Category: Sex

Sex Work in China

Historical Perspective of Sex Work

Sex work has been a visible part of the Chinese culture throughout history for more than 2000 years (Zhou, 2006). China’s first brothels were developed in the early 17th century B.C. as a way to increase the state income by the famous philosopher Guan Zhong (Ruan, 1991). Institutionalised prostitutions have begun during the Han dynasty, where Emperor Wu has recruited female camp prostitutions for his armies (Ruan, 1991). At the same time, there are two segregation sex work systems which are the government-run prostitutions and private brothels (Liu & Finckenauer, 2010). The institution of government-run prostitutions has reached its peak during Tang and Song dynasties, and some of the prostitutes were working with the local government (Ruan, 1991). The sex industry has been booming since the late 19th century; however, there is a dramatic decline in the sex trade when the Communist Party took power in 1949, and the government has claimed that they have successfully eradicated sex work industry (Liu & Finckenauer, 2010). It was not until the 1970s; sex work again began to flourish when China began its Open Door and Reform Policy (Huang & Pan, 2014). Starting in the 1980s, the Chinese Government began new policies such as laws and campaigns in eradicating sex work (Huang & Pan, 2014).

Sex Work Under Current Law

All aspects of sex work are prohibited, and it is a criminal offence in China. The government has taken a punitive approach towards sex work which almost all the prosecutions have been against sex workers, but not their clients (Shen & Csete, 2017). Under the Chinese law on the Strict Prohibition Against Prostitution and Whoring, sex workers will be imposed with up to 15 days of administrative detention and a fine of up to 5000 RMB (Laws of the People’s Republic of China, 1991). Since the 1981s, the government started to carry out various campaigns against sex work such as ‘anti-prostitution’, ‘sweep away’, ‘strike hard’ to restrict prostitution (Huang & Pan, 2014). There is also shame parade where the sex workers were arrested by police, their identities such as names, birthdates, and city of origin were publicised and paraded on the street intending to ‘educate’ the public (Andrew, 2010). Furthermore, both sex workers and clients can be subjected to custody and education detention from six months up to two years (Asia Catalyst, 2013). However, past research has found that various abuses had occurred in the re-education centres such as physical and psychological abuses and forced labour, rather than provide sex workers with education support (Human Rights Watch [HRW], 2010).

The Impacts of Criminalising Sex Work

Human rights organisations have supported the decriminalisation of sex work and the attendant recognition of the rights for sex workers because of the positive associations between decriminalisation and the increased access to healthcare services and safer working environments among sex workers (Dewey, Zheng, & Orchard, 2016; Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2012). However, the criminalisation of sex work in China creates adversarial relationships between women and various officials who exert considerable control over their lives (Dewey et al., 2016). This, in turn, makes it difficult for sex workers to report crimes against them or to hold officers accountable for their abuses of power. The sex work industry has been subjected to periodic police raids, physical violence, forced or coercive HIV testing and disclosure of test results to third parties and mistreatment by health practitioners (Liu & Finckenauer, 2010; Lorway et al., 2016; Shen & Csete, 2017).

China’s criminalisation of sex work has led to a violent working environment that threatens the safety of sex workers instead of eliminating sex work. Criminalisation forces women to attempt to work in locales that poorly lit and far away from any assistance that women can access when they were being abused (Dewey et al., 2016). Additionally, the clients are also aware of sex workers’ vulnerable status, and they would take advantages of this situation by having sexual services without payment (Liu & Finckenauer, 2010). The power dynamics differences provide opportunities for police to use their power to control over sex workers such as threatening the sex workers that they will be arrested if they did not offer free sexual services (Dewey et al., 2016). As a result, sex workers have no alternative way but to offer and to comply with police officers’ sexual demands (HRW] 2013). Besides, police officers sometimes required sex workers to provide ‘protection fee’ or accept money from them in order to avoid being arrested (Huang & Pan, 2014). According to the HRW (2013), it has been found that police violence against sex workers in China is a common occurrence, where a female sex worker has said that ‘I was beaten until I turned black and blue because I wouldn’t admit to prostitution’ (p. 24).

As sex work is the major drives of HIV epidemic in Asia, sex workers in China are often blamed for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) rather than viewed as needing of healthcare services (Kaufman, 2011). One of the most problematic issues is that police have been using the presence of condoms as evidence to arrest or detain the sex workers for engaging in sex work (Huang & Pan, 2014). This policy is directly conflicted and undermining the programmes and policies set up by the government that are designed to distribute condoms to prevent STD transmissions (Shen & Csete, 2017). Such continued use of condoms as evidence impeded sex worker’s condom use and discouraged them from practising safer sex behaviours; therefore, this further increases the sex workers’ likelihood of acquiring STD (Dewey et al., 2016; Hong & Li, 2008).

Sex Work in the Netherlands

Act Against Immorality of 1911

In contrast to China, the Netherlands was the first European countries to legalise prostitution in 1999 (Post, Brouwer, & Vols, 2018). However, back to the early 19th century, the Act against Immorality 1911 was introduced to restrain prostitution because prostitution was considered as an ‘evil of immorality’ and morally reprehensible (Post et al., 2018). However, the behaviours of a prostitute were not considered as ‘evil’, and a prostitute should be categorised as the victim of immoral and criminal behaviours (Outshoorn, 2004). As a result, the new legislation marks a profound shift from the abolitionist legislation and only make brothels and pimping as a criminal offence (Outshoorn, 2004). However, the legislation did not successfully eradicate brothels; instead, brothels that closed in one place opened in other places (Post et al., 2018). Minister of Justice – Liberal Korthals, together with feminist advocates and women’s policy agencies supported lifting the ban on brothels, emphasising that voluntary prostitution should be seen as work in order to improve prostitutes’ position (Outshoorn, 2004).

The new Act of 2000

The government has soon realised that the sex work was a fact of life, which could not be eradicated, and sex work should be recognised and accepted as work instead condemning it (Post et al., 2018). Moreover, sexual behaviours were considered as a private matter between two consenting adults; thus, government started to recognise sex work as regular business activities (Post et al., 2018). Consequently, the new Act on the decriminalisation of exploitation of prostitution was introduced in 2000 following the ‘realistic, without moralism’ approach (Post et al., 2018, p. 109). The new Act recognising sex work as work, the ban on brothels was lifted, and municipalities have been delegated the regulation of the sex industry (Outshoorn, 2012). Sex work is legal only if it was voluntary and consenting sex, the age to work in sex industry need to be 18 years, and above, and individuals who possess the legal residence permit can work in the sex industry (Outshoorn, 2012; Verhoeven, 2017). However, coerced sex work, including threats and deception and human trafficking remained as a criminal offence (Verhoeven, 2017).

The Impacts of Legalised Sex Work

It has been found that the introduced of pro-sex work model leads to an overall increase in improving working environment such as few incidents of abuses were found, and the health and safety of sex workers were being enhanced (Dalla, Defrain, & Baker, 2011). Furthermore, the operators of brothels have the responsibility to prevent pimps and human trafficking from intruding on the sex industry, ensure that no minors were involved, and it is voluntary prostitution (Wijk & Mascini, 2019). This helps to prevent and stop human trafficking and at the same time, protect victims and vulnerable women who are being forced into prostitution (Verhoeven, 2016).

