Prostitution

Oh! What a fun! You would hear while entering into narrow dirty lanes of a small town of Thailand and you would be attracted by the men of higher disposition enjoying sex with young girls of not more than 10 to 12 years. It’s truly an enjoyment for not just locals but also tourists who are attracted and lured by these young girls who earn substantial revenue.

For the poor of the underdeveloped nations, child prostitution can be a good solution to earn revenue and reduce their poverty.

If each family out of 10,000 couples can bear at-least five girls each and are offered in a sex trade for at-least 10 dollars for one man then each family can earn 50 dollars from one man alone, and suppose if luck is showering smile on them then one girl can even seduce five men in a day to enjoy her lustrous body and that would bring her substantial income to sustain whole of their life.

Child prostitution can become the most common economical indicator and can add to the National income of the society, which is already in a great dwindling state and is already in debt. Here the direct role of the government can substantially give a tremendous boost to the child prostitution.

Government can encourage the major players in the tourism industry like big hotels to give special tariffs in the form of young girls for the full enjoyment of single tourists who pay visit to their hotels and of-course with tax notwithstanding.

This would bring them good revenue. It is a very good proposal for both the hotels and the government alike. The investment that is being promulgated on the education of girls will cost more than the investment that will be levied on the girls to make them prepare for the entertainment of tourists.

The investment on the education of girls will only cost burden on the government’s exchequer without any substantial returns but if same amount of investment is levied on the girls to make them prepare for the sex traffic, then not only it would fill the government’s exchequer, but it would also fill the sexual and financial appetite of government’s officers. In short, government should legalize the child prostitution not only for the economic benefit of the children, but also for the benefit of their family and for the benefit of whole society.

Just imagine! So many people would be benefited from this prodigious proposition. Middle man who does the dealing of the girls, girl’s parents and their younger brothers who would get income for their studies, over and above it would maintain the traditional cultural of society whereby boys plays subordinate roles in the families. The standard of the living of the people would rise.

Times reported, “inexpensive Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular destination for sex tourists from wealthier countries in the Middle East. In the club’s parking lot, nearly half of the cars had Saudi license plates.” (Fertik, Online Edition)

In North America, country statistics reported 10,000 to 30,000 child prostitutes flourishing and majority of the approximate 10,000 children spending their lives in Toronto, Ontario are involved in the sex trade; yet another nation much smaller than America financially and in size seaming with military rule demonstrates sex trade among children in maximum number and ultimate beneficiaries are Burmese officials.

As reported by Guardian on October 2007, its military ruled Burma where military officials would not tolerate any pro democratic demonstrations by Buddhist monks but tolerate 13 to 14 year old girls performing catwalk in front of their customers at night clubs easily available for sale at the rate of $100. (Doyle, Online Edition) If it is happening every where then why not it begins to be promulgated legally and openly.

Sara, aged 20 years now is a rich girl with large fortunes and property at her disposal. Her occupation was neither modeling nor acting but prostitution in which she has been into since she was just twelve years, even though she is now affected with AIDS, and has been behind bars for four years and sexually exploited even by police officers, so what! At-least she is rich, has lot of money and luxuries at her disposal.

Still governments of various nations have made child prostitution illegal and are sorting out various ways to the control this trade. They are constructing houses for children and starting educational training for parents to protect their children from this safe trade.

But I would say by increasing the child trade would ultimately reduce it; as more of this trade would flourish, more children would get richer when they grow up and realize side effects resulting from this trade and would try to make their own children escape from the net work of this trade by educating them and making them more responsible citizens.

Underdeveloped nations are marked by the increase in disparity between the rich and the poor owing to corruption and the solution to its problem lies with poor families themselves. With the strength of their girl child, they can reduce this disparity by increasing their income to considerable degree.

The solution to the problem of poverty was also provided by Jonathan Swift in eighteenth century who like an expert fencer provided an ironical solution to the corruption and poor families of Ireland in his “A Modest Proposal”. To reduce the financial burden of the families, girl children are being sold to satisfy the sexual desire of the elite class; Swift with his powerful tool of irony wielded at the corrupt and the royal class most effectively yet with the most devastating effect.

