Imagine driving through downtown Chicago and noticing your daughter walking the streets in stilettos and a mini skirt while approaching the cars of various unrecognizable men.  As you continue watching, she eventually crawls into the car with a man who looks to be of an age not much different from yours.  For many women this is a reality they face daily.  These women will work twelve hour shifts to have sex with as many men as possible, only to later have all of their earnings taken by their pimp. In an attempt to stop this misfortune, the U.S. government has ruled prostitution illegal.  There are many activists who are opposed to the prostitution being illegal because they believe it is the freedom of each individual to use their body as they please; that prostitution is a victimless crime and legalization would increase health and safety. However, prostitution should not be legalized in the United States because both currently and historically it binds women to a life of physical and mental of oppression. Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, legalization would increase unregulated pimps and escalate the rates of sex trafficking.

Prostitution has often been referred to as one of the "oldest professions" known to man (Nasreen).  There has always been a long history of women trading sex for money.  As far as records reach back of different human civilizations, most all mentioned prostitution.  The Sumerians recorded a goddess named Ishtar during the third millennium B.C. This was a goddess of love and war who was a "maiden" during the day and a "whore" during the night (Fanni). The trend of prostitution changed over time and continued to take place in many different countries and civilizations.   There were legal brothels in Ancient Greece but in December of 1254, France abolished prostitution under the rule of King Louis IX (Lerner).  This career path has always been a topic of controversy. 

Almost every society has a different opinion on whether prostitution should be allowed or should be abolished (Lerner).  However, the focus on this topic has always been based on the opinion of the society's perspective and less focused on the prostitutes themselves.  The men who wish to partake in the trading of their money for sex support the acceptance of prostitution. These men sometimes are in power or have major influence on the laws.  Then there are those in a society who morally have an issue with women using their bodies to make a living. Some societies will legalize prostitution but put regulations on those who partake in the sex trade.  The battle of legalization occurs all over the world.  Nevertheless, many people ignore the reasoning on why prostitutes chose to enter into this industry.  

Historically, women decided to sell their bodies for money due to their lack of options.  Widows, outcasts and orphans existed in these societies who needed a way to provide for themselves.  One example of this was displayed in Victor Hugo's novel, Les Miserables.  Fantine was one of the characters in this dramatic story who became a prostitute due to her desperate circumstances.  She fell in love with a man, Felix Thomolmyes, who impregnated Fatine before being married.  During this time in history, women who gave birth to a child out of wedlock were cast out from society. When her child was on the edge of death she sold her hair, next her teeth and finally her body.  She chose the lifestyle of prostitution so she could find a way for her abandoned child to survive.  Circumstances on what is accepted in today's societies and cultures have vastly transformed over time.  In present time of the twentieth century, it is not uncommon for women to give birth to a child without being in a committed relationship.  Women are allowed to receive a higher education and to work for a living in a profession of their choice.  Circumstances may have evolved over time in society but women continue to enter into prostitution for the same reasons as women did 300 years ago. Both women from the 1700s and women today chose to enter into prostitution because they felt as if there was "a lack of alternative survival options" (Nasreen).  

When researchers have studied these women, many found that "large numbers of prostitutes were sexually abused during their childhood" (Schwartz).  There is a psychological disorder known as "learned helplessness" (Nolen).  This is where an human being is forced to "bear adverse stimuli" due to reoccurring circumstances forced upon them, even if they are later "escapable" (Nolen).  Learned helplessness strongly applies to those who were sexually abused at a young age and decided to enter into the sex industry.  The women who were raped and molested as children became used to mistreatment of their bodies.  When these women were children, obstructing a man who was double or triple their age from penetrating their body would have been impossible.  They learned that no matter what they did, they would never be able to stop a man from using their bodies to fulfill his sexual needs.  Therefore, even when these women could have control over their own bodies, they still chose to enter into prostitution (Schwartz). Nine-year-old, Brenda Myers grew up in Chicago and was molested by a member of her family for years.  She said, "I was thinking, well, they're already taking my panties off, and I wasn't getting any money. So I'll make them pay for it," (Lydersen).  Brenda was later led into other unhealthy dependencies like drugs and alcohol abuse in order to numb to the issues surrounding her life (Lydersen). Many of these women who were abused at an early age, used prostitution as a way to "take control of their sexuality after having it taken from them" (Lydersen).  Most often this only increased the level of trauma which these women had already experienced, permanently damaging their mental state.  These women entered into prostitution because they felt helpless to issues forced upon them at a young age.  By legalizing prostitution, this would only encourage more women to deal with their issues in an unhealthy way and further psychological problems. Those who were raised in a home where their bodies were used against their will would believe this to be accepted by society and considered normal.  

