Feminism Is For Everyone

May 6, 2008,3:56 PM

About damn time.

I just found this out, but England is (going to? Already does? I'm not sure.) prosecuting men who visit prostitutes as rapists. FYI: We don't do this in America. That's an important difference: while paying for sex is a sex crime, offenders in American penal code do not register as sex offenders. And--in the spirit of the sex offender registry--I don't think they should have to; but I do think that it's a great deterrent to paying for sex. While a lot of men only blink at the thought of using a prostitute, many more might take it a bit more seriously if they'd be treated (and viewed) as a rapist in society. I especially think the point they make about the actual sex trade is extremely valid. Trafficked women, and women who operate through pimps are usually physically, financially, or psychologically (or all three) forced into the sex trade. They're not consenting, and it is rape.
Now, again, I don't think prostitution should be illegal--that might actually make it a lot easier to sort out who's being forced and who's not. It would also make it a lot safer for women--making it legal would allow us to regulate it. And I fully think any able-bodied woman is capable of deciding whether or not she wants to use her sexuality for profit; she doesn't need the government to mollycoddle her and try and "shelter" her from the dangers of prostitution.
But that rant aside, if we are going to keep prostitution illegal, maybe we should be treating the men who use prostitutes as rapists--it's not like they are certain whether or not these women were forced into it--and I think that's a negligence that should be prosecuted. At least England's got the right idea. Get on the fucking bandwagon, America!!