Swift proposed the poor families of Ireland to utilize the children to raise their income level. He suggested that if the cost of feeding one child for one year is two shillings, and if after one year child is sold to the English landlords, it would bring them the profit of eight shillings and this money can be used for buying food and clothing to bear more children.

These children can become delicacies for the men of fortune. They can eat them as roasted or fried dish. One body of a child can be eaten two times and it would be the most delicious dish and nutritious too. The skin of children can me made into gloves for ladies and summer boots for their children.  He seems to be making a fictive character to express himself in the most contradictory manner to the real cause.

The media – whether in print, television, or the cinema – has portrayed women in all sorts of images. These images reflect how a certain society perceive women and what roles do they portray in reality. Women in Indian cinema have been variously depicted with different images which represent the division within the Indian society. Just like in any parts of the world, the classification between men and women has been distinct throughout history. Even in modern time, such classifications which further divide both sexes still exist in media because of the stereotypes that have been established.

The Indian film industry, famously called as Bollywood, has effectively created films which encompassed the different faces of women in their nation. There are films that attributed them with Hindu goddesses and as well as portraying them as traditional and modern women from all division of the caste. The films that are made depicting women reflected India’s thoughts and behavior towards sexuality and social norms. The media – despite of its tendency for exaggeration and sensationalism – draws its inspiration from real life’s circumstances, no matter how fictitious the story becomes.

No matter how the characters of women are formed, their roles in the film say a lot about the current social perception of . Two notable films in Bollywood will be the central discussion of this essay. Pakeezah (1972) and Devdas (2002) became well-known for the romantic plots amidst the struggles within social taboos combined with cinematic intensity and songs aptly made for the film. From these films, the heroines that will be given concentration belong to that level of society which is usually judged derogatively.

Sahibjaan of Pakeezah and Chandramukhi from Devdas share the same profession of courtesans, and played major roles in the films showing how Indian courtesans are being personified. The discussion for the two female protagonists will revolve around their being courtesans and they symbolized India’s perception and direction of their views regarding sexuality and how their norms and social evolvement are shaped by these views. Courtesans, as seen from the films, cater to the public eye, predominantly of male audience. Their profession has been criticized by society as immoral and these women are usually isolated from the realm of an ideal woman.

By exploring the two films, it will be argued how the views of courtesans are still relevant in the modern Indian society. To be able to convey the contents of the arguments for the established thesis statement, a brief background or summary of each movie will be provided. This is for the intent of giving a foundation or an origin where the standpoints will be derived. Second, there will be an attempt to categorize Indian courtesans which is distinct from courtesans of other countries. This will be connected to how the character of a courtesan became an embodiment of India’s assumption towards sexuality.

From this, Sahibjaan and Chandramukhi from the films will be subjected to analysis, comparing the differences of their roles as courtesans on the films. The essay will be concluded by gathering all the insights that have been discussed and as well as its implications on Indian society. The plot of both films is set in the conservative India where traditional elements are highly emphasized. One of the two films has been derived from a 1917 novella called Devdas. This film has many versions in different languages and the one directed by Sanjay Bhansali in 2002, is the latest and the first full colored version of the film.

Devdas can be said as a classic love triangle story with the lives of the main characters closely intertwined with each other. The male protagonist Devdas came back from London to reconcile with his long-time childhood beloved Paro. The two has been arranged for marriage however, when the Paro’s maternal ancestry as dancers is revealed, her humiliated mother decided to arrange a marriage for Paro to another man. From that aspect the tragedy of the heart-broken Devdas ensues, as his college friend introduced him to the world of alcohol and carnal desires.

The brothel where his friend brought him became his emotional solace or more of an emotional escapism. As Devdas began to indulge in alcoholism, he met the most famous courtesan named Chandramukhi. Her beauty and exquisite charm which made Chandramukhi as a renowned courtesan became an irresistible pull for Devdas to become close to her. On the other hand, his vulnerabilities as a man shown by his weakened state by the alcohol and the discovery of his supposed love story became the reason why Chandramukhi fell in love with him.

