This is very old debate among developmental professionals because its very complex and complicated . Prostitution is one of the many professions which is done for livelihood. It is well understood that sex workers are in the profession for their livelihood but as the profession is illegal, only those clients come to them who does not care the laws.

How legalization will protect sex workers?

Its banned in India, but we do see minors trafficked in the prostitution. Also, most of the girls are forced into this profession (at best of my knowledge) by exploiting their some eco-edu weakness. If this is legalized. Does our government has a capacity to regulate it to the fullest extent and will it stop forced prostitution and minors entrants? Will it stop pimps from exploiting innocents? how?

Prostitution is side effect of of institutionalization of relationship between male and female which does not assure love or even sexual pleasure. People those who visit to the brothel also protest prostitution publicly.

It should be legalized. As we know it cant be eradicated so Why not make it organized and atleast help those poor sex workers out by giving proper sex education and help them controlling AIDS.

1)    Yes they are important part of the society. No matter how despicable the profession may seem, I am sure it prevents many more rape cases from happening. Every now and then when I hear the news of a 13-14 yrs old girl being raped, I say to myself "Damn aren't there enough prostitutes around or are they too expensive."

2) Tough question. Legalization would probably mean that more and more college girls taking it up (?) as it is happening in some metros. Who would want that?


Prostitution is surely a bitter pill to swallow. There is a topic in "interfaith dialogue" about prostitution and every atheists are with the opinion that it should be legalized. This is not unusual for atheistic view but it make me wonder whether any atheist in this community especially from India who does not support it.


My views on this topic:-

Legalization of prostitution is just like legalizing sales & production of wine & beer, tobacco products, drugs & harmful chemicals. Similar to prostitution, all these products have their pros & cons and the cons are more dangerous than we can imagine if allowed to exist freely without legal intervention. They are evils that can not be avoided and therefore, must be controlled. I do not see prostitution as an immoral activity as long as no one is forced into it. If both grown up adults consent to the act, I do not see anything wrong in it. Lets forget about theistically logic at this moment, ignoring the word "immoral" we will look into the real cons of indulging into this trade.

Atheism believe that nothing is wrong in practicing any business if "both grown up adults consent to the act" and it harm no one. Think beyond it! Does it really not harming anyone indirectly/directly? There are no wives who would agree with the infidelity of their husbands. There are no girlfriends who would like her boyfriend to share his property on rent with another females.

Prostitution in India is another word for exploitation. Sex workers are afraid to deal directly with the customers, so they took the service of a pimp who used to exploit them. Even if there is no pimp, the sex workers will be exploited by the public who does not like them or by the obsessed youngsters who have been cheated by his Girl friend, or a frustrated husband. Almost every celebrities in the west (Hollywood) do not have stable relationship in their married life, how much liberal they are and also atheism spread very fast. Most of them are not religious. The well known reason for the divorce we came to know is infidelity on either side.

Few suggestions to control this evil after legalization is given below:-

1. Allow only brothels in a specified locality by issuing license to them because controlling individual sex workers who operate in a disperse area is almost impossible.

2. Issue identity cards for all sex workers and frame the criteria for eligibility. Allow only the downtrodden, those person who really doesn’t have any other means of livelihood. Investigating officers will do the job to check the eligibility criteria.

3. If the prostitute already have children, that is fine, but the government should take measures to see that no new children is born. This is due to the fact that children can never be taken care properly. They will never receive the motherly, fatherly love as required for all children to grow & develop into a qualified human being. They will suffer psychologically. Also, the place where they come have become a public property for dumping.

Sex workers are exploited because it is illegal activity and also they are outcast by the community. Once we legalize and also acknowledge that as a career, then some day they will be recognized by the society. Only then the exploitation will go down.

I do support the legalisation of prostitution if the sex workers are organized and they do not bear children. I would call it a career only if it is similar to porn stars like the one I know, Janine. In other word, I would support them if their acts are visible enough, for example, a wife knows about her husband taking the service of a sex worker. I appreciate the prostitution business in india if it looks like in the west where a sex worker took it a career, remain single for lifetime, have enough money to save in her old age and if she is not responsible for the divorce of a married couple, its fine. It is really her own business, I don’t like to mind. But this will never happen in India may be for 100 years more.