Introduction

Marijuana has always been known as the harmless drug in common circles. With movies and musicians glorifying it, many youngsters have taken up on this habit. The young perception is that as the marijuana comes from a plant, it’s supposed to be benign. The situation is even worse actually. The usage of marijuana and being in a state of total inebriation for perpetuity is mistaken to a charming thing to do. Now, as kids in the any high school who are above the age of fifteen, mostly, have begun to come of age when it comes to sexual maturity. Some give in to peer pressure and convince themselves that one has to lose their virginity before they turn eighteen, or they shall be known as one of the un-cool and irksome lot. Even though sex education has been taught in high schools, and awareness has been provided, many students are oblivious to the sheer risk of having unsafe sex. Many believe that when a couple gets together and get high on marijuana, in their inebriated state, they lose sight of their responsibilities and have unprotected sexual intercourse. This is believed to be a leading cause for unplanned pregnancies among female young adults. This essay aims at giving more depth and insight into this problem.

Body of the Essay

Since time immemorial young kids were influenced by pop culture. Be it from movies, music or even sports. Kids look up to their heroes and aspire to be like them. Now this is a noble thing to do, generally. But this also leads to them excusing their bad behaviour. If one’s hero is achieving great things but he is a smoker, the child begins to believe that smoking isn’t really a bad thing to do. Now this childlike innocence stays with the kid when he’s a young adult of sixteen, only now his belief system is even harder to break as there’s a lot of misplaced ego around his sentiments. They become over smart and believe that they know everything they have to know about the world and society. This paper by Lewis (2013) entails about teenagers and the youth culture in great detail. Marijuana has been a part of the pop culture since forever. The peace and love movement on the sixties heralded by so many stalwarts of the music industry like The Beatles, brought psychedelia in the minds of the common folk as part of some neo political rebellion. The paper here by Elcock (2013) talks in detail about the psychedelic revolution in the sixties and their impact on society. In the next decade came Pink Floyd, who were immediately associated with marijuana, even though the band never actually endorsed it. Watching The Wizard of Oz whilst listening to the Dark Side of the Moon and smoking joints was regarded as an experience of a lifetime. As time went on, rock began to leave the pop charts and hip hop took its place. The torch of marijuana was passed on. If you YouTube any new music video, you’ll find that marijuana is either referenced in the lyric or it’s outright shown in the video. All of these things start to gloss a young impressionable teenager’s vision and they start to believe that it is the right things to do no matter how many times your parents try to talk you out of it. As the teenagers go through puberty, their sexual desire increases. The government and the school system have issued sex education classes in their schools but in reality these classes are perceived as a joke and not taken seriously. Kids become irresponsible with sex and avoid using protection. These situations happen usually when they are either or in some sort of transcendental daze. The paper has correlated sexuality and puberty in a more deep way, Fortenberry (2013). If pop culture has been in a way responsible for the casual attitude of teenagers in handling with marijuana, sex has been affected in a similar. The idea of having sex in high school has changed from a maybe type of situation to an absolute necessity. To a point where kids often reprimand themselves or are chastised by their peers when they turn out to not have sexual intercourse during the course of their high school years. This idea of teenage coital action has been heavily endorsed in uncountable films. Now if these films had been of the artsy kind, they would have been witnessed by a few people. But as everybody in this capitalised industry know that “sex sells” such movies have been made constantly masquerading as party flicks and young adult comedies. This paper discusses in detail about this problem Gupta (2011). Now this essay isn’t meaning to say that such films are harmful to teenagers but it is trying to merely attempt to show how kids, especially impressionable kids fall prey to the deceit and lies of the message of these films and start to rank or measure their lives with or against a fictional unrealistic tale. The paper here by Simons et al., (2010) talks of the risk teenagers take whilst indulging themselves in taking action in committing unsafe sex whilst inebriated.

In some recent studies it was found that unprotected sex came as a result of alcohol and drug abuse in teenagers and young adults. Four different models were used to study it. After effects of every one of the four relapse models demonstrated that weed use was related with unprotected sex. Teenagers who utilized more cannabis when all is said in done just as explicitly in sexual scenes in the 30 days going before detainment detailed more elevated amounts of unprotected sex. Furthermore, pot use in the last scene was identified with the event of unprotected sex amid that scene. In addition, aims to utilize weed in future sexual scenes were related with aims to have unprotected intercourse later on. Risk is being entertained by young adults. Their naivety is being exploited and they are being a false sense of accomplishment and pride. They are starting to forget that there are grave consequences to their actions. And when things take for worse they have no idea how to handle that situation in a calmed manner and act like emotional fools and do actions that boast of irrationality and are considered moronic. In another study that is even more recent there have been statistical analysis made on identifying classes in entering freshmen that pertain to conjoint alcohol and marijuana use, this paper here, Haas et al., (2015).

University life can be a lonely life. Being away from your loved for a considerable amount of time might put an individual, especially a young individual in a situation where they find themselves as desperate, desperate to seek out company. Any sort of company. Such situations often lead to kids mingling with greyer circles and voluntarily participating in drug abuse just so that one could people around them. Heavy episodic drinking and cannabis use are few of such examples. Now a repetition of such activities has seen leading them to individuals taking part in sexual intercourse without the use of any sort of protection. The paper here, Moure-Rodriguez et al., (2016) is a study on these.

Fortunately, not all is lost. Many youth oriented programs have been conducted by various organizations in their objective of creating awareness of the risk of unprotected sexual activities. There have been research conducted on it, like this paper right here Schwartz et al., (2010).

Individuals who every now and again use cannabis are probably going to have intercourse all the more regularly, another investigation proposes. The scientists found that the ladies in the investigation who said they hadn’t utilized marijuana in the previous year detailed that they’d had intercourse a normal of multiple times in the earlier month. Ladies who reported utilizing cannabis in the previous year announced that they’d engaged in sexual relations all the more as often as possible, a normal of multiple times in the earlier month. The results have been deemed similar for men as well.

Conclusion of the Essay

This essay has made solemn efforts to explain detail about how irresponsible drug abuse correlates to unprotected sexual activities amongst high schoolers or university freshman. The essay talks about the evolution of the psychedelic movement that took place in the sixties from which one might believe the romanticism of drug abuse also took place. Later this essay pondered on the impact of popular culture, culture found in magazines, music and movies, on the impressionable youngsters of the society. The essay further discusses how the capitalist society won’t stop using sexual desire as a commodity to attract people who tend to be young and tend to be naive. It further mentions how loneliness might make someone desperate for company and how seeking of company desperately might lead and have led many to taking up drug abuse which has also resulted in many dealing with unplanned pregnancies because of unprotected sex. The psychology of idol worship being responsible is also been discussed. In the end, it has also been discussed how youth programs and events have been conducted to create awareness of such things.