The story takes its turn with Devdas being devoured by his alcoholic addiction and Chandramukhi’s love for him brought her to Paro to convince him to stop his self-destruction and subsequently formed a friendship with her. Though he did not listen, Devdas promised to see her before his death. Eventually, he confessed his love for Chandramukhi however shortly after that; he expressed his goodbye to her because of his intent to move out of the country. On his journey and with the last drink of wine, he became extremely sick. Feeling himself on the verge of death, he went to fulfill his promise to Paro to see her.

Paro ran to meet him but her husband prohibited her and as Devdas dies in front of their gates, his last image is Paro trying to reach for him and screaming his name. It is a clear tragic story for the three characters as all of them are not able to achieve the happiness they wanted out of love. The dynamism of the story is presented by the diverse social upbringing of the characters. Devdas is born from the upper landowning class, while Paro came from an ordinary family whose lineage is from dancers, and Chandramukhi being a courtesan is judged by the society as immoral.

The three main characters attempted to go beyond their social status as the purpose of love became their main source of strength to defy the social norms. The second film which similarly tackled defying social classifications in the name of love is, Pakeezah. Released in 1972, this film took 14 years to be completed due to personal issues between the main cast and the director. An original work of Kamal Amrohi, Pakeezah is a classic Indian courtesan movie. This film is a story about a woman who dreams of escaping a world where she felt worthless and soulless.

Sahibjaan shared the same fate that her mother did, a profession which eventually led to the rejection of her father’s family. After her mother’s death, her aunt Nawabjaan adopted her and brought Sahibjaan to her brothel where she practiced dancing and singing. She became famous as a courtesan when she grew up, however, her aunt felt the need to get Sahibjaan out of the brothel when her father came searching for her. On the train ride out of the city Sahibjaan found a note that has been slipped between her toes where a stranger wrote about the beauty of her feet and not to soil it.

This note became her hope to find rescue from the environment she desperately wants to escape. It also became her only evidence that this particular stranger is the only one who can love her truly and the note is her first real communication with someone who has a pure intention towards her. She was able to meet the stranger who is a forest ranger named Salim, and because of her fear that he might reject her, Sahibjaan kept her true identity. Salim brought her to his family however as men recognized Sahibjaan as the courtesan, Salim’s family disapproved.

Despite of Sahibjaan’s confession about her work, Salim’s feelings did not change and both of them ran away together. He eventually decided to marry her, renaming Sahibjaan as Pakeezah meaning ‘the pure one. ’ However, her shame and fear as being a courtesan dominated her, and not wanting to ruin Salim’s reputation Sahibjaan fled from him and called off the marriage. Her decision has left Salim hurting and as a way of retaliation and coping with the pain, Salim decided to marry another woman and invited Sahibjaan for his wedding. In this part of the film, she danced on broken glasses practically symbolizing the pain that both of them share.

A revelation has been made when Salim’s uncle, Shahabuddin, learns that Sahibjaan is his long-lost daughter and it resulted to a happy-ending for Sahibjaan, knowing that her father will save her from the world she wanted to get away from, and as well as a possibility for her love for Salim to be reconsidered. Just like the film Devdas, Pakeezah tells about a romantic story of a courtesan with a heart. Someone like Sahibjaan does not desire to be a courtesan forever and wanted to become a real woman by meeting her future husband and be a wife.

There is also the familiar pattern of the characters disregarding their social status to be able to experience a relationship with one another. It leaves the impression of Indian movies such as these that the division of the caste system in reality is strictly followed. Pakeezah and Devdas are two classic Bollywood films which portrays the kind of women often degraded by the society. These films presented the courtesans with such humanity which goes beyond their profession of enticing and engaging their audience towards them.

