Benefits of Legalization: Creating Safer Circumstances for the Workers
Even though buying and selling sex will become not be crimes after decriminalization, there should still be regulations and aspects of the trade that should still remain illegal, to create safer working conditions for the workers.
Another benefit from regulations, as a result of decriminalization, is creating safer circumstances for sex workers to operate in. A regulation, that can be implemented to create safer circumstances for the workers, is to eliminate the pimp. This can be done by keeping, or creating, laws that makes pimping illegal and by enforcing these laws harshly. Pimp, in regards to a third party that has control over the workers body, with exclusion to managers of brothels and escort services. When sex work is decriminalized, but pimping is still illegal, and the workers have the police's oversight, where the police will watch the workers backs from abuse against them, there is no need for pimps. Because at the end of the day they exploit the current situation of the worker in order to receive their own personal gains. They are free to overwork the women, abuse them how they see fit (intimidation, rape), and they can take significant cuts of the women’s income. When a market of goods and services is decriminalized and regulated (including police oversight) there is no need for a middleman.
The next step to protect the women is to regulate the brothels that currently exist and the ones that will emerge through decriminalization. Brothels even when decriminalized or legalized can still fall victim of lack of supervision. indeed, there are cases of brothels implementing safety precautions like in Alexa Albert’s book “Brothel: Mustang ranch and Its Women” where she talks about the use of panic buttons hidden on the bed frame, in order to alert the managers and security that the women are in distress. [9] However, even though the women may have safer working conditions from clients, they can still fall prey to abuse by the owners of the establishments. Through overworking the women, withholding their earnings or paying unfair amounts, and not allowing them to turn down clients (from fear of not getting work for the day or even being fired).
Another step that needs to be taken to create safer circumstances for the workers is to acknowledge legally and socially that sex workers can be victims of crime, such as rape, assault and robbery (as represented in the lower picture). They need to be able to report these issues and be taken seriously. Also sex workers should have the right to deny a client of services, and any violent action that should come from this denial should be seen as a crime. Lastly, the women need have police oversight and should not be criminalized by laws that govern the streets. Instead of the police exerting so much effort in criminalizing workers they should be finding ways to create safer circumstances for the workers, from violent clients.
Along with these three there should also be health regulations that allow the women to remain safe from disease, importance of regularly checking ones health, passage of condoms, and safer sex training. Some of the tips to improving these health regulations can be found in the St. James Infirmary “Occupational Health & Safety Handbook”, as was touched upon in the previous page. [10]
Lastly, Sex Workers need to have the ability to leave the business and not be chastised for their participation in the profession and have other opportunities to do other things besides sex work. In this manner they won’t hold the stigma of being forced into the profession because they have no better options. Most sex workers know they won’t participate in the profession forever, as can be seen in another passage of “on prostitution in Algeria” by doctor A. Bertherand, which roughly translated reads:
“After two or three years exercising such a trade, the Ouled-Naïl girls, enriched with a small nest egg, are returning to their native tribe where they are very popular in marriage. Reintegrated into family life, no memory of the past will affect their consideration; nearly all affirmed they are renowned for their good behavior as mothers and wives.” [11]
These Ouled-Nail girls have the luxury of being able to leave the profession without being securitized by society, including their family, and still being able to get on with their life’s as if their previous profession never even happened. And they are commended for their efforts in helping to provide for their families. If this society was able to accept the women’s work why can’t the rest of the world be as open minded? Once the workers are ready to leave the profession they should be able to live out regular lives whether that be marrying or going back to school to finish their education. Sex workers know sex work isn’t a forever scenario, just like the typical worker knows they will retire eventually, so they need to have options for their life after the profession. This last point of regulation, which is the most difficult to improve, has more to do with cultural regulations more than legal regulations but there are ways in which laws can be made to push towards these cultural shifts. Such as a law, that prohibits discrimination based on being a former sex worker. This optimistically could lead to a trickle down effort, decreasing the negative connations associated with the profession.
[9] Albert, Alexa. Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women. New York: Random House, 2001.
[10] Akers, Naomi, MPH, and Cathryn Evans, eds. Occupational Health & Safety Handbook. 2010.
[11] Translation of Parent-Duchatelet Composite File, 2013. Translation by Greggor Mattson, PhD, 2016. Translation by Noëlle Marty ’17, 2016.