Help Wanted.
No experience required. Training provided. Minorities are encouraged. Job
location: various, and may include cars, alleys, motels, and flop houses.
Schedule: at the discretion of manager. Dress: whatever the client requests. For
outdoor assignments: Comfortable clothing and shoes appropriate for running should
be worn. Weapons carried should be
relegated to those which cannot be taken from you. Compensation: 100% of
profits will be paid to manager. Potential work hazards: abuse, violence, rape,
drug addiction, and/or death may occur.
Amnesty
International has long been known as an organization in defense of human
rights—an advocate for the vulnerable, those whose lives are at stake, and
people in need of refuge. In essence, their push has been to free those enslaved by moral injustice. In an ironic
twist of policy, Amnesty International is now calling for a sweeping international
decriminalization of prostitution, allowing pimps free rein (and reign) and
increasing the victimization of women.
Yes, this is
hard to believe, in light of Amnesty International’s long track record of good
work. This movement stems from a misguided belief that legalizing the sex trade
protects vulnerable people, and that prostitution is “sex work” and a
legitimate occupation.
But studies
show that normalizing the sex industry does not protect women and children. In
fact, it only serves to increase sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. This can
be seen in countries where prostitution has been legalized. Even Amsterdam has
pared back their red light district. Women are not lining up to fill “sex worker”
positions. In reply to this reduction of supply, young women are trafficked
from Asia and Africa (where poverty dictates desperation and begets
exploitation) into cities like Amsterdam and Sydney for the purpose of forced
prostitution.
A recent
Chicago study shows that 50% of women prostituted through escort services have
been raped. 21% of women prostituting within their homes have been raped ten or
more times. If these women who are prostituting voluntarily (assumedly) are
raped and abused with such regularity, higher statistics may only be expected
within the violent underworld of street prostitution.
Many have
asked over the years why there can’t be union oversight and government
regulation. Wouldn’t that curb these numbers? When a practice is entirely based
on violence, abuse, and exploitation, what is there to unionize? Better rates
for being raped? Cushier digs in which to be beaten and violated with foreign
objects? No. This will simply force exploited women into deeper shadows of
shame and allow the abuse to continue under the guise of regulation.
Although the
victimized and prostituted person shouldn’t be criminalized, those who victimize
and prostitute them should. The men and women who prostitute vulnerable people
are often directly connected to organized crime and other illegal activities. These
are not promising and enterprising young men and women with business acumen;
they are traffickers, exploiters, and criminals.
One final
note in address to Amnesty International’s push to decriminalize prostitution. Historically,
Amnesty International has fought for the release of prisoners of war. POW
torture takes many forms. One of these methods includes isolation of the
prisoner while subjecting them to severe discomfort. Sometimes the prisoner is
not allowed to sleep, thereby causing disorientation and anxiety. This
deprivation is then tempered by the occasional treat, supplied by the captor,
creating a Stockholm Syndrome-type of attachment.
This is
exactly what pimps do.
Don’t be
fooled. Pimps do not deserve amnesty.
Take Action
There is
something you can do.
I’m honored
that one of my best friends, Lisa Thompson, is the Vice President of Education
and Outreach for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. All of the
information I have provided above comes directly from them. You can access
their website here.
As one of
their many projects, NCOSE is organizing an outcry against AI’s move to
decriminalize prostitution. On their website, they list several ways you can help through e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook. You can check out the movement and
the website here.
The only
true answer to the violence and exploitation of prostitution is to abolish it.