Courtesans can be said to have prominently existed way before the times of the monarchy. Indian courtesans are said to be “sexually liberated and educated women who dance in the temples and at public ceremonies and the only women who are allowed to learn to read, sing, and dance” (Feldman & Gordon, 2006, p. 161). Just like other courtesans in general, they are meant to entertain and offer their company to men. Their difference from prostitutes is that sexual intercourse is just one of their services. They engage in discussions, in festivals, and in the arts. Simone de Beauvoir further differentiates the two:

Prostitutes need two kinds of men, client and protector. In her environment man is superior to woman, and this setting apart favors a kind of love-religion which explains the abnegation of certain prostitutes. For the courtesans, beauty and charm or sex appeal are necessary but not enough, she must be recognize as a person. Her pride, her independence, and her money mean that she will never be ‘taken’ – no man will be her absoluter master. ” (cited in Kazmi, 1994, p. 237) From the two films, as courtesans their bodies became the attraction to be able to play the part.

The dances and mujras by Sahibjaan and Chandramukhi are utilized to emphasize their body part and allure to entice men. As in Indian cinema, women are placed in the cast for the purpose of having something ‘pleasurable in the eyes’ on the screen. “In their traditional exhibitionist role, women are simultaneously looked at and displayed with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness” (Kazmi , 1994, p. 234). Since their roles are courtesans, they are always under the scrutiny of their male clients.

Their publicized sexuality makes them a property of the society. However, from the films, it can be seen that the courtesans fell in love with the male protagonists both coming from noble families. This love makes them as the hero’s property, thus, losing their “generalized sexuality and showgirl connotations” and their erotic charms are for the male protagonists alone (Kazmi, 1994, p. 234). That sense of property has not been made official since Sahibjaan and Chandramukhi are not seen married under traditional ceremonies.

This gives the impression that India may not view courtesans as an ideal wife, no matter how the circumstances of falling in love may occur. In Devdas, Chandramukhi is seen as a feisty woman who holds her dignity as a courtesan. Despite of the numerous males gawking at her performance and by the harsh judgments which society throws at her, she never did want to become someone else or want anything other than Devdas. She has a strong image of a courtesan portrayed in the film. Chandramukhi can be classified as the classic courtesan who has lived by her destiny to please the public, though she is condemned by it.

By the time that she became too attached with Devdas, her duty of pleasing many people has been devoted to please Devdas so he could ease his sufferings. Chandramukhi’s sacrifice of letting Devdas go symbolized her gratitude for him the moment he confessed that he loves her as well. Because that love is rarely given to a courtesan like her and the fact Devdas see her as a normal woman worthy of it, she devoted her life taking care of him and letting go of him in the end even if it entails her happiness (Nair, 2002, p. 86). On the other hand, Sahibjaan is portrayed as a courtesan struggling for an escape from the world she grew up with.

Unlike Chandramukhi, Sahibjaan is a courtesan who wished to change her life and get out of her profession. However, the history of her mother’s life haunts her, encapsulating her in fear that she might never achieve the normal life that she wanted. A courtesan who pleases out of duty, the film focused on making her worthy of marriage. The scene where Salim renamed her as Pakeezah provided her the status that she is still worthy of being a wife despite of being a courtesan. She can be said as someone who subsequently gives in to the cruel prejudices of society.

By refusing Salim’s offer of marriage, Sahibjaan continues to be a possession of the public, denying herself the happiness that she wanted to be rescued by the one man she loves. Nonetheless, both women have exuded strength when it comes to making choices. Though they have been portrayed as weak for love and for rescue, they have made decisions which in their knowledge can deprive them of the happiness that they want. In society, since courtesans are made to please the world, sacrificing their own personal interests is a part of their duty.

Thus, their role as a public commodity strips them off the right to be part of the private sphere, which includes the family. The courtesans of Indian cinema maybe considered as the origin of independent women in Indian society. A courtesan is said to have “the courage to confront society, established morality, and the powers that be” (Kazmi, 1994, p. 231). That the courtesans in these films are the early embodiments of empowering women’s sexuality when it comes to breaking social norms, since in the conservative Indian nation courtesans or good women alike, are considered marginalized.

