should prostitution be legalised in the UK?

in my opinion legalising prostitution in the UK is way overdue, for no matter how much you oppose it on moral grounds is it not more immoral to have criminals presently running brothels, often luring underage girls into the sex trade, then hooking them on drugs so that they will become submissive and even grateful to their captors?
better surely that there are well run brothels in designated areas, with regular checks by governmental bodies, and strict rules on the age at which girls can work, as well as medical checks and legally binding employment contracts.
perhaps if all this had been in place the prostitutes murdered last year in ipswich would be alive today, but as things stand right now they are easy prey for any likeminded maniac.

 

You mean it isn't already? I agree that it should be a regulated industry. You can make the prostitutes get tested for STD's and make them get a permit to work in the industry and verify their age. It would cut down on a lot of problems and the tax revenue increase from bringing it out of the underground would pay for the cost of the regulations.

 

Hmmm..this is a very controversial topic. You need to look at both sides on why it should be legalized, and why it shouldn't it. I am certainly not an expert on this topic so better keeping my mouth shut. However, I personally too feel that more than UK or any other developed country, it should be legalized in developing countries because of the horrible conditions prostitutes work in there, and the torture they have to go through. Legalizing would help them entering the soceity in which they can't enter other-wise.

 

Yes in the U.S. too, in fact all new immigrants should be hookers until we reach our hooker quota.

 

I thought it was already legal in the UK? I think it is legal in Amsterdam but they have to put on the red light.

 

I don't see any reason why it should be illegal, it's their body let them sell it if they want.

 

it should be legal in Canada and the UK >.<

Also long as they get regularly checked.

~Joecool6101

 

I think we could solve a lot of the Nixon Gang's frustrations if male prostitutes were legal in the USA.

They have money, they are just lacking love and companionship.

 

Yes i agree - very controversial and am guessing why it is not yet legalized. No government wants to agree for the backlash they may face.

On a lighter note I wonder what the selection process/criteria would be if it was to be legalized ?

 

in answer to an earlier reply, no prostitution is not legal in the UK though it is in the netherlands where they have designated red-light areas.
the problem here is that this issue willl never get enough attention from the government because it is hardly a vote winning topic, but even so i am sure there is grounds here to state that if most prostitutes were men that something would have been done about it by now.
these women deserve our protection and to have the same human rights as the rest of us, it would be immoral to argue otherwise.

 

It is legal in the UK, however there are laws that make it difficult. For example living off of immoral earnings, curb crawling and soliciting are all illegal, though these are aimed at contoling the industry rather then outlawing it.

 

The biggest reason why the government of the UK can never fully legalize prostitution is because it is too money hungry to do so. Much like the U.S. government, the UK government will likely outlaw anything that is hard to tax.

Prostitution is perhaps the hardest industry to tax in the world, because its very nature makes it almost impossible to tax. I mean, you've got countries like Singapore that have successfully regulated, but the West is unlikely to adopt these measures.

If the government of the UK suddenly makes prostitution legal, this is what I bet will happen...

1. Only a handful of prostitutes will register with the government.
2. Most will continue working unregulated to avoid taxes.
3. The government will have to continue chasing prostitutes who are not registered, which is a never ending task.

 

I wouldn't have thought it would be any harder to tax than most self-employed occupations.

 

Any industry that deals primarily in cash will be pretty much impossible to tax. Because most prostitutes deal in cash, it is very unlikely that many of them will take the time to report their earnings to the government. They simply don't have an incentive to do so.

 

So the government should give up traying to tax self-employed plumbers and carpenters then? Most almost always get paid cash in hand, but it doesn't stop them from having to file tax returns at the end of each year.

 

Prostitution would cause an increase in Aids and other diseases, it should be Banned, its Immoral!

 

it is no good arguing that prostitution is immoral, lots of legalized pursuits today would have been labelled as immoral at one time, women drinking in pubs, speculating on the stock market, gambling, gay bars. so what is the problem with prostitution, which by way is still very much illegal in the UK.
as i said earlier is it not more immoral that pimps lure underage girls into prostitution and feed them drugs to keep them sweet.
legalized prostitution works just fine in some european countries. and if it is strictly monitored by the government why should they not pay the correct amount of tax and recieve the same benefits as other employees.
whether you agree with it or not, or find it immoral, it will continue to go on, so is it not better that we try to control and monitor it.
and by the way you are more likely to get AIDS or any other kind of STD from a drunken one night stand than from a prostitute who is much more aware of such diseases, and would be even less likely to contract such diseases if the government were in control and organised regular medical checks.

 

Yep, and in countries that it's banned in it never happens right?

 

I'm not sure where you're getting that idea from?

http://www.prostitutionreform.co.uk/