http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/22/should-washington-state-legalize-prostitution Comments On: Should Washington State Legalize Prostitution? by Dominic Holden en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Mon, 20 May 2013 01:00:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
That case could be made for ANYTHING you pay for or get paid for. Why is sex different?

Money is a physical manifestation of energy and I think a lot of people who have a distaste over the exchange of money for sex may also have a relationship with money that isn't so healthy and possible a relationship with sex that isn't so healthy either.

Capitalism did not create prostitution. Prostitution has been around for EVER.

There are so many positive application to being able to pay for and give sex for money. I am a woman and a hands on learner... lol.. I am happy to pay for an authority on sex to teach me some extra ropes to keep my sex life spicy and engaged. There are many healing application as well.
Posted by dlove]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:56:50 -0800 The Stranger
People purchase sex for a variety of reasons that have very little to do with shadyness. There are many awesome examples of people with disabilities engaging the the services of a sex worker and its beneficial.

If you want an example look to the Neatherlands which is pretty much run like the example I just made and the oversite committee is made up of 75% sex workers.

Contrary to the belief on of some of the people commenting. Men and women who have healthy backgrounds and healthy ideas of sex are in the industry and it is a job/business just like anything else. That is the standard not the exception.

Why is it we are ok with the comodification of everything else but when it comes to our private parts we are up in arms?
Posted by dlove]]> Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:43:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by clashfan]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:38:03 -0800 The Stranger
Prostitution is a cultural concept that grows in the minds of lonely and emotionally selfish men and women. Prostitution doesn't build families or communities but it does rob people of the closeness they require from intimate relations. Prostitution was designed by flawed capitalism, not evolution. The same capitalistic forces that put mediocre coffee on every corner intend to put mediocre sex workers on every corner and all you can do is cheer. Prostitution is an affront to progress and vigorous genetic mutations.

Terrible precedent to associate cannabis with prostitution, could undo a lot of hard work that cannabis advocates have clocked.
Posted by jim_rock]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:51:58 -0800 The Stranger
1- All sex workers register with the state/city. They pay a small fee annually or monthly. Their actual personal information is kept in confidentiality. Every sex worker -prostitute, escort, stripper- is given an ID card with her working name, unique ID number, and date of birth, and confirms that she is working on her own volition. The ID card may also include STD check-ups.

2- The sex worker lists her ID number on her ads and promotional matierals in the current locations (craigslist, web forums, backpages, etc). Any advertisement that does not include an ID# is subject to investigation for possible unauthorized (ie: underage, unconsentual sex worker).

3- She is allowed to work wherever she wants, the exception being streetwalking (unless local codes permit otherwise). In calls, out calls, clubs, brothels (again, if local codes allow; the Nevada model is not recommended). Her ID must be present and available for potential customers and authorities to see.

4- The city/state offer a $X,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of human traffickers and pimps of unlicensed sex slaves and underage workers. This promotes self-policing within the sex worker and john community.

5- The focus of law enforcement agencies is on underages and trafficked sex slaves and the people forcing them to work. (These are also treated differently than unlicensed sex workers). Police, preferably female, make spot-checks at clubs and working locations of sex workers to verify that they have current ID and are who they say they are: that they are working on their own volition, have not been trafficked, working under pressure of a pimp, or are underage. Police also use checks to maintain safety of prostitutes, that they have not been assaulted or threatened by johns.

This is just a draft, obviously. Now, what about getting it adopted?
Posted by Lose-Lose]]> Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:13:18 -0800 The Stranger
http://natgeotv.com/uk/prostitution-the-…
Posted by kashmiri.apple]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:12:55 -0800 The Stranger
Not nearly enough hot girls here
Posted by Reader01]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:10:51 -0800 The Stranger
Porn is rape culture's ad campaign, a fact that every woman knows, even if men prefer not to acknowledge it.
Posted by somebody had to say it]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 12:00:44 -0800 The Stranger Maxine Doogan
Erotic Service Providers Union
Posted by unionizedwhore]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:31:08 -0800 The Stranger I assume you posted about your study on a board like trb?? Most girls won't respond to such posts for fear of LE
Posted by julie russell]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:31:22 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ChiTodd]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:02:44 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Tyro]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 02:16:24 -0800 The Stranger Posted by gnossos]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:51:05 -0800 The Stranger
This is a fact that seems to be curiously absent from many discussions about civil liberties issues like prostitution and the drug war. Illegality means people go to jail. I kind of doubt that most of the enthusiasts for making things they find objectionable, that harm no one, illegal, have ever been to jail. Perhaps they should try it out and report back.