Prostitution has deeper social impact than just "married men going to the whorehouse". I support legalizing it for the following reasons:

From the men's point of view:

Sex is a basic human need. It is important that this need is satisfied in a legitimate manner. In India, in the metropolitan areas, dating and pre-marital sex may be common now a days, but in rural areas guys still wait until they get married. If the sexual desire is not channelized properly this will lead to unwanted consequences. Homosexuality, child sexual abuse, drug addiction and rape are some of such consequences. Remember, in India, lot of these things go unreported.

From the women's point of view:

It is indeed a great career. I have seen few documentaries based on sex workers from Calcutta and Mumbai.Their kids go for convent education in private schools. Many were interviewed for this documentary and no one gives a damn about their profession. They didn’t look exploited at all. These are the sex workers from the legalized red light districts.


Legalization would provide better security for women, not just the ones into this profession but also women at large.The denial of the oldest profession is a sheer hypocrisy. Religious dogma, which clearly favors men over women and treating women as property leads to a deadly conclusion and it ends up in pervert practices like:

Sati- burning of widowed women in India
Parda/ Burqua- enslaving women behind a Vail


It will help in curbing the spread of AIDS and other STD's(sexually transmitted diseases)because Govt. can educate and provide necessary material to legalized prostitutes. Today many sex-workers are deprived of enough knowledge about the STDs, which results in their falling prey to the former. If we legalize it, or in a layman's language regulate their activities, and make it mandatory to attend the course on STDs, we can save many lives, and these lives will not only of the sex-workers.

People who have been forced into this profession should be rehabilitated. Its kind of like saying legalize drugs with some regulations saying that You can buy only so much each day !Why make it a prospective profession for women ? Such a law would be the first step in destroying whatever civilization Humanity has now. Some countries do have such laws but I am not sure if the rationale behind those nations actions would apply to us !!

The sex-workers of course should not and thus don’t operate in the residential areas. So the kids and teenage daughters would not ask you awkward questions.

I have read somewhere that if this legalization happens, more and more women will be attracted towards this "profession"( or the easy money it offers) and at a stage we will not be able to stop our mothers and sisters. it is said that many unmarried Japanese girls make the money for dowry through prostitution.

Prostitution( means to indulge in sex for money and other monetary benefits) and pimping, are mean jobs. Though sex is a basic necessity, i think it serves a purpose of increasing self confidence and love towards our partner and builds a sense of compassion between human beings which will be absent in prostitution. And considering the situation of ladies in so called red light areas I think they need rehabilitation and love rather than legal protection to continue their "profession"

I have read somewhere that "prostitution should be legalized for the SAFETY of SOCIETY". Here the speaker (It is obvious that he supports prostitution or sex workers or whatever it is) agrees that society is something that needs to be secured and protected. This is a contradictory statement. What safety would the society have if prostitution becomes a legally-approved "profession"? I consider family as the basic unit of Society. Ask the ladies in your family what they feel if their men goes behind another ladies. I would like to call prostitution as PROSTITUTION only even if it is legalized.. To stop rape and other abuses against women, our social order has to be changed.. I think legalizing prostitution as a profession to prevent rape and such crimes may make any difference in future

Simple Economics
Demand = Supply

Demand: There is definitely a demand. Lots of sad little people who can't get it from elsewhere or just want a change or whatever.

Supply: There are people who, if the money is right are willing to do it. (i am talking both males and females, it isn't true that there are only female prostitutes).So many Poor girls(in India)are forced into this unethical, unholy business to earn money! Do the prostitution supporters have any solidarity towards them?. But it is not unethical nor unholy. It just commercializes the most primal of needs. There are many people in this business who are perfectly happy with the money. I think legalizing prostitution is the best way to save lives and reduce a large criminal element - you can stop a lot of underground black-marketeering because it's no longer black market, but now legitimate. This means it is a lot easier to apply controls on safety and things like ages of prostitutes (getting rid of child prostitution). Because it is not something that will ever be stopped. There will always be a market, and there will always be people willing to service that market. If you legalise it at least you can protect the safety of people who are in the industry because they have little choice.

Inadvertently it is also going to do damage to larger organized crime that gets income from prostitution and prostitution kick-backs - because it's no longer illegal and so there isn't the big 'kickback industry' surrounding it. Thousands of young people work there, many leaving their family far behind them. It is a pity they have to go to unhygienic places. Government can legalize it but it will lead to the burden of maintaining it which may be costly. Singapore has both male and female prostitutes. On ethical grounds it is to be legalized and they need 24 hr police protection also. It is due to the mistake of government, of concentrating everything in cities and so let it spend for it and also pay like any other IT industries. Rather even more as they can not work for long.