The state of a woman's mental stability can be affected regardless of prior traumatic experiences when involved in prostitution.  Post traumatic stress disorder has repeatedly proven to be an issue for "sex workers" (Jung).  A study was done on 113 ex-prostitutes with a control group of 65 subjects based on "symptoms related to trauma and PTSD, stress-related reactions, and other mental health factors" (Jung).  The results showed a significant difference between the control group and the ex-prostitutes.  The results showed "the female ex-prostitutes had significantly higher stress response, somatization, depression, fatigue, frustration, sleep, smoking and alcohol problems, and more frequent and serious PTSD symptoms" (Jung).  Another study was performed on 854 women, which involved 9 different countries.  Researchers discovered that 70-95% of the women were victims of assault and 96% claimed that "they experienced physical danger from weapons, physical violence, and injury from rape" (Jung).  All but few still live in danger even in countries where prostitution has been legalized and regulated.  Many activists believe by legalizing prostitution the level of danger would decrease for the women involved.  However, even in countries where prostitution was legalized, the level of assault has remained the same.  

There are various counter arguments that have been made on why prostitution should be legalized in the United States.  First, many advocates believe prostitution should not be illegal on grounds that it is the right of each individual to use their body as they please (Top Ten). The United States is notorious for individual freedoms and our constitution states that we naturally adopt life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  One of these limitations the government has implemented is the laws on drugs. The government has deemed specific drugs such as cocaine, heroine, meth, LSD and more to be illegal within the borders on the continental US.  This is due to the fact that these drugs have been proven to be harmful to a human's physical or mental state of health.  Similarly, prostitution has statistically and medically been proven to be harmful to both the mental and physical health of women involved in the sex trade.  Therefore, the government has taken initiative to rule prostitution as illegal in order to protect its inhabitants from a dangerous lifestyle.  The government works to maintain and enforce both of these issues because they have been considered necessary to uphold safety and health.

Following, another opposing argument is that prostitution is a victimless crime (Prostitution).  A pimp, or someone who maintains and controls multiple women that work on the streets, work to lure young girls to a "better lifestyle" than before.  These pimps search for women desperate and in need of financial support. Twenty-five ex-pimps from Chicago were interviewed in December of 2010 (Roy).  These men all confessed to purposefully exploiting the weaknesses of young, vulnerable women in order to convince them to become prostitutes.  These men continued to explain that they would search for a woman from a different state so she could then be lured away from any friends and family.  This causes the young woman to depend solely on her pimp and eventually becomes completely dependent and emotionally bound to him (Roy).  There are many women forced into prostitution but these women did, in fact, chose this lifestyle for themselves.  However, they are victims of manipulation and often previous abuse that trap them in the sex industry.  

Annie Lobert, a former prostitute who escaped the sex industry, described her experience after being immersed for ten years.  Annie was known as "Fallen" to each of the 10-30 different men she saw each night (Lobert).  Living out of fear, "Fallen," would do anything to earn as much money as possible for her pimp.  After working hard and long 12 hour shifts, Annie's pimp would take 100% of her earnings. She was not only being taken advantage of by the men she slept with but the only person she depended on in her life (Lobert).  Many women who work as a prostitute don't receive any of the money they earn.  They are lured away from all their friends and family so they are forced to depend on their pimp so they can survive.  In order for these women to avoid being physically abused by their pimp, they work to make as much money as possible.  Annie explained how each man she slept with believed she was making a fortune or was paying her way through college.  In reality, she gave all her earnings to her pimp (Lobert).  Activists who wish to legalize prostitution believe legalization would rid the system of pimps and protect minors (Top Ten).  On the contrary, the amount of pimps abusing prostitutes would only increase.  Alice Schwarzer labeled Germany as "a paradise for pimps" because they easily blend in due to the legalization and typically work from poorer parts of the country (Germany).  There will always be people who break the law and abuse the system and in this case legalization only benefits those who wish to do so.  By legalizing, more pimps would rise throughout the country to exploit other women.  Therefore, in order to protect these women, the government should not legalize prostitution. 

