Discussion
You are required to identify and critically analyze a specific sex crime problem in terms of how it is socially constructed as a problem in history, media, current research and legislation/policing/courts.
The street prostitution is involved with the solicitation of the customers from a common public places, especially from the streets. The sex workers also get customers from other public places such as benches, parks and other public places (Crofts and Brents 2014). The sex workers engaged in this activity are dressed in a provocative manner and they give various options to the customers where the sex act may be performed. There are various places where the sex act may be conducted such as the customer’s car, apartment of the sex worker, rented room or in a secluded street area (Crofts and Brents 2014). The feminist theory of the street prostitution emphasizes on the fact the women’s poverty is one of the reasons of the phenomenon and also due to the patriarchal society in which the males hold dominant figure in the heterosexual relationships (Crofts and Brents 2014). The women are merely treated as sex objects, the sole purpose of whom is to give pleasure to men.
This kind of prostitution is often banned in countries and they are considered as illegal, even when the other forms of prostitution may be allowed in those countries. In Australia, the street prostitution is strictly prohibited, except the area of New South Wales, where it is legal (Sanders 2017). The sex prostitution is considered as a social problem as it degrades the morality of the society. This act is often degrading to womanhood and in many cases women are beaten, robbed and raped while doing the sexual acts. This essay would discuss the issue of street prostitution in detail and how it is socially constructed as a serious in the history, legislation, and media.
Problem of Sex Prostitution
The street prostitution is one of the many forms of the human trafficking in which there is implied sexual exploitation (Crofts and Brents 2014). The concept of prostitution is concerned with the selling of sex and it is directly related with the financial factor (Crofts and Brents 2014). There are evidences of instances when the women are forced into the act as they have no other option than to support her family.
As opined by Peiss (2016), the historical representation of the street prostitution concerning the sexuality of the working class. During the period of 1880-1920, there was an urban subculture in which the young women were found to be engaged in premarital sexual acts on the public places such as theater, dance hall, streets and often workplaces (Crofts and Brents 2014). They were working class women and hence they had the freedom to enter in the pleasure marketplace (Peiss 2016). Experts opined that this was an increasing social problem as the idea of premarital sex, social nature of sex and the awkward advances of women were degrading to the moral standards of the society.
Problem of Sex Prostitution
As argued by Nagy and Powell (2016), the Red Light District of Sydney is a controversial area in which there are considerable debates regarding the highly progressive policies. This area is often perceived as a “free zone of entertainment” for gaining adult fun (Aalbers and Sabat 2012). Experts opine that the cultural globalization has been instrumental in the visible format of prostitution displayed in Sydney.
Problem of Sex Prostitution displayed in media
Hall (2012) opines that the period after 1880 has witnessed major changes in the behavior, attitudes and the various gender relations, which has also impacted the degree of street prostitution. There have been clear connections between street prostitution, poverty and requirements for survival (Nagy and Powell 2016). There were several social debates that regarding the highest class of sex workers like Skittles who always mixed with the social elite class. There are often issues of kerb crawling, a term which is concerned with the act of soliciting one person for the act of driving the motor vehicle in areas where there is a prevalence of street prostitution (O’neill 2013).
Social construct of prostitution
The findings of Campbell (2015) reveal that the street prostitution is considered as “public nuisance” many parts of Australia. The behavior of the prostitutes is also often witnessed as a criminal offence. The criminal offence is often caused due to the visible prostitution through the common mass and hence it is considered as a nuisance (Nagy and Powell 2016). The nuisance behavior of the street prostitutes often leads to disturbances in the surrounding community, which is degrading for the social environment (Campbell 2015). The public places like parks are meant for appropriate for societal interactions and hence this act is supposed to have a degrading effect on the emotional well-being of younger population (Campbell 2015). In fact, the sex-workers often display anti-social behavior, which is not acceptable to the society. This has resulted in the viewing of the street prostitution as a “sex crime” problem.
Legal nature of prostitution
The findings of Cook (2013) reveal that the street prostitution is not supported legally in most parts of the world. This is because of the fact this phenomenon do more harm to women. There instances of abuses and undue advantages taken by the pimps when they find girls standing on the streets at the wee hours of night (Campbell 2015). In fact, there are also increased instances of the sexually transmitted diseases among the street sex workers (Cho, Dreher and Neumayer 2013). This is also due to the fact that there is innumerable unprotected sex and hence the health of the women community is at stake. As found out by Love (2015), the street prostitutes suffer from noticeable health disparities since they are not exposed to the healthcare benefits at a consistent basis. The female sex workers are more susceptible to increased instances of mental disorders, HIV/AIDS, violence and physical/mental health issues (Cho, Dreher and Neumayer 2013). This is also one of the reasons that street prostitution is considered as a social evil, which is not only degrading the moral standards of the society but it is also deteriorating the health status of the community.
Problem of Sex Prostitution displayed in media
It is highly argued that legal nature of the prostitution would eliminate many problems associated with the issues of street prostitution (Cho, Dreher and Neumayer 2013). If the conditions are right, then the legal nature of the street prostitution would lead to an increase in the safety, health and the job satisfaction of the sex workers (Shannon et al. 2015). The street workers should also be encouraged to engage in the use of condoms and the several other safe-sex practices, which are often mandatory in legal brothels.