Courtesans can be viewed as the mortal goddesses of the Indian society who can personify evil and goodness in how sexuality is perceived. References Feldman, M. , & Gordon, B. (2006). The Courtesan’s Art. New York: Oxford University Press. Kazmi, F. (1994). Muslim Socials and the Female Protagonist: Seeing a Dominant Discourse at Work. In Forging Identities: Gender, Communities, and the State, (pp. 226-243). Zoya, H. (Ed. ). New Delhi: Kali for Women. Nair, P. K. (2002). “The Devdas Syndrome in Indian Cinema. ” Cinemaya 56/57, Autumn/Winter : 827.

In sociology, conflict theory states that the society or organization functions so that each individual participant and its groups struggle to maximize their benefits, which inevitably contributes to social change such as changes in politics and revolutions. Prostitution is a way for an individual to maximize their monetary intake (benefit) by selling the thing that have readily, their bodies. Because this power that individuals have, the government had to come in and outlaw prostitution.

The Conflict Perspective

• The conflict perspective highlights the relationship between power in society and sex work. The laws that make prostitution illegal are created by powerful dominant group members who seek to maintain cultural dominance by criminalizing sexual conduct that they consider immoral or in bad taste.
• Conflict theorists argue that women become prostitutes because of structural factors such as economic inequality and patriarchy. Capitalism and patriarchy foster economic inequality between men and women and force women to view their bodies as commodities.
• Conflict theorists suggest that criminalizing prostitution uniquely affects poor women, especially poor women of color, who are overrepresented among street prostitutes. The Functionalist Perspective
• The functionalist perspective argues that the presence of a certain amount of deviance in society contributes to its overall stability. According to Emile Durkheim, deviance clarifies social norms and helps societies to maintain social control over people’s behavior. By punishing those who engage in deviant behavior such as prostitution, the society reaffirms its commitment to its sexual norms and creates loyalty to the society as people bind together to oppose this behavior.
• According to Kingsley Davis, in societies that have restrictive norms governing sexual conduct—including the United States—prostitution will always exist because it serves important functions:

1. Prostitution provides quick, impersonal sexual gratification that does not require emotional attachment or a continuing relationship with another person
2. Prostitution provides a sexual outlet for men who do not have ongoing sexual relationships because they are not married or have heavy work schedules
3. It provides people with the opportunity to engage in sexual practices (e.g., multiple sex partners, fellatio, cunnilingus, anal intercourse, sadomasochism) that regular sex partners or spouses may view as distasteful or immoral
4. Prostitution protects the family as a social institution by making a distinction between “bad girls” and “bad boys”—with whom one engages in promiscuous sexual behavior—and those “good girls” and “good boys” with whom one establishes a family
5. Prostitution benefits the economy by providing jobs for people who have limited formal education and job skills Some ask why prostitution spreads like a wildfire through our cities and streets.

This is an easy question for functionalists, prostitution flourishes because it satisfies sexual needs that are not able to be met elsewhere(Henslin 51). Prostitutes almost seem to serve as an outlet for sexually frustrated men. When a man is unable to find a partner he always holds the option of paying for sexual pleasure.

A functionalist, Kingsley Davis, concluded that prostitutes provide a sexual outlet for men who: have difficulty in establishing sexual relationships, cannot find long-term partners, have a broken relationship, want sexual gratification that is defined as immoral, desire quick sexual gratification without attachment, are curious, and are sexually dissatisfied in marriage.

From this, it is shown that by meeting such needs prostitution functions as a form of social control over sexual behavior. This is beneficial because it brings men with sexual desires away from unwilling partners to partners that are willing but for a certain price. This undoubtedly helps bring down the number of rapes and sexual assaults for any given society. Also, it brings in trashy hookers or prostitutes that seem to degrade any given city or society.

The functionalist theory is the best way to view prostitution through a sociological perspective. Functionalists see prostitution as a means of controlling or channeling sexual behaviors (Henslin 53).

Prostitutes meet the needs of men who otherwise do not have women always available to them. Also it meets the needs of a man because it is inexpensive, non-emotional and a fleeting relationship. Through looking at prostitution we see that it persists because it serves social functions.

This works by servicing people who are sexually frustrated. Prostitutes relieve pressures that otherwise might be placed on people who are unwilling to participate. Without aid from prostitutes stimulating the un-stimulated, there might be other social problems that become bigger issues such as, rape sexual assault, kidnap and many more. Functionalism allows seeing each function that prostitution serves in a society.

