Voluntarily subjecting oneself to a life of exploiting
one’s body or being forced into a self-depreciating life style by an
overbearing pimp? Regardless of the answer to this question, both voluntary and
involuntary prostitution encompass a severe social problem. The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) press
release, which discussed investigative
analysis of the 2,500 incidents of human trafficking ,announced that “Most
suspected incidents of human trafficking investigated between January 2008 and
June 2010 involved allegations of adult prostitution (48 percent) or the
prostitution or sexual exploitation of a child (40 percent)” (McCarthy 2012)). Of
the 2,500 recorded incidents of human trafficking, 40 percent involved the
sexual exploitation of a child; inquiry
of whether or not the sexual act is consensual is irrelevant in this aspect of
the social problem since “Any commercial sex act performed by a person under
age 18 is considered human trafficking, regardless of whether force, fraud, or
coercion is involved” (McCarthy 2012).Pompous pimps and foul johns benefit from
the issue of substantial percentages of victims being underage, and consequently
unable to legally consent to sex acts.
Crucial variables when analyzing the
issue of prostitution are: age, gender, and race. All three contribute to the likelihood of
becoming a victim, as well as painting a picture of prospective suspects, the
pimps, who are responsible for the commission of such crimes. Statistics
demonstrate that the prevalence of female versus male victims is high with the
percentage of sex trafficking victims being overwhelmingly female: 94%. Additionally
females over the age of 25 comprise 13% of the confirmed sex trafficking
victims, while the remaining 87% of female victims are below the age of 25
(Bureau of Justice Statistics). Race is
another element to ponder because the numbers prove sex trafficking victims are
most often black and white with the statistical percentages 26 percent white
and 40 percent black (Bureau of Justice Statistics). Based on these figures it
is appropriate to approximate that the victim of human trafficking is most
often a white or black female below the age of 25, yet the face of the
suspected pimp contrasts greatly with that of the victims. An overwhelmingly
great percentage of the confirmed suspects responsible for the completion of
the illegal sexual acts were male, 81 percent, and a substantial percentage of
those established pimps were black, 62 percent.( McCarthy 2012)
The link between prostitution and
the misuse of drugs and alcohol is substantial. In order to solve the societal qualm of
prostitution successfully one must include drug rehabilitation programs.
Prostitution heightens the use of drugs and alcohol and vice versa (Bhunu
2012). Failures to halt prostitution
involved attempts based solely on “poverty eradication” without the realization
that prostitutes may be resorting to the criminal sex acts in order to feed
their addictions (Bhunu 2012).
Legalization of the sexual acts
currently categorized as criminal would alter the future of the issue
immensely. Although the current law in the United States, with the exception of
certain parts of Nevada, punishes all parties involved in the commission of
prostitution, it is possible that in the future America will turn to reforming Prostitution
Law as is currently underway in Canada. Contemplation of decriminalization,
legalization, and feminist outlooks of prostitution are under discussion in
Canada and if reformed will impact the future of prostitution (Lowman 2012). By removing the stigmatism of prostitution through
decriminalization the allure of committing a crime will vanish and the face of
prostitutes will no longer be in shame.
Works Cited
BHUNU, C.
P., & MUSHAYABASA, S. S. (2012). PROSTITUTION AND DRUG (ALCOHOL) MISUSE:: THE MENACING
COMBINATION. Journal Of Biological
Lowman, J.,
& Louie, C. (2012). Public Opinion on Prostitution Law Reform in Canada1. Canadian Journal Of Criminology &
Criminal Justice, 54(2), 245-260. Systems,
20(2), 1250005-1-1250005-17.
McCarthy,
K. (2011). Bureau of Justice Statics
