Prostitution

The oldest form of profession is trading which has been in existence since the start of human civilization. First, there was the barter system and then there were currencies. Trading has always been rampant and there is one particular form of trading which has always been under the radar of the government and legal authorities. This, of course, is the trade of the human body which is also known as prostitution. There has been much hue and cry over this issue and there have always been two set of people involved in any discussion about this form of trade – one set who believe that prostitution should be allowed as a profession and the other who believe that this is a social evil and should be banned.

In retrospect one can see that the profession of prostitution is probably as old as the human civilization – it has always been there. It is possible, though, that it has been masked in different forms and from time to time it might have found acceptance from society. At present, however, it is considered as a shameful profession even though it adds as much value to the gross domestic income of an economy as does any other industry.

The arguments in favor of prostitution are many. Some say that men and women who are involved in this profession should have the right to decide what they want to do with their body. Also, people argue that it does contribute to the national income and in fact for many countries it is also emerging as a major part of tourism. In light of these arguments, people say that prostitution should be legalized and it should recognize the human rights which have been provided under the constitution of all countries. Women who are already a part of this industry have been interviewed many times and from the information that they have shared one can see that even though this profession is considered shameful and is probably looked down upon, it is very organized and all kinds of medical safety measures are also kept in mind. Some other people say that if it is legalized then more concrete steps can be taken to ensure that women and men who practice prostitution are able to fight for their rights and can be provided better protection against physical abuse.

So far, many points have been provided for this cause and many have been provided against it, but no conclusion has been reached.