Is it wrong to discriminate against sex workers?

[holy king]

I don't think that spitting on a prostitute makes their life better.

behold, CH is gonna save them all.

 

[JollyRoger]

I usually throw in a few extra dollars if I spit on her.

 

[El_Machinae]

I'd cross the road to spit on nearly anyone, if they were on fire.

 

[Lord Gay]

I don't think that spitting on a prostitute makes their life better.

What about spitting... um, dirty joke averted.

 

[Dachs]

behold, CH is gonna save them all.

Just like Gladstone.

 

[holy king]

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1966/oct/06/gladstones-prostitutes-2/?pagination=false

 

[GhostWriter16]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/mining-boom-sex-worker-wins-anti-discrimination-case/story-fndo2j43-1226444881828
The basic deal with this is that a sex worker, as you now must call them, not prostitutes, won a case against a motel for not allowing her to use a room for her "work". The ruling came about since they violated that Anti-discrimination act. Do you think the owners should be allowed to do this? Do you think the Anti-discrimination act goes too far?

I'm not sure that there's really a religious liberty argument here (After all, renting the room doesn't really mean you have to know what goes on in there, granted, if they openly flaunted the fact that "We're using the room for prostitution" than I could definitely see the argument) but my economic right wing side says "They can discriminate against such things if they want." I see the arguments against discrimination based on race, sex, even sexual orientation, but I see no reason you can't "Discriminate" against people who want to use your hotel room for a specific purpose. Now, if you prevented someone who was a prostitute for a living but was not doing any of that in the hotel room I could see the issue.

 

[Arwon]

Except Queensland anti-discrimination law specifically says you can't discriminate against lawful sexual activity. And rightly so.

So it's like DADT for heterosexuals?

Amsterdam has a great system. The women are usually in windows or in mini-compounds hanging outside their rooms. There are no motels involved. It is all confined to specified "red light districts". They also have legal brothels which are swankier than the compounds.

Some sex worker organisations may argue that the level of regulation in Amsterdam is actually harmful:

LAW Restricting brothels and private workers to industrial areas

IMPLICATION Industrial areas are inappropriate for night time activity as they are badly lit, isolated and present security risks for sex workers; Restriction to industrial areas is not economically viable for private workers; By definition private work takes place in residential areas and is discrete and devoid of nuisance problems such as noise and parking; Sex work is not an industrial activity but is a commercial services industry.

LAW Registration of individual sex workers

IMPLICATION Registration stigmatises sex workers; It is unnecessary to register sex workers; Privacy concerns arise for sex workers such as who has access to information, how is it protected and maintained, what types of information is required and for how long is it kept.

LAW Licensing and probity checks

IMPLICATION Excludes many sex workers from ownership of sex industry businesses as they may be excluded from applying for licenses due to past sex industry related charges; The expense of applying for licenses for sex industry businesses is usually prohibitive and individuals and small operations are unable to afford application/licensing fees.

LAW Regulations - planning permits, licensing, permits, land use approval, landlord approval etc.

IMPLICATION The administrative and legislative requirements to comply with a myriad of regulations are complex and costly; Regulatory mechanisms may apply to small operators or private workers who are unable to comply with detailed approval processes; Strict regulatory requirements encourage the creation of a legal and illegal industry operating alongside each other.

Maybe the Dutch have avoided these traps (the red light district is farily obviously not an industrial area for example), I dunno. It's entirely possible that the Dutch system is good for brothels but bad for other sex workers, but I'm not sure either way.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Maybe the Dutch have avoided these traps (the red light district is farily obviously not an industrial area for example), I dunno.

I was quite industrious

 

[Arwon]

): ): ):

 

[Formaldehyde]

The prostitutes in Amsterdam are fairly regulated. For instance, they must all get a medical exam and have their blood checked for HIV every month. But I think the process is fairly simple and not stigmatizing. Amsterdam struck me as being very egalitarian and fair, almost to a fault. For instance, there were a number of criminal types that hung out in the train station and preyed on tourists and those who weren't paying attention. I almost got mugged myself, but my street sense from living in Manhattan caused him to select another victim.

 

[Arwon]

See that I don't get, because even without demaning mandatory health checks the sexual health of sex workers in the western world is generally higher than the general population.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The last thing that someone who is paying for sex wants is any STD, much less to become infected with HIV. Anybody would be very leery dealing with any prostitute I ever saw in Manhattan, but there didn't seem to be any reluctance at all in Amsterdam.

 

[Arwon]

And it'd be the case without mandatory health checks too.

 

[Mango Elephant]

How much do prostitutes normally charge? Is it more expensive in the Netherlands than other places where it's illegal?

 

[Formaldehyde]

No, it's just the opposite by far. I believe the average price is now in the $60 range. Even legal prostitutes in Nevada charge 5-6 times as much.

 

[Zelig]

I don't think that spitting on a prostitute makes their life better.

I'm pretty sure you're mistaken.

 

[AlpsStranger]

I'm not sure that there's really a religious liberty argument here.

GhostWriter, you seriously underestimate what can be a religious liberty argument. Any aspect of a total fundamentalist/extremist takeover is covered by religious liberty according to a lot of these people.

Exodus 22:18, you're violating my right to shoot my Wiccan neighbors.

 

[El_Machinae]

Deu 25:9 Violating my wife's right to beat me in public if I won't sleep with her.

 

[kochman]

How much do prostitutes normally charge? Is it more expensive in the Netherlands than other places where it's illegal?

Netherlands & Germany, 50 Euro.
Spain 20 Euro.

Just depends where you are I suppose.