Prostitution is a violent, disruptive business. Which is precisely why it needs to be legalized.

An immodest proposal

by Sarah McNaught

It is hard to imagine how the business of prostitution could be any more exploitative in America than it is right now. The women work long hours under life-threatening conditions, and large portions of the money they earn go to men who reward them with abuse. Society then responds with law enforcement efforts that reduce the activity modestly at best, and make the women's lives even worse.

And law enforcement is expensive. According to the FBI, there were 88,819 prostitution arrests in the US in 1995, the most recent year for which figures are available. In Boston, 803 prostitutes were arrested in 1996. Though Massachusetts does not track precise figures for money spent in the state courts, John Connors, deputy court administrator for the state's district courts, says that "a lot of money and administrative time is spent on a crime that is usually disposed of through plea bargains."

In California, the San Francisco Task Force on Prostitution has estimated annual statewide prostitution-related costs -- judicial salaries, clerks, bailiffs, and courtroom overhead -- at approximately $2.5 million.

Imagine if instead the state were to license brothels that would be accessible yet distant from residential areas. In Boston, near Logan Airport, or down by the piers bordering South Boston, are some remote spots currently zoned for industrial use where brothels could be built and maintained. Traffic could be rerouted around any residential neighborhoods en route.

And instead of spending millions of dollars on revolving-door prosecutions, money raised by a commercial-property tax on the brothels could be used to help the women. It could be spent on health care, health education, and counseling.

There are some women who are so tightly bound to their pimps, or who are underage, or who are so dependent on drugs that they may not leave the underworld. For them, a portion of the money could be used for outreach, sending educators and doctors into the streets to reach those who do not fit into the legalized community. Drug rehabilitation could be funded as well.

Additional funds could be used on more effective methods of birth control, such as the Pill. And for prostitutes with children, money could be used to send the kids to daycare and the mothers to school.

Practically speaking, it is extremely unlikely that Massachusetts or the nation will take these steps. Most people just want prostitution to go away. Politicians know that even suggesting the idea could be political suicide. It's a question that is not even open for genuine debate.

But why?

One night on the streets, I encounter a young woman named Thea. An auburn-haired natural beauty, Thea is a high school graduate, barely 18, and she wants to be a businesswoman.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, but I think there is a real business in the sex industry," Thea says softly. "I've asked a few girls to join in with me to start our own service, but they're too scared. They say they may as well sign their own death certificates if they ever tried to leave their pimps."

Thea shakes her head.

She tells me that her mother left when she was a toddler, and her father kicked her out because she interfered with a seemingly endless string of sleazy women in his life.

Thea doesn't understand yet. Very new to the scene, she's not yet tainted by drugs or crime. She has no diseases and no oppressive pimp. Her face is unscarred.

But the road laid out for her is clear: she is probably only months -- perhaps weeks -- away from becoming a drug-addicted criminal, beaten down by a pimp, abused by johns, and written off by society.

If Thea understood what lies ahead, she might have a question: are your morals there to comfort me -- or you?

Back to part 5 - On to Prostitution Theory 101

Sarah McNaught can be reached at smcnaught[a]phx.com.