Bibliography

1. Fortenberry, J. D. (2013). Puberty and adolescent sexuality. Hormones and behavior, 64(2), 280-287.
2. Elcock, C. (2013). From acid revolution to entheogenic evolution: Psychedelic philosophy in the sixties and beyond. The Journal of American Culture, 36(4), 296.
3. Haas, A. L., Wickham, R., Macia, K., Shields, M., Macher, R., & Schulte, T. (2015). Identifying classes of conjoint alcohol and marijuana use in entering freshmen. Psychology of addictive behaviors, 29(3), 620.
4. Moure-Rodriguez, L., Doallo, S., Juan-Salvadores, P., Corral, M., Cadaveira, F., & Caamano-Isorna, F. (2016). Heavy episodic drinking, cannabis use and unsafe sex among university students. Gaceta sanitaria, 30(6), 438-443.
5. Simons, J. S., Maisto, S. A., & Wray, T. B. (2010). Sexual risk taking among young adult dual alcohol and marijuana users. Addictive Behaviors, 35(5), 533-536.
6. Lewis, J. (2013). The road to romance and ruin: Teen films and youth culture. Routledge.
7. Gupta, K. (2011). “Screw health”: Representations of sex as a health-promoting activity in medical and popular literature. Journal of Medical Humanities, 32(2), 127-140.
8. Schwartz, S. J., Phelps, E., Lerner, J. V., Huang, S., Brown, C. H., Lewin-Bizan, S., … & Lerner, R. M. (2010). Promotion as prevention: Positive youth development as protective against tobacco, alcohol, illicit drug, and sex initiation. Applied Developmental Science, 14(4), 197-211.

Abstract

Sex work, is like any other profession in the world and the workers involved in such trade must be allowed to conduct their business freely without government intervention. That is to say, decriminalization of sex work is what is needed rather than legalization. Although there is a thin line of difference between prostitution and sex work, the activity remains the same. Consent is an essential element of sex work whereas many sex workers regard themselves as prostitutes, however, others do not. . There are around 42 million sex workers around the world and providing these people with a platform equipped with equal opportunities and destigmatizing their profession is a step towards seeing the world through humanistic lenses.

The present research has adopted the doctrinal method of study.

Introduction

Statement of Problem

There has been limited awareness and research focused on the consensual sex work and sex trafficking. In most countries, selling sex is illegal and therefore the legality presents a unique challenge to conduct business freely. The adult entertainment industry has been functional far from the eyes of the law making it easier for sex trafficking to take place. The possible solution for which is not the legalization, but the decriminalization of sex work. The majority of the research related to the sex industry is rooted in HIV prevention and safe sex practices which has resulted in the ignorance of consensual sex workers thus allowing the social stigma around the subject to remain heightened. The term sex worker refers to any person who exchanges services of sexual services of a sexual nature for anything of value. This definition however, does not adequately address the issue of consent which plays a key roles in categorizing the types of jobs in the sex industry. There are arguments against this saying that the people entering this industry of their own free will are being coerced by a patriarchal society. However, the organizations who fight to decriminalize prostitution argue that sex can be completely consensual. Although consensual sex workers have made a conscious decision to monetize their sexuality and bodies, they are commonly grouped with those who are forced into the industry against their will. These individuals are commonly categorized as victims of sex trafficking. Regarding all sex workers as human trafficking victims fails to acknowledge the myriad of experiences of working in the adult industry.

Aim of the research

The aim of the research is to analyze consensual sex work by examining the phenomenological researches conducted by various sources and to understand how the decriminalization of sex work will be a step towards the abolition of sex trafficking and help to establish a humanistic approach in the society.

Literature Review

Definitions

Sex work: Sex work is the provision of sexual services for money or goods.[ Sex worker refers only to those who have consensual sex and have chosen to join the sex industry without force or coercion ie., by free choice. [1: Cheryl Overs Sex Workers: Part of the Solution page 2, 2002]

Commercial sex usually involves three parties: a sex worker, a client and a third-party agent. It is defined as the exchange of money for sexual services. Commercial sex act includes prostitution, pornography, and sexual performance in exchange for any item of vale, such as money, drugs, shelter, food or clothes. [2: Shared Hope International : What is Sex Trafficking? https://sharedhope.org/the-problem/what-is-sex-trafficking/]

Third parties are people who play ancillary roles in commercial sex. These include arranging meetings between sex workers

Clients are people who pay with cash other resources for sexual services either explicitly or within an agreed package that includes other services such as entertainment or domestic service.

Prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual activity with someone in exchange for immediate payment in money or other valuables. Prostitution is commonly used to dehumanise people in the sex industry. [3: Encyclopaedia Britannica : Prostitution https://www.britannica.com/topic/prostitution]

Sex trafficking occurs when someone uses force, fraud, or coercion to cause a commercial sex act with an adult or causes a minor to commit a commercial sex act.

Prostitution as an Old Profession

Prostitution as the “world’s oldest profession was coined by Rudyard Kipling in his short story, On the City Wall(1898) where the tale opens with the immortal line “Lalun is a member of the most ancient profession in the world”. Since then the expression has fallen into common parlance as a historical truth. However, researches show that prostitution may have simply been one of the oldest currencies in the world rather than a profession. For most of human history we have done without money and it is doubtless to say that there was no such ‘profession’ then as we know now as a service done in exchange for money. Even systems of bartering goods, rather than money, depend largely on the domestication of cattle. (Davies, 2002) The commodification of sex, and selling of sexual favours as a profession, is firmly linked to the establishment of money and economic markets. Researching ancient sexuality is difficult because historical records are always mediated through the author’s world view. In fact many cultures had no word for ‘prostitution’. It was the British Invasion that led to the invention of a such a word which was a ‘vice’ according to the Christian missionaries (Lorrin Andrews, 1865)

A Timeline of Sex Work Research

Early research on the adult industry began in the 1970s which focused on the problems of prostitution which examined the deviant personalities of the sex workers involved. During the 1980s and 1990s, the subject of research focused on why the young people enter the sex industry. These researches serve as a standpoint for the current understanding of the topic by linking prostitution to physical and sexual abuse, parental abuse and frequent victimization. (Brannigan & Van Brunschot, 1997).

In the late 1980s the HIV epidemic was reflected in the literature of the time when the researches conducted showed the occupational hazards of sex work and sex workers (primarily women) as the vectors of the HIV disease. This contradicted the reality which was reinforced by a study conducted in San Francisco, CA in 1991 which showed that only 2% of non-injection drug using sex workers tested positive for HIV.

The Sex Industry

Sex Industry Hierarchy

Within the adult industry, there is an unspoken hierarchy often defined by the following criteria: the profit earned, the level of safety, and how services are marketed and solicited. Sex workers in individual arrangements are at the top of the hierarchy since they tend to have limited physical proximity to clients thus lowering their overall risk for violence and contracting STIs. Pornographic actresses and actors come next in the hierarchy since they work under a specific environment. However, there is a level of risk in that individuals in these professions are frequently harassed by their agents and managers.

Escorts and call girls/boys provide sexual services to a regular client base in another business assume more risk and make less money than the previous tier. Brothel, Massage and Bar workers fall lower in the hierarchy because they serve more clients, and earn the same amount of money as the tiers above. Street work is at the bottom of the hierarchy because it is reportedly the most undesirable form of sex work because of the physical danger, unpredictability, and high stigma.

