Government-Subsidized Sex?
A couple years ago I snuggled into bed with the perfect cup of Earl Gray tea and cracked the spine of the highly-acclaimed book I'd been itching to read since my mom sent me this Dateline report a few months prior (http://bit.ly/Yi9YOb), which featured the non-fiction's debut on the global scene. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (http://bit.ly/Yi9YOb) is a groundbreaking book discussing the historical oppression of women. It offers the solution of empowering this gender as a key to global socioeconomic change. Now, this is perhaps oversimplifying this profound, multifaceted, literary accomplishment, but it will at least give you a sense of the topics it discusses.
One of the first issues it tackles is sex-trafficking, or as it is more accurately described, sex slavery. It gave me a lot to think about—more than I will dive into here—but as the authors discussed the different approaches varying countries have taken toward combating sex slavery and their respective successes and failures, I had an idea:
What if the government subsidized sex work and promoted it as a free service in the interest of public health?
I know it sounds completely radical, and related concepts of government intervention have been proposed before, but hear me out:
Many of the success in eradicating sexual slavery resulted from policies that somehow, either directly or indirectly, reduced the profitability of prostitution. When the earning potential of pimping went down, so did the desirability of muddling in the illegal and complicated process of kidnapping, trafficking, and/or enslaving young girls in brothels. Thus, the incidents of these affairs also dropped. It sounded like a good start to me, but it still kept the market open for pimps to make a marginal profit in general. I felt it could be taken a step further. Here is my thought process:
The government subsidizes sex work and promotes it as a free service to its citizens --> clients flock to the government regulated facilities/sex-workers because hey, free sex is better than paid-for sex --> the profitability of pimps who enslave girls and charge clients for sexual access to these young women essentially drops to zero, because why would anyone pay for sex when they can get it for free? --> the market for pimping collapses
Just look at the unprecedented success of government-subsidized corn production (http://nyti.ms/RCJu8t) and the way that completely shifted the American diet, shaping it to be what it is today (http://bit.ly/V5JkoN). Could the same be true for sexual practices?
Furthermore, government-subsidized sex work would allow for greater regulation of the industry, which would promote better public health practices—both physically and psychologically—, as well as the organization of more legitimized business practices (e.g., unions, etc.). It would also assist in reducing the stigma associated with sex work, and sex in general.
Now, I realize that this still leaves the door open for underage sex work as a profitable industry for pimps, since obviously governments aren't going to subsidize these practices. And unfortunately, it is the underage sexual enslavement that is the biggest problem. However, I still contend that the appeal of free, safe sex might trump paying for risky (both in terms of sexual health and illegal practices) sex enough that it puts a significant dent in the underage sex enslavement business.
I also realize that, much like my description of the book, I am grossly oversimplifying this issue, and obviously the idea of a government being liberal enough to even consider implementing such policies is likewise hard to even imagine, but those oversights aside—thoughts? Curious to hear your ideas on these issues and its possible solutions. Feel free to tweet at me: @littleetoile.
