Comments for From Vilification to Vindication – Why Sex Work Should be Decriminalized at http://www.culturemagazine.ca , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.culturemagazine.ca Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:12:57 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.culturemagazine.ca/sex/from_vilification_to_vindication_why_sex_work_should_be_decriminalized.html#comment-458 1) “The threat of arrest is significant, since more than 90% of charges and convictions related to sex work have been brought under the communicating in public for the purposes of prostitution section of the Criminal Code” This statement is misleading. It may simply be that 90% of charges and conviction are related to communicating in public because that’s the easiest way to catch them. This doesn’t make the threat of arrest significant; it means that it’s the major cause for the arrests. And as far as a lack of communication before entering the vehicle leading to danger, these women are getting into the cars with strangers. There is an inherent risk there, regardless of the level of communication. 2) “women still lag behind men in social and economic participation and rights” This is a blanket statement which needs further justification. Where do women lag behind socially? As for economics, although the average salary of men is higher than women there are a significant depressing effects from at least two factors I can think of, age and stay at home mothers. Up until quite recently women were delegated into jobs that paid less, such as teaching, nursing, and secretaries (now called assistants). Today this isn’t the case as women can decide to enter whatever career they choose, but there is still a gap in the overall salaries from the older generation of women who didn’t have as many options and went into lower paying jobs. Another factor is that mothers are still more likely to be the primary caregivers of children over men. Even if some women decide to let their partners be the primary caregiver, their average salary will be brought down by women who choose (for themselves) to stay home and raise their children. This is not something that society needs to remedy as it is a free choice taken by both partners in the relationship but it is something that needs to be taken into account when discussing any potential imbalance that still exists. And if the mothers decide to return to the work force after raising the children a bit they will have less experience in the workplace. Therefore any statements regarding the economic balance between the sexes are meaningless without taking age and years of experience into account. 3) “Having this understanding then does seem to validate the arguments that sex work is exploitative of women. Especially with street-based sex work, some women are coerced into the industry by abusive partners, by poverty, or by addictions” I think this is an important point. There aren’t many professions that women are coerced into in today’s society. And speaking of addictions, why isn’t this further explored in the article. Aren’t locations with prostitution also areas where illegal drug sales are conducted? What effects would decriminalized or legalized prostitution have on that? Overall the article speaks about a sexist society outlawing prostitution because it cannot handle the idea of women liking sex enough to make a profession out of it. Turning the argument for legalized prostitution into a critique like this is unfair. It may be a part of the reason but it’s not the sole reason. It may not even be the biggest reason. - Andrew Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:03:17 +0100