for help because what they were doing was illegal in the first place. Recently, San Francisco tried to decriminalize prostitution with Proposition K. Staff writer for The San Francisco Chronicle, John Coté, tells how this proposition would make it so the police could not investigate or prosecute prostitutes. The decriminalization of prostitution would cut crime and protect prostitutes from assault and rape. It would do this by allowing the prostitutes to report crimes without fear of being arrested (Coté). The reason so many prostitutes are in such danger is because they cannot ask for help.
Another gigantic problem within illegal prostitution is drug abuse. Doctor
Roger Hock describes illegal drug abuse as a major element in illegal prostitution. It is often their reason for becoming an illegal prostitute and why they continue to be one. Many illegal prostitutes enter this profession to support their drug habits.
Also, the use of illegal drugs is many times used to help them cope with the hardships of their lifestyle (Hock). If prostitution were legal, there would be many more regulations placed on the profession. Therefore, the relationship between prostitution and illegal drugs would be less likely. When something is illegal, it is more likely to be linked with other illegal and harmful activities.
An obvious issue with illegal prostitution is the spreading and contracting of
sexually transmitted infections. Prostitutes on the whole generally have much higher rates of sexually