Pimps that wish to take advantage of women are not the only ones who take refuge in countries that legalize prostitution but traffickers as well. The legalization of prostitution not only endangers those participating but those who reside nearby.  Sex trafficking is defined as forced prostitution, more specifically someone taken captive in order to be sold and used for sexual services.  This is a major form of slavery that still exists in today's society.  A slave is defined as someone who is considered the property of another person and is forced to obey them.  These women become slaves to their traffickers.  Trafficking has become a $32 billion business worldwide and there are roughly around 27 million victims (Tan).  Even though there is definite difference between someone who is a voluntary prostitute versus someone who has been a victim of sex trafficking.  These two separate issues of prostitution and sex trafficking are directly related.  The countries that have legalized prostitution showed a higher correlation between legalized prostitution and sex trafficking than countries that criminalize prostitution (Tan).  In a recent country wide analysis, Germany was compared to Sweden and Denmark on the topic of handling prostitution.  This cross-country analysis showed "that trafficking inflows decreased with criminalization and increased with legalization" (Tan).  Therefore, this majorly effects those living within countries where prostitution has become legalized.  If prostitution would be legalized in the United States, there would be a higher percentage of citizens taken into sex slavery.  Thousands of children are taken every year to be sold into this form of slavery.  If the amount of traffickers increased, more young women would be taken and forced into the sex industry.  Prostitution then becomes more than an issue for prostitutes and their paying customers but on all citizens living in the United States. 

There are many terrible conditions for those who illegally participate in prostitution in the United States.  These issues need to be resolved, but endorsing the extreme of legalization would not be beneficial to these women in the end.  Major issues these women face include lack of access to medical care, the treatment of their pimps and feeling as if there is a lack of no options.  The government could put into effect availability for free tests of sexually transmitted diseases in hospitals and health care centers, prominently in large cities.  Realistically, prostitution will probably never be completely eliminated.  However, the government can work towards reducing it as much as possible and help these women have better access to health services.  

Health issues are a huge problem for many prostitutes but many women also struggle a way out of the industry.  They may want to reach out for help but have no where to go without being punished.  The government could implement various programs allowing prostitutes to come forward so they could receive services without punishment.  Still, not all of the women would come forward to receive the help they may require.  The government should continue criminalizing prostitution but shift their focus on convicting pimps as opposed to the prostitutes.  Automatically, this would reduce the amount of women tricked into prostitution by lowering the amount of illegal pimps on the streets.  This could be done through efforts of investigating and questioning prostitutes who are taken into police services.  If the pimps would be the ones thrown in jail, many prostitutes would be released of bondage and forced to make a life outside of dependency on their pimp.  By criminalizing prostitution, the government also reduces the amount of pimps available to take advantage of susceptible women within the United States..  Currently, when a prostitute is arrested on a first offense, she is required to remain in jail for 45 days.  If there are multiple offenses, a prostitute could be sent to jail for up to three years.  The government could construct programs for these woman to seek counseling.  If they are in jail for any period of time longer than a year, they could be given the option to learn about other jobs.  This way these women don't feel as if their only option of survival once released from jail is to go back into the lifestyle of prostitution. There could be many more options outside of legalization that would be more beneficial to prostitutes themselves.  

Various resolutions could be initiated in order to help the those who suffer from the sex industry.  These resolutions include implementation of health services, a shift in focus when criminalizing those involved in the sex industry and more.  Through multiple studies, it has been proven that legalization would not solve these problems faced by those involved in sex work. Legalization of prostitution would cause more harm than good to the women involved in sex work.  This is due to issues of mental health either prior or following their involvement in this demanding profession.  By legalizing prostitution in the United States, this also would endanger thousands of more innocent women to be taken for sex trafficking.  Alternatives to solve these issues need to be taken into account in order to uphold health and safety for the citizens of America.  Therefore, prostitution should not be legalized in the United States.

