NCJ Number
202421
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 19 Issue: 76 Dated: September/October 2003 Pages: 4-11
Date Published
September 2003
Length
8 pages
Annotation
After describing the Netherlands' policy of legalized prostitution, this article examines the functions and dysfunctions of implementing this policy, and considers whether a policy of legalized prostitution can be effectively adopted in the United States.
Abstract
Since September 2000, prostitution in the Netherlands has been a legally licensable occupation. Estimates indicate there are currently 25,000 prostitutes living and working in the country. Although migrants from the European Union may legally practice prostitution in the Netherlands, immigrants from non-European Union countries who come to the Netherlands for the express purpose of employment as prostitutes are illegal. The most common form of prostitution occurs in brothels and sex clubs. Prostitutes do not normally register with the police, nor are they required to have regular health examinations. The Dutch view these requirements as violations of human rights protections and as unfair to prostitutes, since their clients are not required to register or have medical examinations. There are, however, special sexually transmitted disease health clinics in the red-light districts where prostitutes and their clients can have anonymous health checks for venereal disease. Condom use is viewed as more important than frequent or compulsory health checks. Most prostitutes no longer have pimps; legalization has made them independent entrepreneurs who set their own rates. Prostitutes, with the exception of those who work out of their own homes, must be licensed. This requires that they be legal residents, of majority age, and voluntarily enter into the practice. The arguments considered by the Dutch for and against legalizing prostitution are discussed under three major interrelated rubrics: the benefits and liabilities for the prostitute, the benefits and liabilities for the nature and extent of crime, and the benefits and liabilities for the community-at-large. In discussing whether the Netherland's policy toward prostitution is likely to be adopted in the United States, the author notes that, unlike the Netherlands, traditional religiously based moral values permeate legislative and policy decisions in American jurisdictions. Further, prostitutes and those who support the legalization of prostitution generally lack the political clout and organization necessary to achieve significant political and legislative change. Still, there is some evidence of winds of change, as a significant cadre of feminists, prostitute support groups, and liberals persist in urging the legalization of prostitution. A contributing influence is the movement toward accepting and even promoting diversity and individual differences in American society. A 15-item bibliography