Wednesday, October 7, 2009

THE BAD THINKING AND THE GOOD


Thanks to Janine Benedet, a UBC Law professor, for writing an excellent piece in this morning's Globe decrying the calls for legalizing prostitution.

Here's her opening paragraph:

"Supporters of the prostitution industry want us to believe that women would be safe if men's purchase of women for sex is legalized. In the name of women's security, they are arguing in an Ontario court this week that male johns and pimps have a constitutional right to buy and sell women. They are claiming that prostitution is women's work and that legalizing it would advance women's liberty. Opposition is dismissed as based on “moral panic.” A closer look at the violent reality of prostitution exposes the utter fallacy of these claims."

Her argument is simple and straight forward and right:

Legalization wouldn't make prostitutes safe

The violence in prostitution comes not from the law, but from male pimps and buyers

Read the entire column here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wrong David,
'Violence in prostitution'. DOES, come from within the law. When the law doesn't protect them!
When the law falsifies ones identity with frauduant intent.I can go on, but the inflammation from torture,O/R, hurts my fingers!

Anonymous said...

Superb. And thank goodness for the women fighting it. The violence is in the act itself, not any other violence on top of it.