Based on human history, it can be observed that sex and aggression have become very normal part of human life. Procreation involves sex with the objective of creating another life and to continue the existence of men (Casad 1). It is also seen as an act of pleasure and a way of showing affection. However, the sexual act done within particular context will be considered unacceptable or even unclean. Based on the theories of Sigmund Freud, sex and aggression is embedded in the nature of man (Stafford-Clark 1973). In this manner, the notion of killing also becomes a vital part of human nature.

Although we are aware that death is the ultimate end of the physical body, death because of killing stirs up moral issues. In these regard, it is very important to ponder on the true nature of sex and aggression. Prostitution is considered one of the longest running professions in the world (Liberator 2005). However, it is also considered one of the main problems of society wherein people of both sexes and all ages are involved and exploited. The fact that these people are exploited and exposed in different kinds of diseases and other problems causes it to be considered unclean.

Mary Douglas (1966) also points out the exchange of sexual fluid during intercourse wherein she says “each sex is a danger to the other through contact with sexual fluids”. In this regard, we are aware that direct sexual contact may pose great harm to the health through sexually transmitted diseases, making it what Douglas calls bodily pollution. In the context of prostitution, sex is also considered unclean because there are no emotional ties between the sex provider and the patron. Also in this case, sex becomes the service being traded for money.

Based on the question raised regarding cleanliness, it is said that there is still the clean notion of sex. This is if sexual acts are done within the bond of matrimony or other emotional commitment. In this context, there is the involvement of love and the goal of procreation which makes the act clean. Because the sexual union of male and female becomes a “collaboration and distinctiveness of social units” the act becomes cleaner. Also, this suggests that physical sex is considered less clean than emotional sex or sex done for procreation.

Deviation from the normal notion of sex is also considered unclean like people vowed to celibacy suddenly involves in a sexual act or people having extramarital affairs. Animals are known to kill for survival while man also kills for fun (Kemp 1997). Aggression as a part of human nature is also considered a mode for survival. Killing for survival has been a source of the notion of uncleanness. Douglas (1966, 16) quotes “the ideas of survivals are used to account for irrational rules of uncleanness”.

This suggests that other than the fact that killing is morally unclean the savage use of killing for survival is also considered unclean. In the primitive context, Douglas notes that there is “no clear distinction between sanctity and uncleanness” (Douglas 1966, 9). This is true for other later acts of killing for sacrifices or other divine purposes. In the present context, although there are still some isolated cases of killing for sacrificial offerings for their divine Gods, killing is just considered immoral and unclean.

At this point, it can be considered that there is a clear realization of the disparity between holiness and impurity. This is also considered true because the primitive purpose of killing for religion is slowly fading. Usual reasons for killing and aggression have been rooted on man’s self-centeredness, personal objectives and goals. The two sections on sex and aggression show the other half of Douglas compounding of dirt “care for hygiene and respect for conventions” (Douglas 1966, 8). Although not explicitly stated in the text, there is always the inclusion of the issue of morality especially if seen in today’s context.

Prostitution should be legalized Prostitution was estimated to date back to at least 2400 B. C, along with doctor, scribe, barber and cook (Little known facts in the prostitution debate, n. d. ). Despite this length of service, whether sex industry should be legalized or not is still a controversial issue that takes a lot of time to find the best decision. In my opinion prostitution should be legalized for a better prostitutes’ working condition, for a lower sexually transmitted diseases rates and an enhanced power of governments toward this job.

To begin with, prostitution’s legalization with rules setting prostitutes’ rights and duties will help to provide them with a better working condition. In present situation, sex workers are being treated in a subhuman way. Suraya, a sex worker was reported to have been beaten, threaten by a knife, raped many times, stolen all money and finally thrown out of the car by her own customer (Pauw and Brener,1998).