Reasons for Working in the Sex Industry

A phenomenological research conducted on the lives of consensual sex workers ‘lives done on a group of sex workers from Nevada in the United States where the legal adult entertainment industry generates millions of dollars in revenue showed that there are primarily four reasons why they do what they do and would like to continue to work in the sex industry. The findings of the research are as follows:

1. The adult industry provides professional and personal agency

Seven out of ten participants said their profession allowed them to support themselves financially. One of the participants mentions how the adult industry provides opportunities to gain power, she says, “Sex work gives you the money to leave an abusive husband, or to finally deal with your health issues from childhood, or to work through some sort of debilitating disease… many sex workers have health issues, and suddenly having the money to deal with those. And we can be our own boss, if I can’t go to work because I’m sick today.”

2. Disclosure is an impactful and ongoing process

All 10 participants spoke about the effect of disclosing their profession on their romantic, familial, and social relationships. One of the participants says that she talks about her profession with nearly all her friends and family because it is important to humanize the profession. Despite their views, a majority of the participants stated that they hesitated to talk about their professions to their therapists because of the fear of being judged.

3. Professional and personal lives are compartmentalized

. All participants indicated a separation between their personal lives and their professional activities. This theme became overtly apparent when participants discussed their romantic relationships. One of them theorized about why the fundamental understanding of this separation was so important within a relationship, “I have a theory that we are naked waitresses who deliver sex. So if you wouldn’t be mad at your partner for eating a meal that someone else has cooked and delivered to them, or drinking a coffee that someone else has served and brought to their table and poured and walked away, then it’s the same as what we do. So, you can’t blame the work, and when you try to, you’re not valuing physical labour the way you do with professional athletes. And it’s just delivering a cup of coffee naked. It has different risks, sure, but so does all manual labour, and that’s really all it is. If you don’t have that fundamental understanding it’s not going to work. That’s why many sex workers fight with their partners, why there’s often an abusive dynamic. They have problems because it’s hard for people not to be attached to it”

4. Sex work can provide an opportunity for self-exploration

Aside from financial support, eight participants stated that sex work provided them with an opportunity to explore different facets of their identity and sexuality. It provided an avenue to explore and strengthen their personal boundaries. They have standards for who gets to spend time with them and whether or not they would like to see a client again (based on the client’s treatment) thus allowing for an express exercise of power and free will.

Decriminalisation of Sex Work

“Everybody has sex,” says Tamika Spellman. “The only difference is that we charge for it.”

Sex workers across the countries have faced several issues, sexual abuse from the regulating authorities being one of the many, and the only solution that they are advocating for is decriminalization: the removal of criminal penalties for selling and buying sex. Getting rid of the penalties is the only way to keep sex workers safe and to guarantee them full human rights as sex workers. New Zealand removed criminal penalties in 2003, and Amnesty International called on all countries to do so in 2016.

Mogulescu, a Sex workers’ rights advocate argues that criminalization of sex work makes people who are in the commercial sex industry less safe. In particular, criminalization forces sex workers “to move their work or structure their work in such a way as to avoid police contact,” she explained. Criminalization of sex work also puts sex workers at risk of police violence. One of the victims reported that she had been made to perform sexual favours to avoid being charged with prostitution. The Nordic model has emerged as a response to this. which eliminates criminal penalties for selling sex but retains penalties for buyers. Sweden ( in 1999) and Norway have adopted this model. However, some sex workers’ rights groups say the Nordic model still hurts sex workers because it keeps the sex trade underground, criminalizing the buying of sex exposes workers to many of the same harms as criminalizing the sale. A committee member at DecrimNY (an organization which aims to shape New York City and State policy and public opinion around people in the sex trades) says that “sex workers’ rights groups say the Nordic model still hurts sex workers. Because it keeps the sex trade underground, criminalizing the buying of sex exposes workers to many of the same harms as criminalizing the sale”.

In 2012, the World Health Organization recommended that countries work toward decriminalization. Amnesty International made a similar recommendation in 2016.

Conclusion

The results of this study highlighted the aspect of consent in the lives of the sex workers distinguishing them from trafficked sex workers. The treatment of sex workers can further be improved with psychotherapy, with an improved way in which the sex workers treat themselves. Psychotherapeutic treatment, it has been analysed, must be provided in a safe environment where there is no fear of being judged for the profession. It is important to keep personal values separate from professional values. Often sex workers have a fear of being authentic with figures of authority out of fear that it may be used against them in some way. Decriminalisation is the solution, henceforth. Under legalisation, sex work is controlled by the government and is legal only under certain state-specified conditions. In the Netherlands, brothels have been legal since 2000, but only if they comply with specific requirements. coercion is more likely to take place outside the regulated spaces. Therefore, analysis of sex work and legal status to sex workers will definitely allow sex workers to exercise their human rights, destigmatize their profession and prevent human trafficking.

“Prurience”, “Titillation”, “Outrage” and “Disgusting” are used to exemplify sex workers in legal, cultural and social discourses. Women working in the sex industry- whether it be pornography, erotic performances, brothel-work, street-work, or live webcams sit in the crosshairs of a remaining dispute regarding sexuality and health to economics and morality. With over 42 million sex workers worldwide and women making up almost 80% of the proportion, only in extremely rare cases are their health and safety protected by the legal and justice systems. While sex work is largely viewed as immoral and degrading to women, society clings to puritan ideals of what is “right” and “wrong” based on their moral objective and this is constantly shifting over time. In a world where misogyny is still heavily rooted, gender-pay gaps still prevail and employment opportunities are still scarce, how will a woman ever redeem herself?

For thousands of years, the practice of sex work progressed in many different forms of exchanged sexual services, but despite its consistent attempts at regulation, it remains nearly unchanged. Sex work has been practiced throughout ancient and modern times, making its mark as the “world’s oldest profession”. Finding its prevalent in Egypt and Greece, the practice varied from socio-economic levels. Most notably, the Greek “Hetaerae” and Japanese “Geishas” were given an advanced level of reputation for their artistic, sexual and non-sexual, political and social elegance. Overall, they both were seen as these prestigious and very educated women of society for their higher class of companionship. The idea of selling sexual services initially was tolerated but not celebrated in the Middle Ages, until the “Renaissance” and “Protestant Reformation” reinforced its movement and extensively initiated a wide turn against sex work. These moral reforms were remarkably directed towards the restriction of women’s autonomy, regulating on their bodies and sexuality more heavily and consequently disproportionally impacting the poor. While this traditional quintessence has been reduced to a smaller amount over the centuries, it is undeniable that multiple forms of oppressive social power continue to divide the hierarchy of sex workers. Women from the lowest socioeconomic classes including from lower level of education, disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities- are overrepresented in sex work across the world. Racism in education, economic and political system highly affects the choices of women of colour. It is an undeniable fact that racism is the key factor to shaping a woman’s entry into sex work, because it makes women more vulnerable as clients demand racialised women in sex work. In just one click through various porn websites, sexualised racism, particularly hypersexualizing black and Asian women, are oversexed and submissive or otherwise available for sex work contributes to the demand for specifically racialised women. Women working in massage parlours, strip clubs and other sex businesses are often located in poor racialized neighbours, allowing clients to harass and abuse women, making women in vulnerable to sex work related harassment and women working in those neighbours more likely to accept their use in sex work as normal.

