Corbyn - "I'm in favour of decriminalising the sex industry"

[IndominusRex]

www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/mar/04/jeremy-corbyn-decriminalise-sex-industry-prostitution?CMP=share_btn_tw

Not a huge shock but still troubling to see him say it.

Oh for f.... sake..he was the one mainstream politician that I had a smidgen of respect for. Should have known better

Not surprised. Just sad that he thinks that there is a 'civilised' way of exploiting women and girls for the gratification of men.

I think I agree with him - I fear we have to accept that there always been prostitution, and that there will be for the foreseeable future. I wish it were not the case.

The fact that women who solicit on the street are committing a crime means that they are looked down upon - they don't get protection when they are incredibly vulnerable. They are described as 'prostitutes'(eg when there is a murder) as though that means they have lesser rights than other people - that really sticks in my craw. The truly awful aspects, such as pimping and trafficking would still be crimes.

Rabbit - that's why I think the Nordic model is the only option - it removes the crime from selling onto buying so the women aren't criminalised or looked down on.

Yes it should have always been those buying that should be targeted.

Totally agree with PalmerViolet and IndominusRex.

Corbyn's made it pretty clear from the get-go that women's rights are at about the same level on his to-do list as building a better mousetrap. This doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

SeaRabbit, prostitutes are not looked down on because they're committing a crime though are they? They're looked down upon because they are prostitutes. Women are looked down upon anyway, women who have a lot of sex are viewed worse, then these ones are available for any sex at a price, that's why they're looked down upon. Decriminalisation will not change that in the slightest. If anything it will 'justify' those buying sex and give them a green light to behave in worse ways still towards this sub-group and women in general.

As is traditional on these threads, against criticism of the Nordic model, I give you... the complete mess that is the German decriminalisation, with women trafficked freely and treated appallingly.

Let’s do things a bit differently and in a bit more civilised way.

I had no idea that the buying of women's and girls' bodies could be done in a "civilised" way. How enlightening to know that Jeremy Corbyn thinks so .

Perhaps JC thinks the mess that is going on in Germany is civilised.

Oh great. It's an argument that gets trotted out a lot by lefties. Let's "protect" women who sell sex, by keeping them in nice safe government regulated brothels/red Iight areas...when the outcome of that is sanctioning the use of prostitutes.. making it respectable almost. And the men who suggest it often strike me as the sort who might quite fancy making use of that..
The fact is that the vast majority of prostitutes are victims of child abuse (in fact, I have never met a sex worker of any kind that wasn't abused in some way as a child , and I've met lots) and many are drug addicts.
They need help, not government sanctioned places for them to continue to be abused.

prostitutes are not looked down on because they're committing a crime though are they? They're looked down upon because they are prostitutes

That is true. Posters here and in real life, many men and women look down on the punters but having legal brothels, pimps and madams won't change the "looking down on" the women. It's still going to be a job which almost no-one is going to admit to doing or would want their female friends or relatives doing. And it's still wrong.

Corbyn is a disaster. It was a disaster for the Labour party from day one. This is just the latest reason for wanting rid of him as quickly as possible. I have no respect for him at all.

I like Corbyn. He's at least as honest as a politician can be and has already facilitated a widening of debate. There are alternatives to austerity. Okay he is male and has blind spots like everyone else, I don't agree with everything he says, he is not actually a Messiah and we shouldn't expect him to do all the work. I can live with that. There are some women on the labour frontbenches I quite admire too, he's put them there.

Legalising the purchase of sex gives it a veneer of respectability and condones the commercialisation of women's bodies. Nobody wants to 'punish' prostitutes, and I don't judge them for doing what they have to simply to survive, but John's are absolutely beyond contempt imo, and the Nordic Model is the only righteous and fair solution to the prostitution issue.

Corbyn has lost my vote over this. Move been following the situation in Germany and it is horrific. As bad as things are in this country, I dread to think what would happen to us if similar laws were put into place over here. Funny how little is reported about the German situation in the uk press, mind. It's almost like our media overlords don't want us to know what the actual social consequences are for a prostitution free for all ...

Bungo, I like Corbyn as well, of all the candidates for the leadership he was the only one that really appealed to me on a purely political front.

This is a serious own goal from him.

However, like I said, not surprised. Just saddened.

IMO is never ok to send a message that women are mere objects to be bought and sold. Perhaps he would like prostitution to be on the school curriculum as a career for young girls to aspire to...

What a disappointment.

" There are some women on the labour frontbenches I quite admire too, he's put them there"

Nope. That would be their talent and suitability. Corbyn has some admirable qualities, though I think he will be an electoral disaster, but no cookies for this please!

I certainly think he's wrong. "I want to be [in] a society where we don't automatically criminalise people."... in a society where we don't automatically criminalise thieves, murderers, rapists? What absolute rot. There has to be law and order. You can argue that the justice system needs to be focused more on reintegration rather than simple harsh punishment, but saying that there needs to be no criminalisation is silly wrong imo. On the plus side, this wasn't a formal policy statement or anything (yet) it is a direct answer to a direct question put to him at a student session which the media have picked up on.

No surprise really, is it? After Amnesty came out in favour of decriminalisation, nothing would surprise me any more.

I can't remember which wise woman said it, but the Right thinks women are private property and the Left thinks that they're public property, so this aligns nicely with that. It's beautifully simple and easily achieved virtue signalling that We Protect Women, conveniently packaged for your right-on leftist bro. Of course it dismally fails to acknowledge that the actual sex class of women gets thrown conveniently under the bus. For some reason it's a stretch for the left in Britain to grasp that really progressive egalitatarian societies don't (can't!) offer up the bodies, the vaginas of the most vulnerable for trade. Business as usual. Heaven fucking forbid that men should ever be asked to gain control of their penises.

The left cannot have its whores and its politics too (thank you, Andrea). Morally bankrupt, the lot of them. Gah.

It's a bit disingenuous to accuse Corbyn of sexism over this when plenty of women, including feminists and sex workers, are in favour of legalisation.

No, what's wrong is women saying they're a-ok with men exploiting women for their sexual and misogynistic gratification.

Corbyn is just amplifying that.

It's not disingenuous, Mr Iliad.

Women who support prostitution as "just another job" are also supporting the continuation of a sexist system.

HTH.

Palmerviolet, some would say you're wrong for telling women what they can do with their own bodies.

Just saying that someone with a differing opinion is wrong isn't really helpful. This is a moral debate, not a maths question; their is no right or wrong answer. Society, women and feminists are all split on the issue.

In a moral debate, do you think that it is moral to take the stance that male sexual exploitation of women is perfectly acceptable and should be normalised?