Should Prostitution Be Legalized?

Legalizing prostitution can reduce poverty in our country. I was in my expository writing class when my classmate blamed the spread of HIV-AIDS to prostitutes which was totally one sided for my opinion because having sexual intercourse with prostitutes is not the only source of HIV-AIDS, it can also be in a form of a dirty needle, unsafe intercourse, or your partner (not a prostitute) already has the said illness. So without hesitation I gave him my opinion and said “Instead of seeing prostitution as a problem, why not see it as a solution to our problems. Let us legalize prostitution.”

Prostitution started in the country long before I was born, it would be too late to put an end to it now. Therefore legalizing prostitution is the only solution I can think of that can benefit both the prostitute, and their clients. Initially Filipinos would disagree to this idea probably because we are a Catholic country and it is against our moral values. But if we give much thought to this idea, this could lead to a better Philippines. Countries such as Thailand, and Canada legalized prostitution and it is evident that it helped their country economically, and culturally.

Legalizing prostitution would mean that every club is required to have a permit to ensure the cleanliness of the venue, and safety of the workers and clients. Every employee/prostitute would be asked to undergo certain health examinations eliminating the prostitutes that are capable of transferring diseases. Every employee would be required to pay tax. Every employee would be put through an interview removing minor aged prostitutes, and so on. Prostitutes should not be solely seen as a disease carrier or a social dilemma. They are entertainers just doing their job, and make a living. Who knows? He/She might be doing it for the sake of his/her diseased parents, undergraduate sibling, and so on. We should not judge them base on what we hear. We should not generalize their profession.

As you can see legalizing prostitution has its perks. So the next time we hear the word prostitution, let us not be narrow minded to only think that prostitutes are a menace to the country but we should try to see that they can be the solution to our never ending poverty.