I take it Ms. Honeyball that youhave read this? I would submit this article to Geoffrey Jackson's viewing in particular just so he can see the extent of how this problem, essentially non-existent, and then ask him if he would see a large proportion of finite police resources spent on it which could be spent on a problem like gang activity, gun-running or muggings with greater effect?
The truth is that politically directed policing operations make great copy, but make little difference and have a tendency to ignore bigger problems while focusing attention on smaller, more media/pressure group friendly problems- meanwhile old ladies are beat up in their homes, pre-teens are murdered by gangs and drug dealers peddle their substandard and potentially dangerous concoctions to the lower dregs of society, perpetuating misery.
Prostitution is treated bizarrely in this country; how can we think the act itself is fine between consenting adults but then benefitting from it monetarily is a bad thing? Do we treat similar transactions to the same sort of insecure, swivel eyed nonsense? If I like food, and start a business as a chef am I going to be put in jail for providing a service I love to others with similar feelings/desires?
This is a beautifully emotive subject and I am not saying the problemdoes not exist; but by criminalising it in the way we do we exacerbate it to the detriment of the prostitutes, the punters and give a helping hand to those groups who benefit (whether you be a pimp, human trafficker or an MEP or pressure group with an ideological axe to grind).
Again we see a solution to these problems; liberalising, legalising and acknowledging the existence of a market for sex protects the most vulnerable within it- in New Zealand we have licensing authorities which register and protect the most vulnerable; income taxes are collected which can then be used to deal with the health and criminal concerns of the industry and reduce it to non-existent levels; Portugal have done a similar thing with drug legalisation which is transforming the face of drug use their in a way which protects the most vulnerable.
Only we, the so called birthplace of democracy and enlightenment, are stepping backwards and in so doing allowing chaos to rule.
Do not mistake me- as a follower of Jesus Christ's teachings I find the act of selling that most wonderful and precious gift between man and woman as upsetting as the next; I would however direct my fellow Christians to this; take care as to who you side with, whether wittingly or otherwise. If we have a problem with how a peoples conduct their business or live their lives we should tell them with love and seek out our own salvation first with fear and trembling; we should not use the force of the law to push our agenda - that is the broad road and has created this mess which allows the kind of abuses we see with human trafficking, White slavery and pimping to continue. The law should be an extrapolation of the maxim Freedom from...:
Freedom from coercion.
Freedom from Interference.
Freedom from oppression.
We undermine all freedoms when we forget any one of these freedoms; this allows those who prey on others to prosper.
As I've said in previous posts I like sex; it's the most wonderful union you can have between man and women; I think that those with multiple partners build up a lot of emotional baggage God doesn't want them to be burdened with, but that doesn't give me licence to proscribe the act itself and under what terms it is conducted; if we do this we ultimately drive it into the hands of worse people who oppress whole peoples.
Like drugs, prostitution should be legal and clarity on this needs to be given for the sake of those few trafficked or damaged women who the law should protect, not reject for ideologies sake.
-- Post From My iPhone
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