Let me repeat this in a slightly different form: Gown-ups do not require other grown-ups who imagine themselves to be somehow more morally enlightened to police their personal lives or whatever transactions they wish to engage in among themselves. Human trafficking is a crime. Rape and assault are crimes. This does not change by legalizing prostitution.
Posted by Rhizome]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:37:20 -0800 The Stranger
First, sure some high end workers get $500/hr. But, what % do they represent of all workers? 1%, 2%? I'd be flabbergasted if it even rose to 5%. The problem is no one really knows, which is why previous comments about "the majority are x" are so ludicrous. Researching hidden populations is notoriously difficult and, by and large, the stuff that gets reported in the press or promoted by anti-legalization advocacy groups is horseshit

Two, a quick perusal of ads for high end escorts in a couple of European cities show prices of 350 -400 e/hr, which at today's exchange rate is $461-527/hr.

Third, I've never talked to a high end worker who wasn't in favor of legalization and I would tend to defer to an actual worker's position. (Granted, I could be suffering from massive selection bias because of my work, but still...)
Posted by gnossos]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:21:27 -0800 The Stranger I have that book. It is an excellent graphic comic book.

Posted by lark]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:03:51 -0800 The Stranger
However, if it is illegal to sell sex, it should also be illegal to buy it. Arrest the prostitutes and you increase demand. Arrest the prostitutes' customers and you decrease demand by increasing associated risks. I'm not talking multi-year sentences; even a week in jail or a month of community service would make the customer have to explain why he or she was out of work that long.
Posted by DRF]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:45:36 -0800 The Stranger Given that they are doing a job that 1) is dangerous on many levels 2)is viewed as morally reprehensible by much of society 3)isolates them from "normal life" on many levels, I say let them work and make good money doing it.
Posted by julie russell]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:57:01 -0800 The Stranger
The (in)famous Amsterdam suck and fuck is 50 euros/15 minutes, which works out to 200 e/hour. (And having spent a lot of time observing with watch in hand, I can verify that the overwhelming number of guys are in and out in well under 15 -- 11 to 12 minutes is average.) Or, on par with what escorts throughout the US charge.

Similarly, in Germany, Austria and Australia. Prices seem to start in the range of about $200-250 an hour and go up from there.

@53: such orgs already exist: and they are testament to the validity of each of your points.
Posted by gnossos]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:37:30 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Lose-Lose]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:29:15 -0800 The Stranger
What gets me the most is:
1- The wasted resources busting "prostitution" (case in point: the Everett sexpresso stand bust in 2009. That is simply an embarrassment) instead, as others have pointed out, focusing on real crimes (human trafficking).
2- The one-sided nature of the debate: there is never a counter-argument in the press when it comes to prostitution. All johns are evil, all women are victims.
3- As a result of that void, press scandalize prostitution to outrageous levels. Did you hear the story about the town in Maine where an escort service was busted? WHO CARES. Most enragingly was the story the prof in NJ a few years ago who was busted for setting up an online site facilitating prostitution. The press thoroughly dragged him through the mud, listing the college he worked at, the school his kids went to, etc etc. Does it matter that all charges were dropped? Rapists and murderers rarely get that treatment.

And that's what's keeping me from developing this organization: US Society is extremely one-sided on the prostitution debate. But if I do decide to take that jump, the first on my to-do list is to consult with you and Dan!
Posted by Lose-Lose]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:25:47 -0800 The Stranger Posted by floater]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:06:19 -0800 The Stranger
Come on, Dominic! It's like you're outsourcing your internal dialogue to Slog. You didn't even provide any links or try at all to set the arguments for either side. Charles gets criticized all the time, but at least he always tells us what he thinks.
Posted by floater]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:58:21 -0800 The Stranger
Increase penalties for prostitution without a current license issued by the state. Licensure would require testing for HIV via RNA test every two weeks, testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia every 60 days, and testing for syphilis every 30 days. Testing for additional diseases will be required if a sex partner tests positive for them. Testing and treatment will be at the expense of the sex worker and conducted by the state. This is because the state can insure the quality of testing and accuracy of reporting while offering lower cost for service than a private provider could, based on the economies of scale. Free services will be provided for the destitute.

Condom usage will be mandatory, as will PreP. A sting revealing that a sex worker offers sex without a condom to an undercover cop will cost the sex worker their license.

The advantages of compliance include freedom from arrest for the charge of prostitution, the use of law enforcement to protect from potentially violent or otherwise dangerous johns, and a reduction in levels of STIs in the john population, therefore also in the sex worker population. Taxpayers benefit from reduced costs as well as a rolling back of the prison-industrial complex. Law enforcement benefits from the ability to build a trust-based relationship with sex workers, who will be able to pass on information that could be used in investigations-after all, who knows the intimate details of a person better than their sex partners?

Everyone wins.
Posted by Tacoma Traveler]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:38:49 -0800 The Stranger How do you propose to distinguish between the two?

The same way we do now. With a few exceptions, the SPD mostly leaves the escort services alone and focuses on the street, where the more desperate and coercive forms of prostitution take place.

Legalizing prostitution and introducing a modest amount of regulation would make this distinction easier to make.
Posted by seandr]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:02:36 -0800 The Stranger