Not only be customers’ victims, prostitutes also are exploited by their pimps.Kudlow (2006) found that “even though the girls take home the cash, make no mistakes, the pimp gets all the money. There is no such thing as a commission, percentage, cut, kickback, or dividend”. Moreover, according to Fighting sexual exploitation and trafficking in Indonesia (2004), in Indonesia, one third of sex workers are being underage girls. These girls have not grown up both physical part and mental part, but they are swept into this job too early, which can turn them to a disastrous end.

These raw facts, which are requiring for an urgent action from the government, set an alarm to wake us up. If there is an official legalization along with rules setting about prostitutes’ rights and duties, the pimps will no longer be able to coerce these sex workers, these workers can receive their salary fairly and underage girls will be prevented from entering this job too early. Secondly, prostitution’s legalization with rules requiring periodic health checks will help to reduce sexually transmitted rates through this service.Sexually transmitted diseases, which are haunting a number of infected people and their families, are all society’s interest.

The sex industry’s legalization with a requirement to access periodic health checks is an intelligent method for this problem. Prostitutes with sexually transmitted rates will be found out and treated in time, and also the number of people catching diseases through prostitution will be reduced. Some third countries have gained a significant fall in sexually transmitted rates in this way such as Kenya and Senegal.After the prostitution’s legalization, the number of condoms used by sex workers in Kenya had increased to more than 80%. In Senegal, by special clinical services such as offering regular examinations and treatments for registered prostitutes, HIV prevalence among pregnant women had fallen into under 1% (Steen, as cited in Liberator, 2005).

Obviously, prostitution’s decriminalization with rules requiring periodic health checks is the best way to lower STDs rates through prostitution as well as improve the social health.Finally, present laws with its prohibition against selling sex have not come up with people’s expectation. Almost everywhere in the United States, sex workers and their customers are penalized for what they did as consenting adults. However, after having paid the fines, sex workers come back to streets with their work and no decrease in the number of them has been reported. Also in this review of legalization’s benefits, they added that “Making prostitution legal will allow the act to be managed instead of ignored”.In addition to this situation, present laws do not provide prostitutes with enough protection.

A prostitute murder confessed to have killed a total of forty eight sex workers “because he knew he would not be held accountable” and it took police 20 years to detect his crime (Ditmore, 2007). Some people may argue that prostitutes and their job break the society’s morality. This opinion only focuses on the merit of the surface, considering prostitutes as criminals and criticizing them, not regarding to the fact that they are also human, they also have to labor inturn of money.According to a survey (Lobert, n. d. ) named “What do you need” conducted among prostitutes, 78% need home and safe places, 58% need health care and 42% need legal assistance.

These girls are living in a subhuman life, they are requiring all basic needs. Moreover, prostitution will always exist because its serving important function in societies (Kingsley & Davis, as cited in Kendall, 1998). Without customers’ demand, prostitution would no longer be able to continue. Consequently, prostitutes deserve to work under the laws’ patronage.In conclusion, based on the real situations, prostitution should be legalized. Along with the legalization, there will be rules setting about allowed age, working condition and health check requirement. This legalization not only brings about a better working condition for those sex workers, but also contributes to reduce sexually transmitted diseases, and thus build up a better world.

References

• Kendall, D. E. (1998). Social problems in a diverse society. Chapter 7, p. 136, p. 141. United States. Kudlow, M. (2006). Selling sex. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://thegauntlet. ca/story/10365
• Liberator, M. (2005). Legalized prostitution: Regulating the oldest profession. Retrieved November 21, 2009 from http://liberator. net/articles/prostitution. html
• Little known facts in the prostitution debate (n. d. ). Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://prostitution. procon. org/view. resource. php? resourceID=000116
• Lobert, A. (n. d. ). Prostitution statistics-the real truth. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://powerhouse-ministry. rg/annielobert_prostitution. aspx Pauw, I. & Brener, L. (1997). Naming the danger of working on the street, p. 80. Agenda Feminist Media. Available online at http://www. jstor. org/pss/4066227
• Raymond, J. & Ditmore, M. (2007). Debating legalized prostitution. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://humantrafficking. org/updates/643 UNICEF (n. d. ). Fighting sexual exploitation and trafficking in Indonesia. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from http://www. unicef. org/infobycountry/indonesia_23650. html