Criminal nature of prostitution
The findings of Kingston and Thomas (2017) reveal that the street prostitution is a serious and controversial issue as there is a perceived risk of crime. This is because of the fact that there are certain undesirable outcomes of street prostitution such as soliciting male residents in particular areas, prepositioning of the women residing in local areas and others (Cho, Dreher and Neumayer 2013). The state governments of several countries have used “Anti-social behavior orders” (ASBO) and other civil injunctions have played a major role in reducing kerb crawling and soliciting activities. This has also lead to the protection of the local communities against the distress, harm and alarm (Kingston and Thomas 2017).
The prostitution of Australia is governed by the state as well as territory laws in which the country is said to be fairly homogenous in the attitude towards the sex work (Silverstein 2017). There are different prostitution laws in different parts of Australia.
Conclusion
Any form of activity which exposes the female population into morally degrading behavior and abuse would definitely consider as the social problem. The street prostitution has been an annoying offence which not only lowers the societal standards but also leads to health burden of the country. The street sex workers are often subjected to long hours of work and they are also not treated well by the society. This problem of street prostitution is haunting the society since a long time and it is going to be aggravated in the future also. There are instances when the street sex workers are considered as a public nuisance and hence they are considered as a “problem” in the society. Though there are several legislations that are being implemented to encourage prostitution, but the overall issue of street prostitution is made illegal in most of the countries.
There should be adequate laws that protect and safeguard the interests of the sex workers so that they get their respect and able to enjoy a better quality of life. The issue of street prostitution is important for the consideration of the society as this would lead to a better standard of living of the country’s population
References
Campbell, A., 2015. Sex work’s governance: Stuff and nuisance. Feminist Legal Studies, 23(1), pp.27-45.— https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10691-015-9279-3
Cho, S.Y., Dreher, A. and Neumayer, E., 2013. Does legalized prostitution increase human trafficking?. World Development, 41, pp.67-82.——- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X12001453
Cook, I., 2013. Sex, education and the city: The urban politics and pedagogies of Kerb Crawling Education Programmes. Imagining Urban Futures working paper 11). Retrieved from https://research. northumbria. ac. uk/urbanfutures.—– https://research.northumbria.ac.uk/urbanfutures/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Sex-education-and-the-city-The-urban-politics-and-pedagogies-of-KCEPs.pdf
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Hall, L.A., 2012. Sex, gender and social change in Britain since 1880. Palgrave Macmillan.— https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lzcdBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Hall,+L.A.,+2012.+Sex,+gender+and+social+change+in+Britain+since+1880.+Palgrave+Macmillan.&ots=pw–NWHMZL&sig=zFI4d-PtBXGKpXTpvoVb0d4fJgE#v=onepage&q&f=false
Kingston, S. and Thomas, T., 2017. The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014: implications for sex workers and their clients. Policing and Society, 27(5), pp.465-479.— https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10439463.2015.1072181
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Nagy, V. and Powell, A., 2016. Legalising Sex Work: The Regulation of Risk on Australian Prostitution Law Reform. Current Issues Crim. Just., 28, p.1. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/cicj28&div=5&id=&page=
O’neill, M., 2013. Prostitution and feminism: Towards a politics of feeling. John Wiley & Sons.– https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wcxFAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1953&dq=O%27neill,+M.,+2013.+Prostitution+and+feminism:+Towards+a+politics+of+feeling.+John+Wiley+%26+Sons.&ots=w2xZ4dynSY&sig=YRZ40t42t6rGopBwBQ6WuQ2L9M4#v=onepage&q=O’neill%2C%20M.%2C%202013.%20Prostitution%20and%20feminism%3A%20Towards%20a%20politics%20of%20feeling.%20John%20Wiley%20%26%20Sons.&f=false
Peiss, K., 2016. “Charity Girls” and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880–1920. Women in Culture: An Intersectional Anthology for Gender and Women’s Studies, p.214.– https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=C4w9DAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA214&dq=Peiss,+K.,+2016.+%E2%80%9CCharity+Girls%E2%80%9D+and+City+Pleasures:+Historical+Notes+on+Working-Class+Sexuality,+1880%E2%80%931920.+Women+in+Culture:+An+Intersectional+Anthology+for+Gender+and+Women%27s+Studies,+p.214.&ots=xYgH0fMNhm&sig=9yAQrI2xH9vwta9tnp4e2mzZF9E#v=onepage&q&f=false
Sanders, T., 2017. The Risks of Street Prostitution: Punters, Police. Feminist Theories of Crime, p.97.
Shannon, K., Strathdee, S.A., Goldenberg, S.M., Duff, P., Mwangi, P., Rusakova, M., Reza-Paul, S., Lau, J., Deering, K., Pickles, M.R. and Boily, M.C., 2015. Global epidemiology of HIV among female sex workers: influence of structural determinants. The Lancet, 385(9962), pp.55-71.– https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673614609314
Silverstein, B., 2017. ‘Possibly they did not know themselves’: the ambivalent government of sex and work in the Northern Territory Aboriginals Ordinance 1918. History Australia, pp.1-17.—– https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14490854.2017.135906
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