Prostitution is a very sensitive and complicated subject. Debates are going around the world about whether legalization is the right way to go and whether prostitution is a choice. Is prostitution a choice, or is it human trafficking? I believe the latter. I believe that prostitution is a form of human trafficking and that it is not a choice. There are four different arguments when it comes to prostitution, those questions are, decriminalization, legalization, keeping it illegal, and whether it is a choice. People are fighting for legalization with the argument that “my body, my business” and “sex work is work”. While I believe that people have the right to their bodies the question remains is it their choice or is someone else selling women's bodies to make a profit? 

In what way should society go about solving the abuse and stigma that comes with prostitution? According to Annamarie Forestiere in her article To protect women, legalize prostitution, legalization is the way to go. According to Annamariie, legalization would help control diseases, control danger for women, reframe the stigma, and would give women away without jail time. Around Europe prostitution has been legal for years.  (Protect women, Legalize Prostitution). 

In the Netherlands, prostitution has been legal for 20 years. Legalizing prostitution has made brothels need safety and hygiene licenses to operate and street work is very regulated. “ (To Protect Women, Legalize Prostitution by Annamarie Forestiere) Not only does sex work become safer when it is regulated, but legalization also works to weed out the black market that exists for prostitution, thereby making women safer overall. Also, sex workers are not branded as criminals, so they have better access to the legal system and are encouraged to report behaviors that are a danger to themselves and other women in the industry. Finally, legalizing sex work will provide many other positive externalities, including tax revenue, reduction in sexually transmitted diseases, and reallocation of law enforcement resources( Paragraph four).” The legalization issue is that when it is legalized human trafficking increases and rape rates also increase. In Iceland and the Netherlands, they legalized prostitution instead of decriminalization which led to an increase in trafficking and prostitution. The brothels became a very powerful industry and Iceland became a known place for trafficking. 

Another piece of this argument is decriminalization. Decriminalization is that the act is still illegal but the women and prostitutes are not charged or seen as criminals. There are several different models of how to approach decriminalization. Two well-known models are the Nordic Model and the Equality Model. In the article ‘The worldwide debate about sex work: Morality meets reality’ Dorety states (paragraph thirty-eight) “steps of decriminalizing the prostituted person while criminalizing the purchaser of sex and promoting exit strategies and support for those seeking to leave prostitution. "How to dismantle power systems that subjugate women and girls? Implement the Nordic Model," she said, adding that the key reference point for the model is decriminalization, not legalization. (The worldwide debate about sex work: Morality meets reality by: Chris Herlinger)”

Decriminalization gives women a way to get help and a way out without getting charged and arrested. The Nordic model was first used in Sweden and Norway and has since moved to Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and France. The Nordic model decriminalizes the act of prostitution for the women that are sold but continues to criminalize the act of buying sex. This model has helped reduce forced prostitution and it is proved to be more effective than any other model. 

Decriminalization gives women a voice, helps protect sex workers, and helps with health benefits. It gives trafficked victims a way to ask for help and go to law enforcement. For Racheal Loyld, a survivor of trafficking from Germany, decriminalizing sex work did not help with the brutal violence that comes with the sex work industry. ( Protect WOmen, Legalize Prostitution) The industry will always be brutal, exploiting, and vicious, no matter how you go about solving it. The hopeless fact is that sex work will always be there and it will always be brutal. The question remains ‘Is there a way to decrease it and have a way out from the dark circle of trafficking and sex work? 

Is prostitution a choice? Almost everything that I have researched and almost all of my sources answered that question with the same answer, no; it is not a choice. The article ‘Prostitution and Human Trafficking: A Paradigm Shift’ by: Seve Marcin, focuses on the fact that it isn’t a choice, and how switching our views to prostitutes being victims instead of criminals greatly improves the situation. That article also shows facts and statistics that prove that prostitution is human trafficking. (paragraph one) “Analysis of their common circumstances and reasons for prostituting caused investigators to believe that they were sex trafficking victims. Human trafficking is using force, fraud, or coercion to recruit, obtain, or provide a person for sexual exploitation. (Human Trafficking Hotline).  This shift in perspective produced an innovative approach to addressing the problem (‘Prostitution and Human Trafficking: A Paradigm Shift’ by: Seve Marcin).” 

When you are kidnapped, beaten, murdered, starving, and threatened, there is no choice. The Anaheim police department took a poll and found that 88% of prostitutes had no choice in the matter. ( Human Trafficking A Paradigm Shift). When women do attempt to escape they are beaten, and even murdered. Most traffickers threaten the victims' families saying that if they try to escape they would kill their whole families. What would you honestly do in that scenario? Another poll that the police department did found that 77% of prostitutes were missing people and 50% were under the age of 18. (Human Trafficking A Paradigm Shift). 

Prostitution and trafficking are not a life, many victims are burned, whipped, raped several times a day, threatened, beaten, cut, and murdered. When we switch our viewpoints, as the FBI and Anaheim Police Department did, we can save instead of further traumatizing these victims. 

I do not believe that prostitution is a choice. I believe that women are forced into it, kidnapped, or so desperate that they see no other way to survive. Yes; there are a few who chose this road but once they get into it they see the darkness and evil that comes with being sold, exploited, and abused. During much of the research that I have done on prostitution, human trafficking, and survivors, I have only heard horror stories and the only light is when they get out. People who fight for legalization are naive or fighting for the right to abuse women. The FBI found that one woman who had a loud voice for the legalization of prostitution was trafficking over 200 women. 

The Nordic Model is the best way to protect women and fight abusers. (Protect Women, Legalize Prostitution). It leads to the arrest of pimps, traffickers, and buyers while protecting and freeing the women. The Anaheim police department also had a program that helps the women integrate back into real life and helps them heal from trauma. ( Human Trafficking A Paradigm Shift). Many programs and nonprofits also help trafficked victims heal, give them a place to live, and help them with their trials. I also believe that sex buyers, pimps, and traffickers should be given more prison time and higher consequences. The charge for pimping and trafficking is only three years in prison, and the charge for sex buyers is less than fishing without a fisherman's license. If there were higher consequences for these things maybe it would scare off at least some of the buyers or pimps. 

Ultimately there will always be those who want the sex trade and trafficking as long as there is greed and lust in the world. As long as there is a sex trade there will be the oppression and abuse of women and children. If we unite and fight to end slavery in our modern world, then we stand a chance to save the enslaved. I hope my future generations can read about sex slavery in history books. For that to happen we have to take action, unite, and end this abuse.