I just came across an article written by Janice G. Raymond back in 2003 titled 10 Reasons for Not Legalizing Prostitution. Reading it just about made me want to puke. I knew that there must be a rebuttal written from someone by now somewhere on the internet. And I was right. The following is a rebuttal written by Tracy Ryan on behalf of Arresting Prostitutes is Legal Exploitation, (APLE):
In 2003 Janice Raymond of CATW, (Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International), wrote “10 Reasons for Not Legalizing Prostitution”. Recently this work has been circulated to offer rationales to oppose the proposals suggested by APLE, (Arresting Prostitutes is Legal Exploitation). Like CATW, APLE is extremely concerned with the health and safety of individuals involved in prostitution. Clearly serious and significant harm has occurred and continues to occur to individuals involved in sex work. APLE understands that the harms associated with prostitution can manifest on a variety of levels from harm to the prostitutes themselves extending to harm to their families, friends, customers, community and to the larger society. APLE understands that prostitution in and of doesn’t cause harm. The root causes of harm related to prostitution are highly complex, stemming from historical, cultural, and societal norms to individual morals, values, and beliefs. CATW does not appear to hold this complex understanding of prostitution. Ms. Raymond lists ten reasons to oppose what she lumps together as the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution in her article. This response is intended to address those points.
My objections to the arguments presented by Raymond are clustered into several main areas. First is her reliance on questionable statistics and studies, most of which were done by anti-prostitution advocacy groups. It is too easy for people who have an axe to grind to come up with whatever results they want in such studies. It is generally understood that unless studies are done using appropriate research methodology the statistics they present are of little or no value. A separate paper on scientific methodology and how bias of the researchers can affect results is attached.
The second general problem is one of relevance. Many of the complaints, valid or not, raised by Raymond apply specifically to legalized systems of prostitution overseas. They have no connection to the changes discussed by APLE for Hawaii.
The third problem is relationship. Ms. Raymond discusses problems and furnishes statistics, but does little to relate them to any solutions of her own. At no point does she attempt to demonstrate how the arresting of prostitutes or their customers will solve the problems she sees. APLE does not claim that decriminalization will solve all of the many problems Raymond is concerned with. It will however solve several other problems that Raymond never bothers to discuss.
The final issue I take with the Raymond approach is its undercurrent of morality. It appears that she and her CATW believe that prostitution in all cases and in all times is universally harmful. Therefore they ignore any arguments or evidence to the contrary. This simplistic attitude taints all of the studies and conclusions they present.
Hereunder are my responses to the ten points against legalizing/decriminalizing prostitution as stated by Raymond. Her numbered points are in bold text.
