Is Prostitution Harmful?

Is prostitution harmful?," Journal Medical Ethics, by Ole Martin Moen, Professor of Philosophy at U. of Oslo, Norway. August 28, 2012--A common argument against prostitution states that selling sex is harmful because it involves selling something deeply personal and emotional. More and more of us, however, believe that sexual encounters need not be deeply personal and emotional in order to be acceptable—we believe in the acceptability of casual sex. In this paper I argue that if casual sex is acceptable, then we have few or no reasons to reject prostitution. I do so by first examining nine influential arguments to the contrary. These arguments purport to pin down the alleged additional harm brought about by prostitution (compared to just casual sex) by appealing to various aspects of its practice, such as its psychology, physiology, economics and social meaning. For each argument I explain why it is unconvincing. I then weight the costs against the benefits of prostitution, and argue that, in sum, prostitution is no more harmful than a long line of occupations that we commonly accept without hesitation.

Commentary

CMA VP for Government Relations, Jonathan Imbody: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…. [T] hey became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools…" Romans 1:18, 21, 22 (NASB)

"In "The God Who is There, Francis Schaeffer traces the fallacies of modern philosophers, such as this author, for "defining terms without dealing with meaning and purpose." They reject the biblical notion of the knowable reality of God, revelation and absolute truth in favor of their own opinions. Philosopher professor Ole Martin Moen, the author of this article, asserts that "sex need not always be romantically significant in order to be permissible" (emphasis added). What does he mean, permissible? Morally? On what grounds, since he denies absolute truth and morality?

"Moen suggests that the harms of prostitution may not be inherent but simply the result of stigma and laws prohibiting prostitution. He cites past stigma against homosexuality as a parallel, arguing that "statistics [on disease and other harms experienced by homosexuals] were insufficient to establish that there was anything harmful inherent in being a homosexual or in engaging in homosexual practice." Certainly stigma can inhibit testing for the AIDS virus, but to suggest that physical harms such as contracting disease are not an inherent risk of sexual behavior outside marriage is quite a stretch. "Moen argues that "prostitution--though, like most occupations, it has its downsides--is not harmful either."

"This Portrait of Exploitation timeline photo of prostituted women visually drives home the results of prostitution. Few if any physicians, who daily see real prostituted patients who have been violently and sometimes lethally harmed by real diseases and abuse, would condone prostitution. Nor would parents who have lost their children to prostitution."

Christian Doctor's Digest interview with Dr. Bill and Laurie Bolthouse

Trade of Innocents Story

CMDA Human Trafficking Resource Pages

Human Trafficking Continuing Education Credits