Introduction
The current Canadian law that governs prostitution was introduced by the conservative Canadian government in June 2014 as Bill C-36 (Sampson 137-139). The law prohibits advertising or purchasing of sexual services and makes it illegal to live or depend on material benefits of sex work.
The law that governs prostitution in Canada has not changed significantly since it was introduced in 2014. The Canadian government continues to enforce this law despite the fact that there are many Canadians who do not like it and challenges it.
The main challenges of enforcing laws and controlling the behaviours/practice in question are that there many Canadians who engage in prostitution business, both sellers and buyers, and these people strongly oppose the law.
Although it seems victimless, prostitution is not a truly victimless crime as many victims are seriously hurt or even killed when engaging in prostitution.
The Canadian law governing prostitution does not violate civil liberties as it advocates for maintaining morality and reduction of prostitution activities which have many harms to the society.
The Key Arguments in Favour of Restricting or Criminalizing Prostitution
There are many arguments that have been raised in favour of restricting or criminalizing prostitution. Some of these arguments include the argument that prostitution is an immoral act that goes against the ethics of most societies, the argument that prostitution promote the cases of divorce and breaking other social relationships in the society, the argument that prostitution increases the cases of violence and other peace-disrupting scenarios in the society, the argument that prostitution is a job for the lazy people, especially women who do not want to get tired while working in ordinary jobs like their fellow women, among other arguments (Raymond 315-332). Most of these arguments are indeed true since prostitution is unethical and causes many harms to the people who engage in it and to the entire society.
The Key Arguments in Favour of Decriminalizing or Legalizing Prostitution
Despite being prohibited by the Canadian law, many people feel that prostitution is not a criminal activity, and so should be legalized. Many arguments have been raised in favour of decriminalizing or legalizing prostitution. One of the main arguments raised is that prostitution is a job like any other and so should be allowed as the prostitutes depend on it to sustain their lives and the lives of their families (Kempen 32-37). The other major arguments include the argument that prostitution can earn the government some revenue if legalized and thus should be legalized like the other economic activities, the argument that prostitution is a form of entertainment and pleasure like many other forms of entertainment and thus should be legalized, the argument that prostitution does little damages/harms unlike some other criminal activities, and thus should be allowed, among many other arguments.
My Opinion About the Issue of Prostitution
My opinion about prostitution is that prostitution is immoral and unethical, and so should not be legalized. Although some people defend prostitution by saying that it is a source of livelihood to the prostitutes, I believe that prostitutes can look for other sources of income other than selling their bodies to earn a living. Prostitution lowers the dignity of both men and women who engage in it and makes the whole society develop a negative attitude towards them. Therefore, for the sake of their own lives and the society they live in, people should avoid engaging in prostitution which has many negative impacts on their lives. To me, the fairest and the most appropriate response to prostitution would be banning it.
