Prostitutes

With the Egyptian soccer team under a cloud of speculation as to whether their rooms were burgled by prostitutes I thought I would take a look at the topic. With an event such as the World Cup approaching rapidly it seems like now is the best time to legalise the worlds oldest trade in the world. I can only assume that the reason prostitution is not allowed is a throwback to our god fearing Calvinist National Party leaders that ruled South Africa for forty odd years but we live in a new, more progressive society.

Let’s face the simple reality that prostitution happens and is something we cannot stop. However, in South Africa where we have the worlds strongest constitution protecting human rights, it seems odd that we’re doing nothing to protect the sex workers of our country.

The argument for allowing sex workers to be legalised is compelling. Not only does it offer a greater level of protection for the sex workers themselves but is also bound to lead to a whole new group of previously untaxed individuals contributing to GDP. Quite simply if a prostitute is attacked or robbed while working she has no legal recourse with the police as she was effectively committing an illegal act during the incident. From an economic point of view it makes sense to register sex workers as it leads to a new group being taxed as well as other pleasant oddities such as sex tourists. Not only is it good for the worker but potentially good for the client who can identify “quality” workers through a referral system.

It’s beyond the scope of my blog to debate the moralities of the sex worker industry. Personally I feel it’s perfectly fine but then again I’m not sure I’d feel quite as comfortable if a member of my family were in the trade. Either way, it’s safer and more economically productive to keep the sex trade above board.

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