What is the solution?
I've thought a lot lately about how we can go about ending human trafficking, while still maintaining the rights of sex workers. Its all lead me back to the same conclusion and the same problem, legalized sex work can't exist for the same reason human trafficking does exist. At the base of it, like our reproductive rights which we are still fighting for, and like violence against women in general, it’s the same issue, as women and girls we have no ownership of our bodies. We don't own them in terms of our society or our world, we don't own them because men have decided that they in fact do. Our world is run by men, men have set it up so that they have all the power and access to all the money, and every institution from our government to the judicial system, even to the educational system has been set-up for men by men, so that men will always be the ones who end up benefiting from it. If you are born as a girl, you are entering a world that is not only not set-up for you, but will work against you from the moment you take your first breathe.
From that first breathe is the same conclusion, maybe not by the girl's parents, but by the world at large, that she only exists for the purpose of men. On International Women's Day a group of Women in Egypt who had helped overthrow Mubarak, wanted to march to celebrate the holiday. Upon doing so, they were attacked by a group of Egyptian men, the same ones who had spent the last month or so protesting alongside them, they physically/sexually assaulted the women, and screamed at them that "women are suppose to raise leaders, not be leaders." We commonly hear this in our country as well, and if you're still unclear about it, I'm pretty sure the 17% of women who make up congress, as opposed to the 83% of men makes the only statement you need. How many of our presidents have been women? I feel men everywhere, whether they are in Egypt or are in America, feel the same way: they have no problems with Women existing, and they have no problems with us fighting alongside them, especially if its for something that will directly benefit them, but the second we want anything, it suddenly becomes this huge inconvenience with these troublesome women, who shouldn't be allowed to make any decisions or have any rights because quite simply property/cattle needs to be controlled by someone.
We once again come back to the same point, that men in general don't value or respect women. If men wanted to, we could solve every single problem in the world today, tomorrow, because lets be realistic every problem on this planet exists because of men. Women don't even have the power to create or sustain things like poverty and war, we just don't. If men wanted to end human trafficking, violence against women and war, you guys have the power to do that within the next 24 hours and it will no longer exist on this planet. But instead women and girls have been set up to fail, we're not given any rights, or equality, we're taught that we don't have ownership of our own bodies. When we try to take back that ownership or explore our own sexuality we're called "sluts" "whores" etc. Which is why women who are sex workers by CHOICE, are seen the same as women who are forced into sex trafficking and are not there by choice. Even though these two things are not the same at all.
Its just as bad to force a woman to get an abortion against her will, as it is to not allow her to get an abortion and thus forcing her to give birth against her will. Both are wrong, and both reinforce this idea that women don't have any rights to our bodies. It’s all about having choices, and being able to choose what is best for yourself. An adult woman who has options, has gone to college, etc, and chooses to go into the sex industry is exactly what it seems, a woman who made a choice. As long as she has other options available to her so she can leave if she wants, or stay if she loves her work, than there should be no problem with it. It’s her body and she has the right to do with it what she wants.
A woman or girl who has been forced into trafficking against her will, or because she has no other choices, is exactly what it sounds like; slavery. The reason this happens is because men believe they have rights to our bodies, and can do whatever they want to us, and unfortunately our own laws, society and the world, not only let them, but the laws work in their favor. Men buy these women because they believe that women only exist for their own pleasure and their own benefit, and sex is something that men do to women. They don't care that its a human being who has thoughts, emotions and talents. A woman who chooses to be in the sex industry is also a woman who isn't necessarily selling her body, but rather a service a fantasy, or a performance. Versus a woman who is in slavery and is being sold, traded, abused, and too scared or not able to seek services to escape. They are also being controlled by someone, by a group of pimps or men who have made it very clear that if they try to escape they will be tortured or killed. This couldn't’t be further from a sex worker who has chosen that industry, and in turn works for herself.
By making blanket statements that all women in the sex industry are in slavery, it doesn’t help anyone, because it once again enforces this idea that women aren’t sexual beings, we don’t own our own bodies, and would never choose something like that. It also groups people who are actually being incredibly victimized in the same category as those who aren’t being victimized at all. I can definitely tell you that there are women in this world who would choose that type of work, and as a scorpio I feel confident saying that 95% of them would be scorpios. However, if all women in this world have equal opportunities and are given access to higher education, I feel the percentage would be very small. Just like not every woman on this planet wants to be a mechanic. I think it goes the same with the porn industry which basically has this same problem that human trafficking does and the two have become interconnected.
