Feminist Times has an interesting debate regarding the adoption of the Nordic Model under which the selling of sexual services is decriminalised while the purchasers are criminalised, being subject, on conviction to a fine and/or imprisonment. Essentially proponents of the Nordic model argue that prostitution is, almost always not a free choice and the state should discourage prostitution’s damaging effects by targeting those who sustain the industry (I.E. the buyers of sex). Supporters of the Nordic approach state that prostitution has decreased following the introduction of prohibitions on the purchase of sex.
Opponents of the Nordic model dispute the view that most women engaged in prostitution are unwilling victims of pimps and traffickers. The majority of prostitutes are, they contend voluntarily selling sex. Criminalising clients would, they believe lead to the selling of sex being driven underground and women being forced into the arms of pimps.
For the radical feminist perspective, in support of the Nordic Model please visit http://www.feministtimes.com/prostitution-harms-women-radfem-uk-the-nordic-model/. For the opposing perspective please go to http://www.feministtimes.com/comeback-why-the-nordic-model-harms-women/.
As an author the motivations of those engaged in prostitution fascinate me. Prostitution is a highly complex issue and the reasons why people (mainly but not exclusively women) engage in it are many and various. In my story, “Samantha” Sam is forced by her brutal pimp, Barry to become a prostitute. In contrast, in “The First Time” Becky, a graduate with a first class degree in English literature becomes an escort in order to clear her debts.
For details of “Samantha” and “The First Time” please visit http://newauthoronline.com/about/.
K Morris - Poet 
The world’s oldest profession Kevin and still nobody can come to grips with it. If a person of age wants to seel their bodies for sex then it’s up to them. I think there’ll always be the pimps around but when it’s legal then the crime involved with it seems to take a back seat.
Interestingly in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, despite the almost universal presence of the telescreens (in the areas lived and worked in by party members at any rate), prostitution still exists and Orwell describes Winston Smith’s visit to a prostitute in an area inhabited by the proles. Smith speculates that the Party may actually tolerate prostitution as a means of allowing the population of Oceania to release tension (in any event it is regarded as much less serious than “thought crime”. I think that social and economic conditions play a part. For example the National Union of Students in the UK has claimed that following the introduction of student loans there has been an increase in those attending university selling sex as lap dancers, escorts and in other capacities. I think that societal factors such as lack of money undoubtedly play a part, however even in countries which have, tradditionally had strong welfare states prostitution still persists. There is raging controversy in Sweden which has, for many years been dominated by the Social Democrats regarding whether prostitution has decreased as a result of the law prohibiting the purchase of sexual services. Some claim that street based sex work has decreased but this is, in fact more to do with the ease with which men can find working ladies online and the low risk of detection of meeting ladies through the internet as compared to meeting at street level where the authorities are far more likely to apprehend punters. There is, also, as you say the issue of whether the state should interfere with what consenting adults choose to do with their bodies. There are arguments on both sides. On the libertarian side is the view that interfering with what consenting adults do in private is fundamentally iliberal and is, in essence treating adults as though they where children. People choose to do all kinds of dangerous jobs, for example as police and military so why should prostitution be singled out for banning on the grounds that it is uniquely dangerous they ask. Also, if you legalise women working together in brothels they are, they say much safer than ladies being forced to work alone because of the risk of arrest if they operate collectively. On the other side is the view that no one freely chooses to be a prostitute, that their is a strong link between people trafficking and prostitution. Women are, according to this perspective the weaker party and should be protected from men who have no right to pay for sex. Thanks for your comment. I suspect that people will still be debating issues surrounding sex work long after I am dead and gone.
You certainly have the whole for and against down pat Kevin. You’re books go into prostitution as well don’t they? You’re right there will always be some party wanting to have their say in what people do with their bodies. I wonder how many prostitutes they talked to in relation to whether or not they’re doing it voluntarily? I know that many of them are there due to lack of money. You’re right, it will always be debated but I don’t think it will ever be stamped out. Not that it should be. No one seems too concerned when people have to work for low wages at crap jobs. Add sex to the equation and they come out of the woodwork to carry on about it. Have a great day Kevin, I’m off to bed.
Cheers
Laurie
ps. When I want to feel depressed I read 1984, it’s a great book but boy it doesn’t leave you doing handstands. 🙂
Yes, my short story, “Samantha” deals with a young woman forced into prostitution in the city of my birth, Liverpool, while my story, “The First Time” looks at Becky, a young graduate who enters sex work as an escort in order to clear her debts. Unlike Samantha Becky is not subject to any coercion. You raise an interesting point about whether anyone has asked prostitutes what they think about the issues surrounding sex work. Many proponents of the Nordic Model point to Rachel Moran and other “survivors” of prostitution in support of their advocacy of outlawing paying for sex. However opponents of a ban see Moran as unrepresentative of sex workers and accuse her of portraying an unbalanced view of prostitution. In terms of escorting, where the encounter takes place behind closed doors there are, obviously huge problems in enforcing a ban on paying for sex, this being the case irrespective of whether one is pro or anti such a prohibition. How does one proove what goes on behind closed doors and even if it can be shown that sex took place how, short of having cameras everywhere does one show that payment for sex took place? I am not expecting an answer (unless you wish to answer), I’m just setting out, as I see it the practical difficulties of enforcing such a prohibition. I wont tell you what my views are other than to say that I am, by instinct a liberal with a small l and, flowing from this I hold that interference with the liberty of the individual should not be restricted lightly. Re your PS; if you fancy something funny I would recommend Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men In A Boat.
I agree with your stance on the liberty of the individual. There is a slow, insidious erosion of freedom of the self, fuelled by instilling fear into the populace. Prostitution is a prime example of expressing one’s own freedom, (unless you’re a sex slave) along with selling our labour to whoever we want to. I don’t see anything really changing as long as it’s pushed underground and seen as immoral. Oh, I downloaded Three men in a boat from Project Gutenberg.
I believe that prostitution is legal in certain states in Australia but not in all, am I correct Laurie? I hope you enjoy reading Three Men In A Boat. Best, Kevin
Yes it is Kevin, the brothels have to be licensed and you can’t run one if you have a criminal record. Not that it stops the criminal element but it is a better system. I think I’ll be getting a laugh out of the book, I’ve read a few pages already.
Cheers
Laurie.