Prostitution: An In-depth Analysis of Social Stigma and Human Trafficking

Prostitution, the world’s oldest profession, has been under fire throughout history for being an immoral trade. It is such that the social stigma surrounding the sex industry is devastating, with many critics calling for stricter punishment of self-marketed prostitutes to discourage the growth of the universally despised human trafficking industry. It is clear that the human trafficking industry is growing; critics have already observed that nearly one-third of all sex workers in India are child sex slaves, and the rest of the world may not be far behind India (Moran A19). However, it should be noted that many of the negative opinions of the sex industry in America result from deep-seated Christian values that lead the public to believe that

Therefore, it is indisputable that the best method to eliminate this stigma and end human trafficking is to legalize the sex trade while mandating strict government regulation in the form of new laws and ordinances, ensuring the safety of the solicitor, and taxing a bolstered economy that follows a regulated industry.

To begin, the only way in which a career as vulnerable as self-marketed prostitution could function safely is through government regulation of how the business should be run, that is, government support of the decriminalization of the trade. As the trade currently stands, human trafficking is an issue of paramount importance. One critic notes the vast number of human slaves currently circulating throughout the industry, penning, “[…] somewhere between 12 and 27 million human beings are suffering in bondage throughout the world” (Rodham Clinton). Clinton’s statement raises an interesting question; how can any government possibly regulate an industry when no one has any idea how many workers there may be? Ultimately, the clear answer is mandating the acquisition of a license in order to perform legal sex work. The punishment for operating without a license would be similar to the current

Some believe that sex work is undignified for both the solicitor and elicitor (McCain A15). Even if their ethical concerns could hold any ground in the courtroom and managed to convince a lawmaker that reasoning as juvenile as “it’s just icky” was solid enough to make a logically sound decision concerning the trade, they would not be able to claim that denying support for victims of an international slavery ring reflects shining morality. Laws are based upon logic and facts. These are the facts: it is indisputable that the government can provide monetary or medical assistance to rape victims; it is indisputable that the sex industry is already worth billions of taxable dollars; and it is indisputable that a countless number of people are stuck, both financially and physically, in a human trafficking ring. Lawmakers would be utterly irresponsible to bow to morally driven demands made by critics who ignore these facts, as they would be putting citizens’ lives in