I think the problem with outright legalizing prostitution would be that the demand would always be infinitely greater than the number of women who would choose that work. Which would make human trafficking worse, and women and girls would be kidnapped in droves to fulfill the demand. I also feel it would give law enforcement a reason to turn a blind eye to everything they consider to be prostitution because its legal. I don't think they would work to end slavery, I think it would also give a lot of men a good reason to go out and get a prostitute, men who wouldn't normally do that. Therefore if prostitution is legalized, they need to pass a law that criminalizes buying “prostitutes”, so that they can prosecute any man who ends up buying a girl or woman who is being held in slavery. It needs to carry a huge heavy sentence, along with being a felony, it also needs to make it so they can prosecute them for rape, which is what is actually happening to women and girls trapped in slavery. In addition there needs to be the death penalty automatically given to anyone who is found guilty of human trafficking. The punishment needs to be so severe that no one would ever attempt to do this in the first place, right now the laws make it so its a petty crime with little to no jail time, and since prostitution is illegal not only does the prostitute end up getting in trouble and blamed for anything bad that happens to her, it also makes women and girls who have been forced into trafficking too scared to seek help, or possibly call the police to try to get out.
Whether a woman chooses to be a sex worker or is being held in trafficking neither should be treated as criminals, neither should ever end up in jail. A woman owns her own body and can do whatever she wants with her body, likewise a woman or girl who has been forced into slavery also owns her own body and shouldn’t end up in jail like they currently do. It would also give sex workers rights so that if something happened to them at the job, a customer raped them or hurt them in anyway, they could easily go to the police without fear of repercussions or being charged with a crime. It would also help prevent what seems to be the disposability of both sex workers and girls who are being trafficked in our society. How many "dead hooker" jokes has everyone heard? grand theft auto anyone?. Prostitutes are murdered because they are both easy prey, and also any women in our society who is sexual or in charge of her sexuality is seen as "a promiscuous whore, with no value or worth", and thus murdering her is no big deal. This reflects men's views towards women's sexuality in general. Men need to grow up, and get over it. Women are sexual creatures too, and some women would like the idea of having sex and getting paid for it!
If men understand that they need to respect and value all women and girls all the time than they understand it all. But right now men don’t have any desire to respect or value the female race, and since men aren’t held responsible for their actions ever in our society, and since they don’t hold themselves, or other men don't hold them responsible for their actions, they can do whatever they want, which they do.
This is why things like human trafficking exist in the first place. If men respected and valued women everywhere in the world, something like modern day slavery would be unimaginable to them, women would be equal everywhere in the world and have equal opportunities, thus eliminating things like poverty which is one of the main factors in woman and girls being trafficked in the first place. This would mean the small percentage of women who would than become sex workers would only be women who choose that occupation, and if they decide that its not the right job for them, that would be fine because they could leave at any moment. No one would see them as any less of a person for choosing that job or that industry, because no one would ever feel anything other than the upmost respect for women.
From that first breathe is the same conclusion, maybe not by the girl's parents, but by the world at large, that she only exists for the purpose of men. On International Women's Day a group of Women in Egypt who had helped overthrow Mubarak, wanted to march to celebrate the holiday. Upon doing so, they were attacked by a group of Egyptian men, the same ones who had spent the last month or so protesting alongside them, they physically/sexually assaulted the women, and screamed at them that "women are suppose to raise leaders, not be leaders." We commonly hear this in our country as well, and if you're still unclear about it, I'm pretty sure the 17% of women who make up congress, as opposed to the 83% of men makes the only statement you need. How many of our presidents have been women? I feel men everywhere, whether they are in Egypt or are in America, feel the same way: they have no problems with Women existing, and they have no problems with us fighting alongside them, especially if its for something that will directly benefit them, but the second we want anything, it suddenly becomes this huge inconvenience with these troublesome women, who shouldn't be allowed to make any decisions or have any rights because quite simply property/cattle needs to be controlled by someone.
We once again come back to the same point, that men in general don't value or respect women. If men wanted to, we could solve every single problem in the world today, tomorrow, because lets be realistic every problem on this planet exists because of men. Women don't even have the power to create or sustain things like poverty and war, we just don't. If men wanted to end human trafficking, violence against women and war, you guys have the power to do that within the next 24 hours and it will no longer exist on this planet. But instead women and girls have been set up to fail, we're not given any rights, or equality, we're taught that we don't have ownership of our own bodies. When we try to take back that ownership or explore our own sexuality we're called "sluts" "whores" etc. Which is why women who are sex workers by CHOICE, are seen the same as women who are forced into sex trafficking and are not there by choice. Even though these two things are not the same at all.