“Whore”, “Prostitute” and “Hooker” are utterly one of the most demeaning terminologies used by many conservative politicians, religious firms, and radical feminist divisions to stigmatize sex workers. Prostituta derived its term by the Italic Tribes which defined women in the era ‘to offer up for sale or ‘to place forward’ and has been carried down through various languages to the modern-day western society ever since. The sexual double standards between women and men are shaped by the social norms that society dictates as different values to what is appropriate and acceptable for gender roles. Generally, the idea of a woman benefiting from sex or having frequent multiple sexual partners is “especially loathed” and “considered unethical” in a society that seeks to control a woman’s sexuality. Study shows that according to the public, Men, on the other hand, are indisputably permitted more sexual leniency and seen as more “accepted” and “tolerated” for engaging in the same heterosexual behaviour and having numerous sexual partners. . The notion of the “whorephobia stigma” has been pigeonholed by society to degrade sex workers, specifically women, who embody eccentric gender norms including selling their body for sex, satisfying sexual fantasies and transmitting STDs or HIVs. Due to the intense stigmatization and prejudice, sex workers are hindered from reporting the violations of their rights, especially by policy and law, because they are vulnerable to discrimination, imprisonment, further maltreatment, and retribution. This patriarchal construct of sexuality believes that a woman’s sexual pleasure is irrelevant and that her only role in sex is to satisfy a man’s sexual demands. Society is cajoled into believing that women engaging in “one-night stands”, “casual sex” or “sex outside of marriage or a relationship” are seen as shameful. Misogyny has deeply entrenched in our society that the perpetrators of slut-shaming, victim-blaming, and whore phobia are not limited to any gender, strengthening the iniquitous power relations between men and women.

While many women who engage in sex work find enjoyment and empowerment in it, the grim realities of the patriarchal and moralist views of sex is only a step back to normalizing sex work. Carole Pateman’s 2006 essay, “what is wrong with prostitution?” argues that sex work is an embodiment of patriarchy, relating to the historical societies in which men has ownership over their wives, and says that while men no longer have complete ownership of women in our society, sex work provides a way for men to exercise ownership over women’s bodies temporarily. While this is simply not true, men do not own a woman when they are buying sexual services any more than a businessman owns his factory workers. If sex workers are given the right to choose their clients and to stop sex at any point in which they feel discomfort, sex work is not a question of temporary ownership. Sex work can provide female empowerment and instill a “sense of self-worth, self-confidence, and self-esteem.” Sex work can provide endless beneficial outcomes if society destigmatizes and normalizes a positive role of sex workers in society instead of seeing them as immoral and dirty people. The idea of puritan views on sexuality and human nature must be reversed. Once society accepts that human beings are sexual and are allowed to express and explore our sexuality and sexual desires, only then will sex work begin to be treated with respect in society.

To deduce that all sex workers partake in the sex industry because of oppression, past sexual abuse, and lack of opportunity only further perpetuates a critical division on the road to gender equality and feminism. It is important to understand that some women choose to become sex workers of their own volition, not because they are oppressed, but because of their love for sex and desire for power. Sex work is a legitimate form of work that is predominantly female trade, with many smart, independent and strong women. Women can benefit from working in an industry populated predominantly by women, who can provide each other with friendship and support.

Previous research was preformed surrounding the topic of sex dreams and why they occur. “Although dreams have been a source of fascination for people throughout recorded history, many questions remain about what dreams are, why we dream, and what informs the content of our dreams” (Hmidan &Weaver, 2019, pg 5). The study identifies the reasoning behind a person’s brain related to sex dreams and how a person responded to these dreams based on several factors. The hypothesis takes a further look into the facts of the study and contributes to the overall results of the study and helps look at other questions related to this study in order to further understand what the overall take away is.

Hmidan & Weaver (2019) performed a study to take a closer look at the idea of sex dreams. In this study, the authors looked at different factors that would affect a person’s dream to cause them to have these sexual related dreams. The results of this study found that there was more of a positive correlation between woman and having sexual related dreams, as well as people who scored higher with sociosexuality also had more sex dreams than people who had lower results.

The main body of this paper will go into detail of the methods, procedures, and results of this study which will help further examine the main factors that contributed to this experiment and its relevance.

There has been little research preformed in history that relates to sexual dreams and their relevance to a person’s life experiences (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). When looking back on history, there has been many hypothesis based on different people surrounding the question of what dreams are and why people have them. Some say that dreams are messages from God (Donald, 2000 as cited in Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). There have also been research theories that dreams are only a result of being unconscious, having no real meaning (Brill, 1997 as cited in Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). Finally, there has been more research that suggests that having dreams is based on neurons and the brain signaling random neural firing (Hobson & McCarley, 1977 as cited in Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). All of these previous theories have been looked at in this new research study that looks at sexual dreams and the impact they have on the cause and effect relationship of a person.

Hmidan and Weaver (2019) created a method pertaining to this study by using 482 participants that were above the age of 18 coming from either a university in Canada, or a random online study that was collected through Reddit. The argument from the study explains that sex dreams happen because of sociosexuality, gender, and erotophilia. This was looked at with three different hypothesis. The first one was that men would report having more sex dreams in a positive way than woman. Then the second one was that men would have higher scores of sociosexuality and erotophilia than woman. The final one was that any person who had higher scores in sociosexuality and erotophilia would also have a higher rate of sexual related dreams and would have more of a positive correlation to these dreams (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019).

The method performed by Hmidan and Weaver (2019) was done by giving the participants a questionnaire that looked at their own life including the “age, gender, ethnicity, academic year, religious attitude, sexual orientation, and relationship status” (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019, pg 7). All of these factors contributed to the results of the study that was performed. The questions would help the results become more clear based on what the participants answered. There was also different questions that factored in a person’s attitude towards certain things such as sexual relations and number of partners. The study looked at many different factors that would play an important role in the results of the analysis to help support the hypothesis that was originally represented. The study took different surveys and gave them to the people who were participants in the trial. This helped them gather more info and allowed them to further their knowledge of the results. One of the questionnaire surveys asked the participants about their sexual dreams in detail and assessed the positive or negative correlation to these dreams (Hmidan &Weaver, 2019).

The Design of this research done by Hmidan and Weaver (2019) was to gather people based on the internet or the University. There was a total of 20.5% of students who were recruited from the University and then the rest were gathered from the internet. These factors affected the results of the study based on how they were gathered in the first place. There was also a bonus point given to students who completed the study completely. This factor helped more students participate in the study. Overall, these participants were gathered in order to take part in the research study that was given via questionnaires that looked at the person’s connection to sex dreams (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019).

Hmidan and Weaver (2019) collected the data and saw that it was based on the person’s gender differences across different study cases. These different factors such as frequency of sex dream, positive or negative correlation, valence, and gender/sexual orientation, were all looked at while the study was being performed. There were also different results based on the person’s lifestyle including how many sexual partners they had, setting, and type of sex dreams they were having (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). The types of dreams that the participants had greatly affected the results that linked back to the hypothesis because of the specific details that were provided. Different results related to certain aspects of the study performed. Hmidan and Weaver (2019) also gave a consent form that helped keep these participants in line in order to have permission to collect data.

