Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Should it be illegal for men to pay for prostitution?

999 replies

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 11:13

Should we criminalise all men who pay for prostitution, alongside help for women to leave prostituion?

OP posts:
LadySybildeChocolate · 31/08/2012 11:17

yes.

FactOfTheMatter · 31/08/2012 11:18

yes.

LaurieFairyCake · 31/08/2012 11:20

Yes, all men - even the ones who have disabilities or are unable to find a sexual partner for any reason. No one has a right to a sex life IMO.

namechangeguy · 31/08/2012 11:50

Yes. And women.

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 11:56

How did I guess you would be the one to say that?

OP posts:
CookieRookie · 31/08/2012 11:58

No, it should be legalized like in Sydney. It will always exist, has done for hundreds of years. Making it legal will do more for the abused and forced women than trying to banish it altogether. It's been tried, it hasn't worked.

Just my humble opinion.

housespouse · 31/08/2012 11:59

In principle, yes. In practice, no. How would you define the transaction? What if the guy had paid for dinner? (ok, extreme), Or paid for a drugs fix? Or slipped the girl £40 to buy herself a new outfit. There is often a trading of sex for money/goods that does not amount to what most of us would see as "prostitution".

Debbie McGee was once asked "What first attracted you to the multi-millionaire Paul Daniels?"

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 12:05

Why do you think making it legal will help abused and forced women? I have just been reading about prostitution in Australia. The delegalisation has seen an explosion in prostitution and an increase in trafficked women. It also means that brothels are openly advertised e.g. in billboards, normalising it. And women on benefits have had benefits withdrawn for refusing to attend interviews at brothels when unemployed.

Legalising prostitution has done massive harm to many more girls and women in prostittion.

And I find the idea that it has existed for hundreds of years a strange one to argue for legalisation. So has child sex abuse.

OP posts:
GetOrfAKAMrsUsainBolt · 31/08/2012 12:08

Women have had their benefist withdrawn for refusing to attend an interview at a brothel - good god, really?

I totally agree op and think the swedish model is the better way of criminialising the procurement of sex.

GetOrfAKAMrsUsainBolt · 31/08/2012 12:08

Women have had their benefist withdrawn for refusing to attend an interview at a brothel - good god, really?

I totally agree op and think the swedish model is the better way of criminialising the procurement of sex.

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 12:11

Yes, because in Australia working in a brothel is now legally, just another job.

OP posts:
CookieRookie · 31/08/2012 12:20

Child sex abuse has no consent, prostitution does.

Having read your post, I'm interested to know more. If that's true about benefits I'd like to know who to lobby shoot

My reasoning for legalizing is that there would be safe places for women to work from, health checks, no pimping, no need for kerb crawling and lots of other reasons.

Why has legalizing made things worse? That's a genuine question.

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 12:38

Many women involved in prostitution do not give meaningful consent. A survey of prostitutes found 90% said they wanted out. The average age for a women to enter prostition is 14 years of age. Most adult woman prostitutes started doing this either as children or as very young adults such as 16. The papers like to promote the myth of the "empowered" 20 year old getting into prostitution to earn good money. This is not the reality for the majority of prostitutes.

This link provides some information on the situation in Australia. www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/10/06/3333668.htm

"Around Australia there are hundreds of legal brothels. Thousands of women sell their bodies for profit. Now, in a joint Four Corners/The Age special investigation, reporter Sally Neighbour exposes the brutal illegal off-shoot of the sex industry: sex slavery. "

There are also stories like this in Australian tabloids of young woman's virginity being auctioned off by brothels. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/sydney-escort-agency-selling-19-year-old-virgin/story-e6freuzi-1226189394808

OP posts:
CookieRookie · 31/08/2012 12:57

Right, I'm off to have a read.

I'm shocked to say the least.

SardineQueen · 31/08/2012 14:45

Yes.

And the stuff about australia is terrifying.

Margerykemp · 31/08/2012 14:49

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

OneMoreChap · 31/08/2012 15:17

EatsBrainsAndLeaves Fri 31-Aug-12 11:13:22
Should we criminalise all men who pay for prostitution, alongside help for women to leave prostituion?

Might be better to say should we criminalise all those who pay for prostitution, alongside help people leave prostitution.

See www.lesbilicious.co.uk/would-you-pay-for-lesbian-sex/ and www.pinksofa.com/guest/your_say/post.asp?topicid=81 as a cursory glance for buyer and www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/celebrity-news-gossip/sherrin-and-the-source-of-all-pleasure-473930.html for sellers.

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 15:24

What about the menz!!

The reality is when virtually all prostitutes are used by men this is a gender issue.

OP posts:
OneMoreChap · 31/08/2012 15:27

...and very many of the prostitute used by men are men.

Prostitution is bad for all, not just the female prostitutes...

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 15:33

Of course prostitution is bad for all. But men are the ones who are buying and using prostitutes. Some of those are boys and men, and the majority are girls and women.

OP posts:
elfycat · 31/08/2012 15:37

Yes there should be no payment for sex. The prostitutes should do it for free like the rest of us.

worldgonecrazy · 31/08/2012 15:41

No, but there should be support for the vulnerable women and men who end up prostituting themselves, so that only the minority who actually want to do the job do it, and no one is forced into sex slavery.

Making it illegal is a sticking plaster, it doesn't cure what causes the illness.

TellyBug · 31/08/2012 15:42

No.

EatsBrainsAndLeaves · 31/08/2012 15:42

The Nordic model criminalises men who pay for sex and supports those involved in prostitution to turn their lives around and leave it.

OP posts:
exoticfruits · 31/08/2012 15:48

Yes.