Should it be illegal for men to pay for prostitution?

[EatsBrainsAndLeaves]

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

Yes.

It is not acceptable to subject someone to unwanted sex, not even if you pay them. The opposite view gives those with disposable income license to sexually abuse those with financial need.

The WHO does not embrace individuals right to sexual intercourse with other individuals.

Anyone who reads that that way is a bit odd.

NO-ONE has a RIGHT to SEX.

Everyone has a right to their sexuality eg in countries where if you are gay / thought to be gay you will be locked up / tortured / raped / murdered.

Wilful mis-interpretation of a very important right ie not to be PERSECUTED due to sexual orientation.

No-one has the RIGHT to fuck anyone else. Really, they don't.

"the World Health Organisation says "?Sexuality is an integral part of the personality of everyone: man, woman and child; it is a basic need and aspect of being human that cannot be separated from other aspects life.? "

This does NOT endorse paying to fuck people. Sexuality and sexual intercourse are NOT the same things.

How can anyone with even a basic level of education not understand that?

If a person cannot get a sexual partner the WHO is NOT endorsing a RIGHT to pay for sex with whoever, man woman or child.

who's going to pay the bills of women forced into compulsory redundancy as a result of moral supremacist groups?

I doubt that many prostitutes in the UK are in contracts involving redundancy packages. Let alone around the UK.

In the UK we tend to have the view that it is better for people (men women and children) to be supported by the state rather than sell their bodies. unfortunately for a range of reasons this support is not always effective in keeping men women and children from having to accept money in order to be fucked by people they would not otherwise be fucked by. Working on addiction issues, child abuse issues, issues for children in care etc etc is by far a better approach than saying oh yeah if someone wants cash then why not pay them to use their body it's a free market.

How many middle class men decide that a good way of getting some extra cash is to be anally penetrated by strangers? Hmm? Think on it. Not that you will, Obv.

Funny that vulnerable women and children are the ones who so often "choose" to work as prostitutes isn't it. Most peculiar indeed.

who's going to pay the bills of women povertised by moral supremacist groups? difficult question that is often ignored or censored

povertised?

The WELFARE STATE you arse.

It is THERE to PROTECT men women and children from having to get fucked by people who they would not choose to get fucked by, to get money to live.

Not difficult. Comprendez?

ah, so you want to punish women who choose sex work by povertising them into claiming benefit which is currently under threat by the rich people
have you ever claimed benefit? many women who choose sex work were previously on benefit & could'nt survive on the meagre amount thats why they choose sex work
not difficult. comprendez?

Why don't those kindly men who are so worried about women becoming "povertised" just give them the money without expecting sex in return?

TheCrackFox: precisely. These "kindly" men don't give a flying fuck about the women. All they care about is getting their end away. I'm not sure which is worst - their wilingness to use any handy female as seminal waste disposal unit or their total hypocrisy.

I would (maybe) have more time for their argument if they were at least honest about their motives, which are, patently, not to provide some vulnerable woman with an income but simply to use her and toss a few quid on the bed as they leave.

It amazes me the general niavety shown towards prostitution and the generalisations made about women working and the men that see them.
There are plenty of what you lot would deem 'normal' men who see escorts, and it's for a variety of reasons. I once heard a saying that 'it's not the sex they pay for but the walking away afterwards'.
It can be difficult to understand the sex industry when the only knowledge is second hand and written how the author wishes to portray it.
Why is it assumed that working women 'need help to leave the profession'? Not being funny but earning mw and being treated like an idiot isn't exactly without exploitation, but as that is socially acceptable that's okay then?
People's sexual needs are very varied, at the end of the day we have just had the Fifty Shades phenomenom, which apparently have opened up a whole new seam of sexual interest for people, perhaps by making bdsm appear acceptable between consenting parties.
I fully appreciate how difficult it is to ask to try something new with a long term partner, and because of this perhaps men find it easier to ask a prostitute who isn't going to judge them, look down their nose and make them feel like a perv.
Should it be illegal, certainly not.
Should vulnerable people be protected, certainly yes.

Yes.

why don't those kindly moral supremacists who care so much about the women selling sex, offer them the same money to stop selling sex?

indeed avaboosmummy, moral supremacist groups never complain about women cleaning the toilets of rich people for minimum wage, that work is considered acceptable
if moral supremacist groups spent as much time & effort in fighting poverty as they do in preaching morality, there probably would'nt be any prostitution

Listen...YOU go on benefits, get rid of whatever way you have chiselled out to support you and your children be it your job or your husband, let him leave and keep the house and all your joint assets and get yourself down to the benefits office and beg for a house and money for you and your kids, which obviously you wouldnt let your husband keep THEN talk about women giving up their financial freedom. WHO does not rule the world, just because WHO dont endorse prostitution doesnt mean its a bad thing. You just cant comprehend the difference can you, you seemed so clued up for a while in some of your posts. The only thing I can imagine is that you DONT WANT to understand the difference between a prostitute of choice and a forced sex slave. You must be a very closed minded person.

Why anyone in this day and age would actually suggest people GO ONTO benefits when they already have a means of supporting themselves happily is beyond me. By the way, forced sex slave prostitutes do not even get paid, they get food and clothes and a bed to sleep and fuck in so they cannot give up their job and go down to the benefits office but I bet they wish they could.

Lets see which bits of that above post you choose to read over and ignore this time lol

a few quid lol...the going rate is anything from 80 (ridiculously low) to 300 an hour...every single hour. Obviously there are a lot of women charging more and men paying it but less nowadays, theres a recession you know

I would love to meet some of these women face to face with a group of girls who still work. The girls would be howling with laughter and the women making nasty comments on here casting aspersions as to the girls level of intelligence would be left rather red faced. It wouldnt happen though as people dont really want to know the truth, its easier to moralise when you don't.

Yes.

Excellent article on what really happens in "legal" brothels: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/07/usa.gender

Interesting study here on the impact of different countries' approaches to prostitution.

SQ - "the World Health Organisation says "?Sexuality is an integral part of the personality of everyone: man, woman and child; it is a basic need and aspect of being human that cannot be separated from other aspects life.? "

considered in conjunction with this:

Generally, the literature indicates that women are not sexually aroused by prostitution, and that after extended periods of time servicing hundreds of men, prostitution damages or destroys much of their own sexuality (Barry, 1995; Funari, 1997; Giobbe, 1991; Hoigard and Finstad, 1986; Raymond et al., 2002).

It becomes clear that it's prostitution that's the human rights issue here, not some bloke who can't get a shag's supposed 'right' to be allowed to fuck someone.

Serparating sexuality from other aspects of life is exactly what prostitution does.

The World Health Organisation isn't the final arbiter on what's morally right.

What is being argued is that because a tiny minority of women choose to become prostitutes, we should ignore all those prsotitutes who do not choose it. Making it illegal for men to buy prostitutes to use, alongside programmes to help women leave prostition, will help all these women.

If some women genuinely choose prostitution, they can choose to do another job instead. I care about the majority of prostitutes who have no choice.