The data that was provided based on the participant’s answers to the questionnaire were first cleaned out by Hmidan and Weaver (2019). There were some flaws that had to be filtered in order to have true results that were accurate. “Data for three participants under the age of 18 were removed. Data for a further 17 participants were removed for not meeting the dream recall requirement” (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019, pg 11). Most of the participants were females and they only had a few men and even fewer transgender/nonbinary people. The majority of the participants were from the population recruited from online resources. This data that was collected from Hmidan and Weaver (2019) contributed to the results of the lab and procedure because of the main sources that these participants were coming from.

Over a period of time, the participants were to answer from the questionnaire that Hmidan and Weaver (2019) gave them which asked how many times a week they had a sexual related dream. These answers were filtered and separated based on the response to the dream and the correlation to the attitude of the person having the dream. There was only a few recorded answers that had to be canceled because of the factors that made these answers inaccurate such as the age of the participants and the amount of times the participants answered (Hmidan, Weaver, 2019).

The data analysis showed Hmidan and Weaver (2019) that the main participants were female and were not religious. These factors are important based on the detail of the participants having the sex dreams. There were several variables that were given in the questionnaire to describe the type of dreams the person was having and how it related to their waking life, if it did at all. These also incorporated that most of the participants were married or had a significant other, with only 37% being single and not seeing anyone at the time. Most of the participants recorded having a dream that relates to sex about 3 times a week, and then there was just under the majority who recorded having a dream less often (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019).

Hmidan and Weaver’s (2019) data showed as having a somewhat positive dream, then the rest of the data showed that less people (31.5%) had a neither positive or negative dream, finally with the least amount of participants having mostly negative dreams. The majority of men had more positive dreams while the woman had more negative dreams. There was also 16% of participants who recorded having a dream that signified a past trauma related to sexual factors. Hmidan and Weaver’s (2019) data explained that many of the participants had their first sexual dream at the age of 10-15, with more men recorded than woman.

Reports gathered by Hmidan and Weaver (2019) showed that men had more dreams that involved people who were complete strangers to that person while woman reported having dreams that involved people they knew/had a relationship with. The explicitly of the dreams showed that men had more detailed dreams and woman had simpler dreams that involved more lightweight things such as flirting or kissing. The process of this involved recording the data correlation involving men and woman whereas people who were transgender or nonbinary were discluded from the gender based results (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019).

To test the final hypothesis, Hmidan and Weaver (2019) looked at erotophilia and its correlation with the testing. Participants who had higher data of sexual related dreams recorded having a higher erotophilia score as well. This factor also showed that people with higher erotophilia also recorded seeing these dreams with a more positive outlook. Gender was a huge factor that contributed to the results of this article because the researchers wanted to know if gender would have a large effect on the data. The gender relation to the dream has been previously lacked research and consideration. The data showed that there was an indirect effect on gender and sex dreams through sociosexuality (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019).

Some of the data couldn’t be concluded by Hmidan and Weaver (2019) because some of the participants left out important information such as details of the sex dream or the lack of remembrance of the most recent sex dream that occurred. There was a constant repeating results that described having the same descriptions of the dreams which analyzed having “similar dreams with no defining gender differences” (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). Most of the dreams didn’t have a specific location which made that section of the data almost irrelevant to the study. There were reoccurring developments of dreams that stayed constant throughout the study such as frequency and gender differences (Hmidan &Weaver, 2019).

Discussion

As explained in the main body, Hmidan and Weaver (2019) showed many factors of the results of the participants determining gender differences of the sexual related dreams as well as the hypothesis being tested. The results showed that there were more woman having a negative correlation to the dream and men having a positive correlation to the dreams and the results showed that people who had higher results of erotophilia also had more frequent dreams. (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019).

There were many strengths presented in the article such as the use of several factors that contributed to the study. Hmidan and Weaver (2019) looked at many aspects of the details regarding the study such as the gender differences, sociosexuality of the participants, and the erotophilia ratings. These little details made the article better to understand and gave the researchers more of an overall collection of data. Also, the article was published through a university which helps make it more valid and reliable.

There were several flaws that are important to understand in this article. There was an interest in looking at the location that this research took place. The participants involved had a very impactful effect on the research given. Hmidan and Weaver (2019) gathered all of the participants that either came from the Canadian University or from an online recruitment. This information goes to show that the data provided is specific to location which not only changes the results of the data, but the accuracy of the data. This is because doing a study that is online changes who is involved in the study but also changes the accuracy of what is recorded based on how much the participant cares to provide. Also, the Canadian University participants were rewarded an extra bonus point if they complete the study. This might change the motivation of the participants based on why they are doing the research study which also changes how much effort they actually put into the study.

All of the participants were above the age of 18 as provided by Hmidan and Weaver (2019). This information can impact the data because it is really specific to who the data is centered towards. The data is specific to a certain group of people and shows that the data only shows the scientific factors of adults. Not only did the age affect the results of the study, but the amount of participants (482) also impacts the research. (Hmidan & Weaver, 2019). Although there was a higher number of people involved in the study, there were also a percentage of people who failed to report their answers and give a good amount of research in order to collect accurate data. This information shows that the data was not 100% complete throughout all of the participants.

One of the most unreliable factors was that most of the participants involved in the study were woman. This greatly impacts Hmidan and Weaver’s (2019) study because the data isn’t completely centered on all factors of gender identification. It was more specific to woman which doesn’t support the hypothesis of sex dreams being based on gender. If there were more variety of gender or even transgender/nonbinary people, the accuracy of the data would be more relevant to consistency. This makes the study less neutral.

Overall, there were a few flaws that made the study less reliable. This research done by Hmidan and Weaver (2019) and data that was given had a different effect on the results of the study and there were different contributions that put a negative toll on the research provided. Had they changed the different parts of the studies such as the gender differences and frequency of the recorded answers, the results could have been more reliable and specific to detail.

Reference

1. Hmidan, A. Weaver, A.D. (2019). Sex dreams: Gender, erotophilia, and sociosexuality as predictors of content, valence, and frequency. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 28 (2), 177-189.

Due to the nature of their crimes, sex offenders are often the most loathed criminals. Even within the prison population, sex offenders children, families, and the general public are impacted when a sex offendeer is released. The affect of sex offenders in the community varies depending on an individual’s line of thinking, but overall both sides can acknowledged that their crime has had serious consequences. Some believe that the crime was detrimental to the child, family and all parts of society because they violated and harmed a child taking away their innocence, peace of mind, self-esteem and ability to function in a healthy, productive manner in society. Often times, without treatment, victims of sexual offenses do not recover and live healthy lives. The possible outcomes of being a victim of a sex offense may be to develop a mental health condition(s), abuse legal/illegal substances, become a perpetrator, become aggressive, isolate, or just live a life with difficulties; thusly, sex offenders should not be allowed to integrate back into society, or must be kept under a watchful eye as a means of preventing future crimes (Briere, 1992). Others believe that sex offenders, with proper treatment, services and medications can be rehabilitated and allowed back into the community.