There are also some reasons to prostitution should not be legalized,
1) It would encourage trafficking children into the flesh trade without any legal barrier.
2) Ask a prostitute, is it her Chosen profession?
3) Legalization of a crime does not validate it - Yes, I say 'crime' not only because it is morally wrong. I say this because thousands of innocent children & adolescents are being lured and / or forced into prostitution everyday. Legalizing it would give a premium to the culprits and the flesh traders.
4. This may possibly endanger the family structure; if sex is freely and legally available outside the home
5.There will be still no social respect for sex-workers
6. Bad career option
7. The legalisation of prostitution would render the country in question a destination for sex tourism.
8. Legalization/decriminalization of prostitution does not control the sex industry. It expands it.

Prostitution isn't a crime as long as the prostitute wants to provide services. Sex doesn't need any moral justification. The comparison to murderers won't be correct as I don't think that prostitution is really harming anybody. A person wants sex, but doesn't have a partner so she goes and buys herself one. It's as simple as that. It is called prostitution when you pay and get the services. There are a lot of people actively involved with many but still not called as prostitutes. since they do not get money. Such people will join the profession if there is no social stigma. As for as moral values are concerned, there is nothing wrong if you openly do it. I have to remain honest for the love of it but not to be called as a honest man. Everybody wants to live in happy peaceful atmosphere but this society has produced lot of imbalances. It is for those people who are suffering with hunger and not for those who eats regularly. Due to a young widower there may be lot of problems. So we advocate remarriage but if remarriage is not possible then what is the solution. Forego the pleasure may be one but if he/she is so weak hearted then where he will go. He will corrupt the happy family.

Countries where prostitution is legal:
Canada, England, France, Wales, Denmark, Mexico ,Israel, Australia, Thailand, Philippines, New Zealand.

As in my opinion, the main reasons for AIDS is that Men are not ready to use contraceptive tools during sex. Lack of concern in sex workers for contraceptives is also one of the reason.

And If the prostitution is legalized, the sex workers will be more free and they will come out in open will try to get as many as customers they can and they want to, which will again give rise to prostitution. We cannot presume that every sex worker is using contraceptive.. Would any Indian husband allow his wife to have sex with some other male? I think atleast 75% of the husbands will say 'NO'.


Legalisation Of Prostitution In India Will not work and How to Eradicate it:
The country should uphold morals of chastity and self control and not legalize Prostitution. Prostitution cant be legalized . The society will degenerate . The future of the country are its youth . This will license immorality and soon we can expect a lot of bad culture in India amongst the youth and the citizens. Talking about Sex being a Human need and if not satisfied this will result in depression is only giving a excuse . Ones sexual needs can be curbed by abstinence and spirituality . Loyalty to the spouse and restrain before marriage should be advocated instead.

We should be talking about eradication of Prostitution to the extent possible instead of voicing concern over the Prostitutes plight and AIDS and STD .This is the true solution. I need not reverbalize that this profession is sinful and Any person who is hardworking can earn a decent income and prostitution is a wrong choice of profession. Instead we should be talking of rehabilitation of the Prostitutes into decent jobs and closure of illegal business in all respects to the extent possible.

Sexual Desire is a vice which needs to be curbed coz those indulging in it have no end of desire. This cant be emphasized more! The more this is encouraged the more strong roots it will form , and then there can be little hope for good civic society that condones and encourages these things. I would rather suggest that the Punishment for prostitution be made more severe .Also for those vultures mentioned above , nothing less than life long imprisonment or dealth penalty. I hear in the newspaper often that women are sold for prostitution. People rape there own kids and children . If you legalize prostitution what next. Then the wimps will find a legal way to bring more women into this filthy profession. who can stop them then.

If we accept that a woman owns her body, she also has the right to decide what she does with it including using it for commerce. Coercion, trafficking, child prostitution, criminalization, STD, AIDS and all other ills associated with prostitution are the result of making it illegal and not its cause. In a truly free society a woman who earns her money through sex would live with the same dignity as every one else.

Legalization will certainly help identifying sex workers, and specially those who are in the profession because they don't have other skills can be given opportunities to find alternative employment. Children of prostitutes who have no other skills will also have opportunities to move away from this lifestyle.