On Monday evening; I watched the repeat of The Mega Brothel on 4 seven. In fact, some of you may have noticed My tweet on the last break of the programme.
Now I have to say that I thought the programme makers presented the argument for and against legalising prostitution very well. I didn't consider any part of the arguments to be biased towards any favour at all. In fact, I believe it to be a worthwhile insight into the whole debate surrounding the question of whether or not we should legalise prostitution.
It is well know that prostitution is the oldest trade in the world. Indeed, in biblical times; prostitution was common in ancient Israel, despite being strictly forbidden in Jewish law. Genesis 38 in The Bible depicts prostitution; The prostitute plies her tried at the site of a highway, whilst covering her face.
Prostitution will always be around, whether legalised or not. Sex sells - be it online or real-time.
I was very interested to see the workings of the Paradise Mega Brothel in Germany. I did not consider the ladies there to be exploited. Yes, I understood that they had to pay 127 euros every day to work, live and eat there. But that's hardly exploitation. In fact; they are paying a relatively small fee for a safe haven in which to work. There are no pimps there to ply drugs on them, no dangers of violence. Instead, they are working in a safe, clean environment - which of course they are expected to pay rent for.
I understood that there were girls there who came into the trade from very hard backgrounds - history of abuse at the hands of men. Some were there to escape violent pimps who had trafficked them into prostitution. That was clear. But the owner of the Mega Brothel made sure that no trafficked girls were working there. He talked about how he deleted emails from girls in Romania - where trafficking is rife. I found him to be very responsible in ensuring the safety of the women working there.
But one thing I did draw from the whole program is that it's not prostitution itself which appears to be the problem. Yes; some out there will not agree with the thought of women (and men!) selling their bodies. They don't want it in their back yards. But let's face it; it's always going to be there - whether legal or not. The real problem surrounding prostitution are the pimps.
You could argue that the owner of the Mega Brothel is a pimp - and yes in a sense he is. But this is where he differs to other pimps out there. He is not forcing these girls to work for him. He is not taking huge sums of money from them and having them work until they're exhausted beyond belief. Some girls do work 12 hour days - at their choice. He does not make them work those hours. He mentioned that if they're savvy - they can make a lot of money, but at no point does he make them work - rather he gives them the facts and they make their own decisions. He's not beating them to shit if they aren't working. He's not forcing drugs on them, to keep them working for their next fix. In fact; as far as I could see; he was looking after the girls very well.
Illegal pimps are different - and it is these who traffic the girls into prostitution. Pimps, drugs and prostitution go hand in hand. They have so many methods of ensuring girls work for them for a pittance taking about 90% (or even 100% in the case of sex trafficking) whilst they get rich. That is exploitation. They push drugs on to girls - get them hooked - then make them work in order to get their next fix. They pretend to be their "boyfriend" - lull vulnerable girls in, making them feel special - then forcing them to work because "darling, we need money - you have to earn it!" Or they sell vulnerable girls a dream - "you'll be set up for life - come to this country and work for me!" But when the girls get there - it's not the dream they were sold. Instead; it's a life of sexual-slavery. The girls' family members are safe as long as the girls are selling their bodies.
These are the REAL issues surrounding prostitution - the real exploitation of women who have not gone into the trade willingly. It is this which needs to be addressed - not whether or not prostitution is immoral.
In My view; legalising prostitution is a step in the right direction. But it's not enough. More needs to be done. Education is the key in this issue. Educating vulnerable girls that not everybody is who they say they are. Not everybody is the hero who will rescue them out of a bad situation; and if promises sound too good to be true - they probably are. It's about letting these women see what is really going on and allowing them to make informed choices. Providing help for women who have had difficult childhoods, and above all, if they want to leave the profession; providing them with safe ways to do this.
I think once we take the stigma and the pimps out of prostitution, we are half-way there. Forcing it into the under-world will only help the pimps - it won't help the women. THAT is the real issue.
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