Prostitution should be legal.

Thank you for your quick response. Rebuttal for Round 3 Arguments: "My refutation to that is even if prostitution remains illegal, this same kind of underage prostitution would occur". -That is absolutely true, but when you legalize something, people will find ways to take advantages of those opportunities. The fact that something is illegal and can be punished acts as a deterrent. It will not deter all crime, but it will deter some crime. I will briefly explain why some punishments are implemented. The prison system acts as a deterrent to criminal activity and it also protects society by incarcerating those who may do additional harm to others. As I mentioned, the criminality of something will not deter all crime, but it does deter some. "Whether or not your point is valid or not, that still should NOT affect just some random, normal people who want to conduct a safe business transaction" -I would like you to define what safe is? "Estimates of the prevalence of incest among prostitutes range from 65% to 90%. The Council for Prostitution Alternatives, Portland, Oregon Annual Report in 1991 stated that: 85% of prostitute/clients reported history of sexual abuse in childhood; 70% reported incest." [1] -Take this statistic for example! In 1991, 85% of prostitutes/clients reported history of sexual abuse in childhood; 70% reported incest! Would you consider that to be a tragedy? For arguments sake, lets say over 75% of prostitutes were sexually abused as children. Is it fair to conclude that many if not most prostitutes were sexually abused as children? That being said, do you feel that prostitution is justified knowing that a majority of them were abused as young children? Is there a link between sexual abuse as a child and prostitution? I believe there is, and to truly fight prostitution, we must fight the sexual abuse of children. Further, we must find a better way to identify these children (schools would be the greatest place). "Well, if they didn't have any other skills, and they needed to support their family, isn't it a good thing that they went into prostitution?" -I believe you did not address the "Abusive Husbands" part. If husbands did their job, and were not abusive, we may of had a different result. This still does not justify prostitution and the fact that at least 75% of these individuals were sexually abused as children. "Well, actually, no. X couldn't go up to y, offer him money for sex, and then have consensual sex." -I agree, that would be entirely illegal, you must have not provided that information in your initial argument. Please refer to the sentence I used as reference for your argument. "SIDE NOTE: They are not hurting anyone. X wants sex, y wants money, they make a deal that helps both of them! Maybe y likes having sex? Who knows!" "About 80% of women in prostitution have been the victim of a rape. It's hard to talk about this because..the experience of prostitution is just like rape. Prostitutes are raped, on the average, eight to ten times per year. They are the most raped class of women in the history of our planet. " (Susan Kay Hunter and K.C. Reed, July, 1990 "Taking the side of bought and sold rape," speech at National Coalition against Sexual Assault, Washington, D.C. ) Other studies report 68% to 70% of women in prostitution being raped (M Silbert, "Compounding factors in the rape of street prostitutes," in A.W. Burgess, ed., Rape and Sexual Assault II, Garland Publishing, 1988; Melissa Farley and Howard Barkan, "Prostitution, Violence, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," 1998, Women & Health.)" [1] -You mention that nobody is getting hurt? 80% of women in prostitution have been the victim of a Rape. Additionally, 68% - 70% are being Raped! Based on that statistic, can you still conclude that "They are not hurting anyone"? You need to understand the vulnerabilities of Prostitutes. First, a majority of them were sexually abused as children and started prostitution by the age of 12-14 years. Then not only were they sexually abused as children, exploited as minors, 70% of them are RAPED while on the job? How is nobody getting hurt? Where do you not see exploitation? "Ready to address this when it comes up" -This was in reference to the prostitutes caught up in drug addictions. "Up to 95% of women in prostitution are problematic drug users, including around 78% heroin users and rising numbers of crack cocaine addicts (Home Office 2004a)." [2] Conclusion of Round 3. -Let me break this down. We have "75% of women involved in prostitution started as children" [2]. A large percentage of prostitutes reported sexual abuse as children. While conducting the act of prostitution 70% of prostitutes reported they have been Raped. Lastly, "95% of women in prostitution are problematic drug users including 78% of them identified as HEROIN users. I await your response. [1] http://www.rapeis.org... [2] http://www.object.org.uk...