Disclaimer!
I like to write about controversial topics. I should warn you now, I will write from time to time about subjects such as religion, atheism, polyamory, and human sexuality. I may cover other controversial topics, but those are the ones I can think of at the moment. I often have positions on these topics that might not be considered mainstream, and you may in fact find them offensive if they go against what you were taught and/or what you believe. If you have questions about something I write about, or if you disagree, you are more than welcome to post a comment or to email me. That being said, if you do disagree or find something offensive, I believe that we can discuss the matter like calm, rational adults. Let us talk about it in such a way.
Recently I began posting in a Facebook group called “Decriminalize Voluntary Prostitution.” I proposed a business model (note the word model, not actual business plan) that attempted to address the many concerns that the topic tends to raise in frank discussions about it. Many of my ideas actually stem from a class I took on human sexuality, where I in fact decided to defend legal prostitution in our discussions. I posted this particular proposal to see what kind of feedback I would receive in order to point me towards more reading and help me refine my ideas. The entire series of posts and replies can be found at http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2208847966&topic=2112.
Here’s my first post:
“I’m in favor of legalized sex work myself. I’ve actually toyed with the idea of starting my own company of brothels (where sex work is currently legal, and later the company would be able to afford to lobby and challenge laws elsewhere) to create a business model where sex workers:have full benefits,can turn down any clients (and get to see and talk to potential clients before agreeing to sex),receive a support package if they want to quit – probably by having the first several hundred dollars they make held until they quit,both clients and workers are tested for STDs (instead of just the workers), by having an independent lab/office next door to the brothels,
must be a citizen of the country they work in (to stop/prevent trafficking),
have independent security personel in the brothels that can be summoned with a button to protect the workers,
and the workers are protected from abuse by managers by strict monitoring and a policy that protects and rewards whistleblowers.
Does anyone have feedback? It would be much appreciated. -Andrew”
My first response was something to the effect of “how do you plan to accomplish this?”
My reply:
“Well, basically those would be some core rules that my company would have. To make it a reality, one would need to write a business plan, get either investors or an investment loan, and start the company. I would probably either buy or build a building organized like a hotel, as far as the brothel is concerned. Obviously, I would only operate in countries/municipalities where prostitution is legal, then perhaps use profits to lobby for having it legalized in additional places. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the workers would have psych evaluations when hired and on a regular basis to ensure mental fitness and decision making capabilty, as well as having psychiatric care/therapy included (with a deductible) in the benefits package. “
The next replier brought up a very interesting point. They said that they agreed with all of my points except for one: requring the workers to be citizens of the country they live in. She argued that sex work may be one of the best options for people who have recently changed residences, and that some would simply practice it elsewhere if they did not have the option to do so at my hypothetical brothels. It’s a good point, and I may write about it more later, but here is my reply:
“Hi X,
I wrote a response and tried to send it as a message a minute ago, but I think it was lost… argh… But thank you for your lengthy and well thought out response. The reason I hadn’t read it until tonight was that I didn’t get any responses for a while, and so I had given up on it for a time.I did do more reading after I wrote my first couple of posts, and noticed that all of the websites for sex worker rights were against my citizenship requirement idea. One idea I have to replace is a certificate informed consent that garuntees that the worker was well informed about the profession and the risks involved, and was entering the work voluntarily, etc…I also thought more about the psych evaluation idea, and decided to drop it, since it might be considered discrimination. I think scientific evidence that suggests the rate of mental illness in sex workers is about the same as the general population is sufficient to counter the argument that only mentally unhealthy people enter sex work. Including mental health care in the benefits package is probably sufficient.I like all of the additional suggestions that you made. The first five make sense as part of a high quality benefits package, and the six makes good bussiness sense.I feel like you deserve a lengthy response, since you put all of that time into your post, but all I can think of at the moment is that I agree with everything you said. I’d be glad to discuss the topic further, if you’d like.
I wrote a response and tried to send it as a message a minute ago, but I think it was lost… argh… But thank you for your lengthy and well thought out response. The reason I hadn’t read it until tonight was that I didn’t get any responses for a while, and so I had given up on it for a time.I did do more reading after I wrote my first couple of posts, and noticed that all of the websites for sex worker rights were against my citizenship requirement idea. One idea I have to replace is a certificate informed consent that garuntees that the worker was well informed about the profession and the risks involved, and was entering the work voluntarily, etc…I also thought more about the psych evaluation idea, and decided to drop it, since it might be considered discrimination. I think scientific evidence that suggests the rate of mental illness in sex workers is about the same as the general population is sufficient to counter the argument that only mentally unhealthy people enter sex work. Including mental health care in the benefits package is probably sufficient.I like all of the additional suggestions that you made. The first five make sense as part of a high quality benefits package, and the six makes good bussiness sense.I feel like you deserve a lengthy response, since you put all of that time into your post, but all I can think of at the moment is that I agree with everything you said. I’d be glad to discuss the topic further, if you’d like.
-Andrew”
The next replier seemed to be in agreement with me on most of the points I had already brought up, although they wrote as if they were arguing against me. Some of the things I wrote in reply include:
“Well, I have no problem with the practice being optional and voluntary. Many businesses will hold a small amount of money for a specified amount of time in order to prevent waste on training materials, training time, travel expenses, etc. if the new hire decides to quit soon after training begins, for example…..”
I also wrote:
“No, there isn’t an independent lab/office next to a motel. The point of having one next to a brothel would be to have a fast turnaround time for test results. You are not required to get tested before engaging in sexual acts with others in our society, but unless I’m mistaken, you are required to inform your partner that you may be infected with an STI (if there is reason to believe it is likely) before you engage in sexual acts. This should be enforced for sex workers and their clients as a safety precaution to protect them. This doesn’t perpetuate the idea that sex work is dirty and dangerous; it acknowledges the fact that STIs exist and the transmission of them can be prevented. Does the fact that we make people who work in construction sites wear hardhats somehow demean them or their line of work? Not so much. Statistically speaking, I would hypothesize that mandatory regular testing would result in a much lower rate of infection than voluntary testing. An individual person might underestimate statistical risk; humans normally have to be trained to think in such a matter. Being tested for STIs does not guarantee non-infection, but it lowers the likelihood and risk of it over the entire sample of sex workers and clients. What is the proper and safe way to determine if someone is free of an STI? Hardhats don’t guarantee that a construction worker won’t be injured by falling debris at a worksite, but they do lessen the likelihood that he or she will receive a head injury in such an event. The fact that some STIs take time to be detected doesn’t mean that all testing should be abandoned… that seems like a non-sequiter to me. We agree that sex education, condoms, and dental dams are important. I disagree that testing is equivalent to putting a stamp of approval on meat. Some lines of work have different safety standards. Astronauts must be free of heart disease in order to fly in shuttle missions. Does this mean we’re treating them like pieces of meat? No, we’re protecting their safety and the safety of those around them. Sex workers wouldn’t knowingly be infected or infect others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they spend time reading medical scientific journals and have immunology training either. …”
And later….
”I also am in favor of sex work as a legitimate form of employment, and it appears the only thing we disagree on is mandatory testing. You see it as a way to demean and control the sex worker in an unnecessary way, while I see it as an important safety practice that would help legitimize the work, not stigmatize it. “
