Human Rights and Prostitution: A discussion

In this essay, I will argue that a person has a right to sell his or her body for sex and that this right is violated by societies in which prostitution is illegal. I will first present what seems to be a powerful case against the legalisation of prostitution and then attempt to show that it rests on false assumptions. As the majority of prostitutes are female and, as any discussion of male and child prostitution necessarily involves the extraneous issues of the rights of homosexuals and children, my focus will be on adult heterosexual intercourse between a female prostitute and a male client.

A major case against prostitution can be based on the assertion that the industry violates more human rights than it asserts – specifically, that prostitution should continue to be abhorred and illegal as it contravenes the sexual and economic rights of persons, particularly women. According to this argument, prostitution is sexual slavery as, by selling their bodies for sex, prostitutes give up all power over their bodies to their clientele, who temporarily ‘own’ them. Thus, the industry degrades its workers to the level of sex object; this is inhumane and violates the right of

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Approximate Word count = 1582
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)