Spitzer and johns walked free when prostitutes were jailed: how is this justice and equality?
One former madam in New York escort business is starting a petition against Eliot Spitzer becoming a host on CNN. Understandably enough, she was outraged that Spitzer walked free regardless of his involvement in the prostitution ring while other prostitutes who were involved in the same crime served jail timing a few years ago. Under the current New York legislation, though soliciting or promoting prostitution is a crime, a john without a prior criminal history, like Spitzer, can walk free. But, the question rises on how effective such criminal system to punish prostitutes but give a jail free card to johns would be in abolishing sex trafficking. Should the prostitutes be the only ones who are accountable for the crime?
Swedish system shows johns should be accountable
Sweden criminalized prostitution in 1999. However, instead of punishing women who are in prostitution, the legislation punishes men for purchasing sex from women and children. The principle and policy behind such legislation is as follows:[1]
"in agreement with other feminists worldwide, they concluded that prostitution was another patriarchal tool of oppression that has deleterious effects on the women and girls who are induced and kept in prostitution, as well as an extreme form of male violence used to control female human beings as a class.
As a result of implementation, Sweden was able to drop the number of men buying sex as well as the number of prostitutes in the country.
Prostitutes are locked up but not johns
The current legislation on prostitution in New York still very much blame women for their oppression and involvement in prostitution. In fact, as our society embraces the ideas that boys will be boys and that men need to "douse his internal fire at local brothels", Johns, just like Eliot Spitzer, get away with promoting prostitution in the state. But, only the prostitutes are punished for the crime. However, no one, including the lawmakers and CNN, seems to recognize the injustice behind such system.
What Spitzer's new career at CNN implies
Spitzer is about to have another career breakout as a CNN host. This has much deeper implication to sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women in the U.S. than what it seems on the surface level. It sends messages to johns and the American public that exploitation of women in prostitution is not a big deal because they are there to be exploited and 2) that one can exploit prostitutes but our society is forgiving to men visiting prostitutes in general.
If Spitzer were Swedish, he not only would have been asked to step down from his position but also paid the penalty for his crime. Spitzer, under Swedish legislation, would have had to pay either a fine of his 40 days' salary or spend 6 months in jail. Granted Swedish prostitution and sex trafficking are much lower than the U.S., Sweden takes men buying sex more seriously than the U.S.
Importance of addressing johns, the buyers of sex
In 2009, Melissa Farley, the founder of prostitution research & education, published an interesting studies on johns or the buyers of sex. According to research study, johns knowledge that the prostitutes were sex trafficking victims or children do not stop them from prostituting them. Also, in summary conclusion, the study states as follows:
Legalisation and prostitution tolerance zones encouraged men to buy sex. Several men explained that once having visited areas where prostitution is legal or promoted, they returned to UK with a renewed dedication to buying sex even if that practice is illegal.
Such research study teaches one lessons in fighting against sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children. First, unless one addresses johns as the real source of demand, sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children will not stop. No matter what the feminists yell and scream about sex trafficking victims and children exploited in prostitution, john will not stop sleeping with them just because johns are aware of the women and children's victim status. Second, johns visit brothels because they can. the lighter their visit to brothels the society considers, more likely they will prostitute women.
Currently, the U.S. government takes the initiative to fight against human trafficking around the world. In an effort of doing so, it is generating a worldwide report on human trafficking every year. It also has implemented many legislations to equal rights between women and men. Yet, the U.S. government seems to neglect the real demand factor of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of women on its own soil. Similarly, it does not recognize the inequality and injustice in locking away prostitutes but not Eliot Spitzer.
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