Does having sex with a prostitute constitute rape?

[quencher]

A thread triggered this for me so I have decided to ask the question. If you consent to be paid for sex but don't feel like sleeping with the customer, are you being raped?

Slightly more hardline than "turning a blind eye" like i said it has worked in eradicating street prostitution, and establishments that are too blatant. But yes in escorting / flats you can still make money but you have unquestioned back-up if you need it.

Really interesting thread. I'm still absorbing the debate.

I haven't anything to add that hasn't already been said better, but one point leapt out at me, re the mens rea required for rape. It's decades since I studied law, but isn't there also space for recklessness to be considered? Could sex for money be reframed into an act that would require criminal recklessness as to consent? As previous posters have pointed out, not only is it not possible to tell if a prostitute has been coerced into the act, but punters don't actually care either way.

I'm also very tickled that posters on this thread who think the feminism section is full of shrieking man hating harpies will be unwittingly sucked in here if they follow this thread . Come on in, the water's lovely!

No family has ever been compensated for the murder of a prostitute.

This is almost certainly not true - the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme covers all victims of violent crime.

It is true that they do not receive the same H&S protections as othet workers. Prostitutes don't have an 'employer' in the normal sense and normal H&S practice is notably absent. (Routine contact with bodily fluids, for example, is not something that would be accepted in a hospital).

I am not arguing that it's a job like any other, quite the opposite, but it's important to be accurate.

I don't consider it to be rape personally no,

If the girl halfway through changes her mind and the guy continues yes that's rape but if she doesn't then no x

I don't think you can pay for genuine 'consent' or you would not have to pay!
You can pay for submission. Even that is often forced and controlled by a pimp / agency or the simple need for £ for rent/kids/drugs and no other options.
Would most sex workers do it if they didn't need the £ so badly or if their boundaries were not screwed up to allow it even if the £ is needed? NO.

Yes, men who pay for sex with sex workers are committing a form of rape. Paid rape maybe, but still rape as there is no 'free consent'.