Laws have been created in order to notify and monitor their whereabouts in order to prevent any further crimes and alert communities to be vigilant in protecting their children and themselves. Sex offenders are individuals which are known to have committed crimes of a sexual nature, of which, there are three varying degrees. Qualifying offender levels are done by breaking them down into three categories: level 1, 2 and 3. A Level 1 offender should be non-violent, having a low risk of causing harm to society. Level 2 is a moderate risk of becoming a reoffender. They have multiple victims. They also might have been in a position of authority, such as a teacher, priest, etc. Level 3 offenders are to be considered the most dangerous. It is not uncommon for level 3 offenders to have committed violent crimes. That is why there is a greater potential to reoffend. These offenders will often have multiple sex crime convictions. In addition, level 3 offenders often display predatory behavior. The legal system, has for the time, been on the fence about what course of action to take regarding these unique offenders. This system of labeling was created out of the need to protect society by providing monitoring of released sex offenders to prevent recidivism, it is called the Sex Offender Registry which aims at community notification.

There are generally two camps of leading beliefs, one of which favors a path toward rehabilitation, while the opposing espouses an approach centralized on life imprisonment. Which should be the prevalent approach? Which offers a greater benefit to society? Should prisons spend time, money and resources in attempting to rehabilitate sex offenders, some would say no.

While incarcerated, sex offenders are placed in an isolative setting, fellow inmates consider them the worst offenders and prison staff despise them as well (van den Berg et al., 2018). Proponents of strictly punitive measures for sex offenders believe that they must be punished due to the devasting effects that community members will feel if they were released from incarceration. In an article written by Lynn-nore Chittom, she presents the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling in 1994, in which it upholds a 1939 case where the ruling was that one’s unmanageable impulse to commit sexual assault supercedes the right for someone to have freedom; therefore punishment, or indefinite incarceration, would be fitting for the crime of sexual assault. Chittom’s article additionally discusses the debate of rehabilitation over treatments of a more punitive nature for sex offenders. There are some that believe that they should be allowed to receive treatment, therapies and medications in order to be transitioned back to society, but there is not enough extensive research to indicate that these interventions work to prevent recidivism. In an article written by James Waldren (2016), he explains how offenders are often time coerced or forced to attend therapy, thus making it a form of punishment, not treatment, which in turn lessens its effectiveness in preventing recidivism. Without the necessary collaborative process from offender to counselor needed in talk therapy, there is no way that the offender will acquire the skills to change their thoughts and behaviors (Waldren, 2016). Another reason why punishment is preferable to rehabilitation is that in some cases age plays a role in one’s ability to be rehabilitated. Older sex offenders, or sex offenders that have committed several crimes will not be as receptive or successful to treatments in comparison to juvenile offenders that are still developing.

If someone commits a crime, there should be punishment and rehabilitation to restore the offenders humanity. So why would that exclude sex offenders. In order for them to be able to prevent recidivism they are provided talk therapy and sometimes hormonal therapy while incarcerated. This therapy assists in their being able to accept responsibility for their crimes and actions in order for them to move on and transition back into the community. Talk therapy is the first, most common method and the most successful form of treatment that sex offenders receive. CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is the psycho-social intervention utilized to focus on maladaptive behavior and thought process in order to improve regulation, emotions and change an offender’s attitude toward their actions. CBT not only provides assistance in assessing risk factors for reoffending, it can help offenders develop new behaviors/ideas that will avoid deviant behaviors, in addition to aiding in the reduction of the offender committing further offenses (Farkas & Miller, 2008). A study conducted by Craig, Browne, and Stringer found that CBT had an 8% recidivism rate in comparison to other forms of therapy (Mpofu et al., 2018). Additionally, it has shown promise in being the most effective treatment for juvenile sex offenders.

The downfall to this particular treatment is that it is not effective if the offender refuses to admit guilt or that they committed a crime in the first place. In order for CBT to work, the offender must willingly attend, be open to changing their thoughts, actions, and want to problem solve in a different manner. In Farkas & Miller’s journal article, Sex Offender Treatment: Reconciling Criminal Justice Priorities and Therapeutic Goals, they informed that studies have been conducted in order to determine whether or not forcing offenders to attend treatment was an effective deterent to future crimes (2008). One study’s findings explained that due to therapy being mandated that some sex offenders were able to benefit from treatment by reducing distorted views and behaviors (Farkas & Miller, 2008).

Due to the nature of the crime and varying levels of classification, it is important that the most appropriate form of treatment is identified for the offender. When therapy is just not the right fit, other more intensive treatments are options for rehabilitation of sex offenders. One form of treatment adopted by some states is chemical castration for violent sex offenders. The offender is provided with a hormone suppressant that reduces a male’s libido (Chittom, 2018). The treatment is only effective when the offender receives the treatment routinely. Discontinuation of the treatment reverses its effect. In other states, they have adopted surgical castration. This is the treatment of last resort. Men would have to had received therapy, chemical castration and various other therapies in order to be a candidate for surgical castration. The process is as simple as removal of the male testes to eliminate their sex drive, therefore nearly eliminating the probability that a sex offender will reoffend.

Upon successful completion of treatment and their prison term, sex offenders are still within the criminal justice systems perview due to some states requiring them to receive gps ankle monitors, other states impose restrictive measures such as not being able to live within a pre-determned distance from schools, daycares, parks or other areas that children frequent; along with the aforementioned Sex Offender Resigstry.

My opinion on the sex offender treatment rehabilitation debate is a mix of both punishment and rehabilitation. We should spend more on rehabilitation of youth sex offenders than to spend on adult offenders, especially those with multiple offenses. The focus for offenders with multiple offenses should be punishment and for them to not be able to rejoin society because of the danger they pose to society. I believe in prevention. Juvenile offenders lack the insight and knowledge that adult offenders have due to their not having the same developmental capacity as an adult. Should one terrible act define the rest of their young life?

With youth sex offenders there is a high probability that they committed the crime due to it being learned behavior. When behaviors are learned by the offender being a victim or witnessing these acts, no matter how maladaptive or deviant, they become normalized behaviors without therapy and treatment to process the trauma. In a journal article by Bitna Kim, et al., CBT has become one of the most effective forms of treatment for juvenile sex offenders. This treatment is beneficial for juveniles because developmentally they are still learning and growing, thus CBT restructures their thought processes and emotions to bring about change in their behaviors (Kim et al, 2015). For adult offenders it is a much different story.

The negative impact of sex offenders to the victims are endless. Sex crimes take away the victim’s dignity, autonomy, emotional and social growth. They not only take away their sense of safety, but the trauma has a long lasting effect on every area of their life. In serious cases, left without treatment, victims have low self-esteem, develop mental illness, abuse substances, engage in risky behaviors, commit crimes, become perpetrators or commit suicide (Hall & Hall, 2011). I believe in indefinite incarceration or civil commitment for adult sex offenders which are classified as Level 2 and 3 offenders due to the potential deterimental consequences on the victims and society if they were to reoffend. With lifelong incarceration the probability of recidivism will cease to exist. While being incarcerated for life, they will be mandated to attend therapy and other treatments.

