While I'm on my save tax dollars campaign, lets talk about another vice that we spend large sums of local and federal tax dollars on, with no reduction in its services. What I am talking about is normally called prostitution. We have all seen the news and documentaries of the unattractive, drug addicted woman wearing hot pants and a halter top working the streets for johns. But that is just a very small segment of the number of sex workers in the community. The street walker are the ones who are the most risky from a health point of view and potential violence against the john or the john against the sex worker. But there is a larger group that do not work the street. They are professional courtesans.
Ever since sex became valuable as a service, it has been exchanged for money or other value. According to many historians, most of the pre-Christian cultures sex was a normal behavior in society without the negative connotations implied today. In the early Greek and Roman cultures, sex was freely practiced at the bath houses and bordellos, that included heterosexual, homosexual and sex with minors, most without the exchange of money, except for the bordellos. In fact incest was practiced; mainly among the wealthy aristocracy. During the early Christian periods, many clergy sought the services of courtesans, who were educated and socially refined prostitutes approved by the court (royalty and clergy). It went underground after the inquisition period and abolished in England with Queen Victory. In America it was an accepted evil in most towns. There were bordellos just down the street on Pennsylvania Ave in Washington DC to service legislators, dignitaries and the military. For many wives this was acceptable because they accepted their husbands use of prostitutes as a form of family planning, if the husband got his rocks off with a prostitute, she would not have to have sex with him and get pregnant. For most of the professional courtesans, they knew tricks for birth control even in those days with natural herbs that did very much the same as today's pills. The term Hooker is derived from General Hooker of the Union Army during the civil war. He was encamped in Tennessee at the ending of the war. The story goes that there was not enough prostitutes to take care of his men and they were fighting for the ones available, so he recruited prostitutes from neighboring areas to reduce the conflict and improve moral. It worked. He also had a policy of health checks of the prostitutes and the men, to the degree they had at that time. This did reduce some of the VD problems he had with some of the bordellos before he took control of them.
Even in Utah, prostitution was legal and accepted until the 20th century. Regent street had a block of "cribs" that prostitutes would hang out and solicit anyone walking down the alley. As the city grew, the city council wanted to move it further away from commerce, so the city build what was known as the Stockade were the Gateway mall is now located, Rio Grand St. It was a narrow pedestrian street with two stories of cribs for the sex workers and a wall around it with a gate at each end. It operated until the temperance movement forced its closure and laws passed outlawing the practice. In some areas of the state, it continued, mainly in mining towns like Park City, Price, and Helper. The law knew it was operating, but turned their heads, unless there was trouble with a john.
So why do we spend so much tax dollars chasing down sex workers? I can understand going after the street hooker, because of their STD health threat, some are HIV positive. But the ones who spend money to advertise their "Services" as escorts, etc. on such websites as Craigslist and I assume practice safer sex?
Here is my opinion:
Legalize sex work and require the sex worker to either work in a licensed bordello, just like in Nevada, or be licensed for out-call services. Both workers would be required to attend safer sex practices courses, and to have regular health screens and tests. Any abnormality of the checkup and they are suspended from working or listed as prohibited. You say fine, but how do you regulate that. With today's technology there is a fairly simple way to create a verification system for both the john and worker to see what their health risk is.
The worker as mandated, as well as the john, voluntary unless demanded of the worker or bordello, would have their health checks at a certified clinic. The results of the check up would be posted on a website so that both parties could check on their status. This data could also be available for cell phones through text messaging. Now I realize this is not perfect, but much better than the current unchecked situation that discourages those infected to seek treatment for fear of prosecution. If those inclined to use such services felt confidence was possible and treatment obtained easily, then our STD levels might come down. Under this system, a person seeking a sex worker or a sex worker would receive a PIN number to identify them to the other person to protect their privacy and only allow a potential sexual partner access to verify STD status. This would also be a great option for those dating and not in the sex trade. Go to a computer at a club, or use your cell phone and enter both your pin numbers and there are your potential partners STD status, good to go, or I'm out of here... Always safer sex practices should be stressed. Accept the fact that you can not stop people from copulating, it is in the genes and a basic desire that is near impossible to overcome.
So lets face reality and find a way to reduce cost to the treasury, and might even increase tax revenue by taxing the service, and help control through screening, treatment and risk assessment STDs. The current police vice investigations, sting operations, prosecution and incarceration for a few days does nothing but spend money.
Let me make it clear, that forced human trafficking for sex should be investigated, prosecuted and violators incarcerated, period. What I am talking about are adults who make the choice on their own for whatever reason they choose to enter the sex worker trade. Be it an adult video performer, courtesan, stripper, escort, etc. Because of economics, survival, or just because they like the job. There have been news stories recently of mainly women who had good paying careers that gave that up to become strippers and sex workers. They said the money was better, the hours were better and they enjoyed what they did. Who can complain about that?
My objective here is to identify stupid laws that consume tax dollars and has very little or no benefit from its expenditure. So why spend it? Taxes are high enough, why spend it just because it is a religious morality issue. Lets look at it pragmatically as a tax expenditure issue. Selling of sex has never been stopped and nothing will ever stop it, so control it and tax it. Make it as safe as possible for all that participate.
Just a thought...
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