Anti-prostitution laws have limitations in that they shadow the sex trade, making it difficult for sex workers to obtain legal protection, reinforcing negative social perceptions, and causing economic harm. The solution is to legalize or decriminalize the sex trade so that sex workers have legal rights, human rights, and economic security.
In 2015, when prostitution was legalized in Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Prostitutes made headlines by declaring that they would offer free services for three days to celebrate. The idea of offering free services was interesting, but what was even more noteworthy was the fact that the Nigerian Prostitutes Association embraced the legalization of prostitution in a positive way. With human rights activists in many countries, including South Korea, arguing that prostitution is a violation of women’s human rights, the association’s response is somewhat ironic. While many people believe that legally regulating the sex trade through anti-prostitution laws is the right way to protect human dignity, it’s worth reconsidering whether this approach is the right one.
First, anti-prostitution laws make it harder for sex workers to access legal protections by shadowing the sex trade market. While many women’s rights activists oppose legalization on the grounds that it commodifies sex, the Amnesty International Delegates’ Assembly in Dublin, Ireland, on August 11th voted to legalize the sex trade so that sex workers can access legal protections, a decision that reflects the historical and social nature of the sex trade. Prostitution has been around since around 3000 BC and is a difficult behavior to eradicate through legal regulation alone, especially since it often takes place in unlicensed areas.
As prostitution regulations are tightened, it becomes increasingly difficult for individuals to buy and sell sex, which leads to an increase in exploitation through “pimps” and coercive prostitution arrangements. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s 2007 and 2010 prostitution surveys, the number of women in prostitution decreased by about 7,000 over the three-year period, but this does not include the number of women engaged in prostitution via the internet or in pimp-run brothels, suggesting a ballooning effect of increased migration to the shadows following the enforcement of the Special Prostitution Law. Pimping is more than just a problem of stratification; it involves serious crimes such as human trafficking, assault, and rape, and creates a structure that does not pay sex workers fairly. While it would be great if regulation could solve the problem, it can actually exacerbate it, making legalization, or decriminalization, of the sex trade a more appropriate approach. Decriminalizing the sex trade would allow sex workers to work in an environment where they are free from legal consequences and where their human rights are protected.
Second, regulating the sex trade reinforces negative social perceptions of sex workers. Currently, prostitution is legally prohibited in South Korea, which means that sex workers are not legally recognized, and there is no education system in place to instill the right perception of sex workers, which leads to a negative perception of sex workers by the majority of the population. This further isolates sex workers who have chosen prostitution for economic and social reasons. Many women’s rights activists are concerned that legalizing prostitution could turn it into a tool for women to satisfy their sexual needs. However, these concerns are specific to certain sex workers who choose to sell sex as a profession, not all women. For those who already do, decriminalization is necessary to improve their negative image and ensure their right to choose their profession.
In Norway, for example, the country enacted a law that only allowed prostitution in certain areas and punished the buying and arranging of sex without holding the prostitutes themselves accountable. This allowed prostitution to be managed in limited times and places and reduced the stigma attached to prostitution, improving public perception of the sex industry. Nevertheless, some human rights activists argue that legalizing prostitution will encourage a culture of goldenization, where human sexuality and sex can be bought and sold for money. However, this is an overblown concern, as prostitution is not legalized for all women. On the contrary, regulating the sex trade allows for better social management of sex workers, and can support the promotion of human rights and improved treatment at the national level.
Third, regulating the sex trade can have a significant economic impact on sex workers. If you think the sex trade market is far removed from our society, you’d be wrong. According to a study by the Korea Criminal Policy Research Institute, the prostitution market has generated approximately 24 trillion won per year since 2000. According to this statistic, at least 330,000 women are engaged in prostitution, and many of them make it their main source of income. Considering that the majority of sex workers are engaged in this economic activity voluntarily, strong legal regulations are harsh on them. For those who have chosen sex work as a livelihood because they struggle to be financially independent, regulation criminalizes their livelihood.
Legalizing prostitution can have a number of positive effects. Like the aforementioned issues, it would allow sex workers to earn a steady income, freeing them from relationships with pimps and ensuring they are paid fairly. At the same time, by requiring sex workers to pay taxes, it creates an organized system that operates under legal control. This opens the door to addressing human rights abuses that have been carried out in secret.
Currently, many countries, including South Korea, regulate the sex trade based on biological and ethical concerns. Some argue that anti-prostitution laws, which punish sex buyers and help prostituted women to become self-sufficient, are the minimum human rights protection. However, the spate of suicides among prostituted women in the entertainment industry, which is manifested in the pimp-sex worker conflict structure, shows that anti-prostitution laws alone are limited in systematic management and protection. Human rights activists’ advocacy for human rights protection can lead to social and economic oppression of sex workers.
Given the limitations of current anti-prostitution laws and the positive effects that could result from legalizing prostitution, it is worth rethinking whether it is right to advocate for legal regulation of the sex trade. To truly protect human rights, it would be preferable to create an environment that allows sex workers to operate with dignity within the social and economic system, rather than eliminating their social presence.