Its just as bad to force a woman to get an abortion against her will, as it is to not allow her to get an abortion and thus forcing her to give birth against her will. Both are wrong, and both reinforce this idea that women don't have any rights to our bodies. It’s all about having choices, and being able to choose what is best for yourself. An adult woman who has options, has gone to college, etc, and chooses to go into the sex industry is exactly what it seems, a woman who made a choice. As long as she has other options available to her so she can leave if she wants, or stay if she loves her work, than there should be no problem with it. It’s her body and she has the right to do with it what she wants.
A woman or girl who has been forced into trafficking against her will, or because she has no other choices, is exactly what it sounds like; slavery. The reason this happens is because men believe they have rights to our bodies, and can do whatever they want to us, and unfortunately our own laws, society and the world, not only let them, but the laws work in their favor. Men buy these women because they believe that women only exist for their own pleasure and their own benefit, and sex is something that men do to women. They don't care that its a human being who has thoughts, emotions and talents. A woman who chooses to be in the sex industry is also a woman who isn't necessarily selling her body, but rather a service a fantasy, or a performance. Versus a woman who is in slavery and is being sold, traded, abused, and too scared or not able to seek services to escape. They are also being controlled by someone, by a group of pimps or men who have made it very clear that if they try to escape they will be tortured or killed. This couldn't’t be further from a sex worker who has chosen that industry, and in turn works for herself.
By making blanket statements that all women in the sex industry are in slavery, it doesn’t help anyone, because it once again enforces this idea that women aren’t sexual beings, we don’t own our own bodies, and would never choose something like that. It also groups people who are actually being incredibly victimized in the same category as those who aren’t being victimized at all. I can definitely tell you that there are women in this world who would choose that type of work, and as a scorpio I feel confident saying that 95% of them would be scorpios. However, if all women in this world have equal opportunities and are given access to higher education, I feel the percentage would be very small. Just like not every woman on this planet wants to be a mechanic. I think it goes the same with the porn industry which basically has this same problem that human trafficking does and the two have become interconnected.
I think the problem with outright legalizing prostitution would be that the demand would always be infinitely greater than the number of women who would choose that work. Which would make human trafficking worse, and women and girls would be kidnapped in droves to fulfill the demand. I also feel it would give law enforcement a reason to turn a blind eye to everything they consider to be prostitution because its legal. I don't think they would work to end slavery, I think it would also give a lot of men a good reason to go out and get a prostitute, men who wouldn't normally do that. Therefore if prostitution is legalized, they need to pass a law that criminalizes buying “prostitutes”, so that they can prosecute any man who ends up buying a girl or woman who is being held in slavery. It needs to carry a huge heavy sentence, along with being a felony, it also needs to make it so they can prosecute them for rape, which is what is actually happening to women and girls trapped in slavery. In addition there needs to be the death penalty automatically given to anyone who is found guilty of human trafficking. The punishment needs to be so severe that no one would ever attempt to do this in the first place, right now the laws make it so its a petty crime with little to no jail time, and since prostitution is illegal not only does the prostitute end up getting in trouble and blamed for anything bad that happens to her, it also makes women and girls who have been forced into trafficking too scared to seek help, or possibly call the police to try to get out.
Whether a woman chooses to be a sex worker or is being held in trafficking neither should be treated as criminals, neither should ever end up in jail. A woman owns her own body and can do whatever she wants with her body, likewise a woman or girl who has been forced into slavery also owns her own body and shouldn’t end up in jail like they currently do. It would also give sex workers rights so that if something happened to them at the job, a customer raped them or hurt them in anyway, they could easily go to the police without fear of repercussions or being charged with a crime. It would also help prevent what seems to be the disposability of both sex workers and girls who are being trafficked in our society. How many "dead hooker" jokes has everyone heard? grand theft auto anyone?. Prostitutes are murdered because they are both easy prey, and also any women in our society who is sexual or in charge of her sexuality is seen as "a promiscuous whore, with no value or worth", and thus murdering her is no big deal. This reflects men's views towards women's sexuality in general. Men need to grow up, and get over it. Women are sexual creatures too, and some women would like the idea of having sex and getting paid for it!
If men understand that they need to respect and value all women and girls all the time than they understand it all. But right now men don’t have any desire to respect or value the female race, and since men aren’t held responsible for their actions ever in our society, and since they don’t hold themselves, or other men don't hold them responsible for their actions, they can do whatever they want, which they do.
This is why things like human trafficking exist in the first place. If men respected and valued women everywhere in the world, something like modern day slavery would be unimaginable to them, women would be equal everywhere in the world and have equal opportunities, thus eliminating things like poverty which is one of the main factors in woman and girls being trafficked in the first place. This would mean the small percentage of women who would than become sex workers would only be women who choose that occupation, and if they decide that its not the right job for them, that would be fine because they could leave at any moment. No one would see them as any less of a person for choosing that job or that industry, because no one would ever feel anything other than the upmost respect for women.
