The things that drive people to “voluntary” sex work is often the same stuff that everybody with a “voluntary” job contends with: education, rent, food etc.
I do think an obvious step is making sure those needs are met by society to reduce coercion.
As for the necessity of jobs, I don’t think sex workers, drug dealers or butchers should be jobs that exist, but I would not outlaw those people for practicing jobs that I think shouldn’t exist. I don’t think those jobs should be illegal.
Banning sex work does little but create another power imbalance that predators use to exploit sex workers similar to how criminalizing drugs leads to more exploitation.
As for sucking dicks, I would rather do that than perform surgeries or butcher animals. If folks are only getting $20 bucks for a blowjob that seems criminally low.
Notice at no point I made the argument that sex work should be criminalized. You are arguing against points I haven’t made.
I don’t believe sex work should be criminalized, although I lean towards the Nordic model of criminalizing the actions of a purchaser. Sex work being criminalized is harmful to the people desperate enough to turn to it, because it adds to stigma which keeps them trapped in the profession and makes them vulnerable to further exploitation by the police.
My argument is that sex work is inherently harmful. Not that it should be illegal, not that it’s “icky” because sex, but that sex work does psychological damage to the people who resort to it. If one purchases the services of a sex worker, they are participating in a harmful and morally wrong act.
The things that drive people to “voluntary” sex work is often the same stuff that everybody with a “voluntary” job contends with: education, rent, food etc.
I do think an obvious step is making sure those needs are met by society to reduce coercion.
As for the necessity of jobs, I don’t think sex workers, drug dealers or butchers should be jobs that exist, but I would not outlaw those people for practicing jobs that I think shouldn’t exist. I don’t think those jobs should be illegal.
Banning sex work does little but create another power imbalance that predators use to exploit sex workers similar to how criminalizing drugs leads to more exploitation.
As for sucking dicks, I would rather do that than perform surgeries or butcher animals. If folks are only getting $20 bucks for a blowjob that seems criminally low.
Notice at no point I made the argument that sex work should be criminalized. You are arguing against points I haven’t made.
I don’t believe sex work should be criminalized, although I lean towards the Nordic model of criminalizing the actions of a purchaser. Sex work being criminalized is harmful to the people desperate enough to turn to it, because it adds to stigma which keeps them trapped in the profession and makes them vulnerable to further exploitation by the police.
My argument is that sex work is inherently harmful. Not that it should be illegal, not that it’s “icky” because sex, but that sex work does psychological damage to the people who resort to it. If one purchases the services of a sex worker, they are participating in a harmful and morally wrong act.