Regardless of society or court’s preferred method of dealing with sexual offenders, one must weigh any offense with it’s impact on society and measure it against the history of the offender. It would behoove a society not to simply marginalize offenders. Extreme sentencing, which can be found in many areas of the criminal justice system, not just in the areas of sexual offenses, may provide a sense of closure to victims or supporters of victims, but fail to acknowledge the humanity of the offender.

Often zero tolerance approaches, or judgements based on dogma may be the easiest to apply. Yet, a measured approach is often what is necessary. What one should fear is overly punishing edge cases. Since the law is meant to be impartial, or blind, it is imperative of those drafting policies, to consider all possible offenses and plan for their accompanying method of punishment and rehabilitation. Moreover, a focus on data and quantifiable evidence of one method’s success over its counter, may lead to the greatest net gain in positive outcomes as a whole.

NEGATIVE: Abstinence is a window of clarity through which one can better find one’s work and one’s mate.

— Lance Morrow, an American essayist and writer for Time Magazine

Introduction

Hello Judge. My name is Preston Peterson, and I am the first speaker for the negative side of the resolution: The United States Board of Education should continue to teach abstinence in schools as it is the most effective way to prevent teen pregnancy. Abstinence-only sex education is defined as a: morality-based approach that focuses on encouraging students to refrain from engaging in sexual activity until they are married. This approach presents abstinence as the expected standard for teen behavior, as well as the only fail-proof method of preventing STIs and unwanted pregnancy. (Sex Education, 2017)

Supporters of this form of sex education prefer it from a comprehensive standpoint because they believe the “teachings undercut family values, promote wanton sexual activity and, in effect, cause teen pregnancy and disobedience” (Comprehensive, 2013, p. 18). In addition, they have a strong belief that premarital sex is threatening to the physical and emotional well being of a growing teenager as they develop into young adults. Typically, abstinence supporters feel as if it is their given parental right to instruct their children on the basis of sex and their own religious and personal beliefs revolving around the topic; saying that the education system infringes on their right as a parent and a citizen in the United States as the first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law […] prohibiting the free exercise” of religion by American citizens” (Comprehensive, 2013, p. 18). Our opponents are against the teaching of abstinence sex education so they will be arguing the fact that the comprehensive approach is the most effective way to teach sex education. Proposition 1. Abstinence is the only true way to prevent pregnancy and protect against STDs; Proposition 2. Abstinence helps prevent physical and mental harm that are effects of premature sex.

Proposition 1

Majority of advocates for a comprehensive approach to sex education argue that due to their methods of teaching, teen pregnancy rates have dropped significantly. This is true, however:

The rates of teen pregnancy in the United States are in decline; but even so, 2 out of every 100 teenagers in the U.S. become pregnant. In 2015, more than 220,000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth. Most are adolescents living below the poverty line, minorities, and those in rural communities. (Langford, 2018)

The teen pregnancy rate continues to remain the highest and therefore reaps repercussions which is a “substantial economic cost to society” (Langford, 2018). This is displayed in 2010 when “teen pregnancy and subsequent childbirth resulted in nearly $9.4 billion dollars in public costs for prenatal care, labor and delivery, postpartum care, and first year of infant life care” (Langford, 2018). This method also reflects overall American values as surveys showed that “90 percent of parents want their children to be taught abstinence in school” (Sex Education, 2017). There is evidence of effectiveness based from the principles that stem from the practice and teachings of abstinence that were shown in seventeen studies that were conducted throughout the years. These studies reported “statistically significant positive results, such as delayed sexual initiation and reduced levels of early sexual activity, among youths who have received abstinence education” (Kim, 2010). These programs offer preparation pointed at making a difference in young people in order for them to create a solid ethical character, work out self-discipline, make capable choices, and center on their future (Sex Education, 2017).

Proposition 2

Abstinence helps prevent physical and mental harm that are effects of premature sex. For example, “delaying sexual activity until adulthood improves students’ academic performance and makes them more likely to graduate from college, thus increasing their employment options and reducing their chances of living in poverty” (Langford, 2018). “Abstinence programs also provide youths with valuable life and decision-making skills that lay the foundation for personal responsibility and developing healthy relationships and marriages later in life” (Kim, 2010). Through the utilization of these programs, it will allow teenagers to engage their time in planning for their future and allowing them to have a better understanding of who they are. Research has shown that “abstinent teens report, on average, better psychological well-being and higher educational attainment than those who are sexually active” (Kim, 2010). In recent years, a survey was conducted online by Seventeen magazine and the Ms. Foundation which discovered that majority of people that chose to engage in sexual activities before marriage experienced increased levels of remorse and the feeling of being peer pressured. The survey reached out to a thousand 13 to 21 year-olds, which found that an overwhelming 81 percent of the girls who had already had sex wished they’d waited until they were older; and 60 percent of the boys had agreed (Hymowitz, 2016). This only further proves the idea that adolescents should wait until marriage to prevent regrets in their adult lives as well as further disappointments until they are able to find the correct moral guidance in a world that “glamorizes sexual freedom” (Hymowitz, 2016).

Conclusion

Today’s youthful individuals confront solid peer pressure to lock in unsafe behavior and must explore media and prevalent culture that underwrite and indeed glamorize tolerance and casual sex (Kim, 2010). “Teenagers who engage in sexual activity risk a host of negative outcomes including STD infection, emotional and psychological harm, lower educational attainment, and out-of-wedlock childbearing” (Kim, 2010). Having an authentic abstinence education is therefore crucial to the physical and mental well-being of the nation’s youth (Kim, 2010). “In addition to teaching the benefits of abstaining from sexual activity until marriage, abstinence programs focus on developing character traits that prepare them for the future” (Kim, 2010). This is not only for the benefit of the parents as it should be their rightful decision to decide what is best for their children and not the choice of the school; but also for the child itself as to avoid any unnecessary circumstances to arise from engaging in any form of sexual activity that they may later learn to regret. Thank you for your time judge, and please vote negative.

References

1. Comprehensive v. Abstinence-Only Sex Education in Public Schools: A Debate over Individual Health and Religious Belief, 13-33. (2013). Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:i0VZ-7rDEWkJ:https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/spea/article/download/16413/pdf_4/ &cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
2. Hymowitz, K. S. (2016, January 26). Regrets on Teen Sex. Retrieved from https://www.city-journal.org/html/regrets-teen-sex-12294.html
3. Kim, C., & Rector, R. (2010, February 19). Evidence on the Effectiveness of Abstinence Education: An Update. Retrieved from https://www.heritage.org/education/report/evidence-the-effectiveness-abstinence-education-update
4. Langford, A. (2018, August 07). Preventing Teen Pregnancy: The Impact of Dolls, Abstinence, and Sex Education. Retrieved from http://www.center4research.org/preventing-teen-pregnancy-impact-dolls-abstinence-sex-education/
5. Sex Education. (2017). In Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit, MI: Gale. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3021900154/OVIC?u=avlr&sid=OVIC&xid=f8aa5cd4