I never quite understand why people say prostitution is the oldest profession in the world... In fact I every time read somebody referring it as oldest profession, I feel annoyed, perhaps I because I want to believe that people are better animal than we tend to think, or perhaps because subconsciously I don’t want to believe that our ancestors are whores eheheh

Anyway this is a serious matter.

2 counties in Europe have diagonally opposite regulation in regards to prostitution:

Netherlands: legalized prostitution.

Pro:
+ cutting the links between prostitution and multiple type of crime (from money laundering to smuggling).
+ solve he bad things that are associated with the sex trade (coercion, violence, infectious diseases).
+ police could then concentrate on criminals, instead of harassing people engaged in exchanges that were nobody’s business but their own.

Cons:
- police are tied, they will be unable to deal even with obvious cases of abuse.
- no matter what, the bond between sex & organized crime will still remain strong.


Sweden: penalizing people who patronize prostitutes, through fines, jail time, and “naming and shaming”.

Pro:
+ make it more difficult for organized crime to tap on sex money.
+ no control of infectious diseases.

Con:
- fear of prosecution reduces the chances of clients will report the exploitation of under-age.
- exporting sending sex-hungry Swedes to nearby countries or else to Thailand.


Sad interesting remarks: more than half the ladies posing in windows in Amsterdam red light district are there against their will.

The question is: which policy works best?

to legalize or not to legalize? that is the question

Personally, I respect/esteem prostitutes, as I don’t I will ever have the strength to do this kind of profession... I feel bad for them, serving all kind of bad clients...

Labels: the economist