Prostitution
The action of providing sexual services in exchange for compensation
40-42
million people in
prostitution worldwide
80%
are female and
aged between
13-25
90%
of all prostitutes rely on a pimp
70%
of arrests are prostitutes
image depicting prostitution
Human trafficking is surely illegal everywhere, but the exchange of sex for money and vice versa is not. Prostitution, the action of providing sexual services in exchange for compensation, is legal in some parts of the world. Prostitution is legally practiced in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Ecuador, New Zealand, France, Bangladesh, and many more countries. There are some benefits of legalized prostitution such as background checks, regular health examinations, and protection of law enforcement. But in some of these countries like Austria, Bangladesh, and Ecuador, there are increased issues of sex trafficking or “forced prostitution” of minors.
Prostitution is known as the world’s oldest profession and is also one of the most despised professions. The reason why people (predominantly women) enter prostitution varies. The main reason why many enter is due to [extreme] poverty, drug addiction, and unforeseen circumstances. Of course there are people out there who willingly go into the field with the desire to do sex work, however, they are in the minority. Most people in prostitution are in it because they feel like they have no other choice. Prostitution is a means of survival. Sex workers often get demonized and blamed for driving the sex trade. However, according to ScientificAmerica.com, “Instead the business survives because of demand from the legions of males who have problems in their relationships with women.” Males are the driving force of prostitution. Where there is a large demand, the industry flourish. That goes for any industry.
Commercial sex may seem beneficial to everyone involved on the surface. The prostitute gets paid, if there is a pimp involved he/she gets paid, and the john (buyer) is sexually satisfied. But prostitution isn’t always beneficial for prostitutes if they are struggling to survive and are subjecting themselves to violence. In addition, if prostitutes are living in countries with high levels of child prostitution/sex trafficking like the ones mentioned above, they can put themselves at risk. Prostitution is a risky job regardless of where the worker lives because human trafficking takes place globally.
Statistics provided by procon.org
