Tony At 10: TO BE OR NOT TO BE...LEGAL; BLOG # 2033: MAY 20, 2016

THE MESSAGE:

Stand ho! Rest your hermits. As sayeth Antony so tis thus! No need to peep about. Have thee not a heart unfortified for such a lad is well given and beyond treachery. He hath more in him than mortal knowledge. Who dares do more is none.

THE SEX TRADE ACTIVISTS

Many sex workers are trying to change how they are perceived and policed. They are fighting the legal status quo, social mores and also mainstream feminism, which has typically focused on saving women from the sex trade rather than supporting sex workers who demand greater rights.

There is some history of groups of sex workers who have worked to halt the spread of H.I.V. and AIDS, especially in developing countries. There exists a social and economic divide within the sex trade profession. Motivations may differ but the needs are still not being met nor is the problem being solved.

Activists in the 'sex-workers' movement tend to be educated and make hundreds of dollars an hour. Some activist concerns are far removed from those of women who feel they must sell sex to survive. Such women in those situations generally don’t call themselves “sex workers” or see themselves as part of a movement. Some sell sex, because it’s more flexible and pays better than low-wage work at McDonald’s.

Human rights advocates tend to focus on all people in grim circumstances, regardless of their trade. “Like many feminists, I’m conflicted about sex work,” says Liesl Gerntholtz, executive director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch, which took a stand in favour of decriminalization four years ago.

“You’re often talking about women who have extremely limited choices. Would I like to live in a world where no one has to do sex work? Absolutely, But that’s not the case. So I want to live in a world where women do it largely voluntarily, in a way that is safe. If they’re raped by a police officer or a client, they can lay a charge and know it will be investigated. Their kid won’t be expelled from school, and their landlord won’t kick them out.”

Any changes in the situation surrounding the evils of the sex trade must be preceded by changes in the law that would reduce these evils. Decriminalization of sex work could have the largest effect on the course of the H.I.V. epidemic. There must be greater access to condoms and medical treatment.

Also, law enforcement authorities could free themselves to crack down on trafficking and under-age prostitution if they stop arresting consenting adults. That’s the pragmatic argument; however, the sex-workers’ movement also hinges on the ideological conviction that criminal law should not be used here as an instrument of punishment or shame. They argue that sex work isn’t inherently immoral or demeaning. It can even be authentically feminist. “Once you’ve done it, you always know: When it comes down to it, I have everything I need to survive,” says Anna Saini, a former escort who is now a sex-worker activist and law student living in Brooklyn. “That’s powerful.”

ABOLITIONIST OPPOSITION TO ANY NEW LAW

Make prostitution illegal, or simply no longer allowing it to exist in any form. Canada’s new prostitution legislation, Bill C-36, has received royal assent. The newly implemented laws have been widely supported by a broad range of Christian ministries and front-line organizations who see it as a needed change to help protect vulnerable and exploited women and children.

“The ultimate objective of the new law is to put an end to prostitution and sexual exploitation in Canada,” says Julie Beazley, a policy analyst with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. “These laws are a victory for women’s equality, because all women and girls are safer in a society that stands up to the idea that a women or her sexuality can be bought or sold.”

The view of the sex trade activists poses a deep challenge to traditional Western feminism, which treats the commercial sex industry as an ugly source of sexual inequality.

Some opponents of decriminalization argue if prostitution is legalized, and men can buy women’s bodies with impunity, it becomes the extreme sexualization of women. What implications does that have for society's vision of women in the profession? What will the impact be on relationships between men and women, in marriage or otherwise.”

Because abolitionists see these women as victims, they generally oppose arresting them. But they want to continue using the criminal law as a weapon of moral disapproval by prosecuting male customers, alongside pimps and traffickers. This approach still somehow manages to entangle sex workers in a legal net.

The traditional feminist argument against decriminalization is that legitimizing prostitution will harm women by leading to more sexual inequality. The human rights argument in favour of new laws is that it will make people’s lives better, and safer. In this fight over whose voices to listen to, who speaks for whom and when to use the power of criminal law. The sex-workers’ rights movement is a rebellion against punishment and shame. It demands respect for a group that has rarely received it, insisting that you can only really help people if you respect them.

THE DRUG TRADE

Drug legalization could reduce government costs and raise tax revenues, but opponents worry over health and social ills.

by RODNEY STICH

Governments facing massive fiscal deficits might consider a rather unusual way to alleviate those debts through the legalization of drugs and the end to the costly war on drugs. Some estimate this cost to be 41 Billion dollars annually. Also drug legalization would translate into higher tax revenues generated by the sale of these newly legalized products on the open market.

First, legalization eliminates arrests for drug trafficking in addition to arrests for simple possession. Second, legalization saves prosecutorial, judicial, and incarceration expenses Third, legalization allows taxation of drug production and sale.

Opponents argue that drug legalization would increase crime and ultimately worsen peoples' health. This would render legalization a danger to public safety and offset any potential economic gains. One lobbyist spoke out about effect of mind-altering substances on abusers. Others proclaim that addiction would have drastic effects on violence, employment and quality of life.

THE WAR ON DRUGS

The war on drugs creates addicts and therefore it must be ended. If users are not caught up in the criminal justice system they have a better chance of escaping addiction. Evidence from countries around the world supports this view.

Sir William Patey, the former UK ambassador to Afghanistan, came out in favour of legalizing the trade in opium poppies, from which heroin is derived. He said it was impossible to stop Afghan farmers from growing and exporting opium illegally, and concluded that "if we cannot deal effectively with supply" the only alternative is to "limit the demand for illicit drugs by making a licit supply of them available from a legally-regulated market". This would create stability and peace in drug-producing nations.

THE QUESTION: