Prostitution

"Prostitution describes the act of sexual intercourse in exchange for money. However, its definition may be extended loosely to include any sexual act for any type of remuneration; depending on the location where the act occurs. In different regions around the world, punishment for prostitution varies from the death penalty to complete legality. A woman who engages in sexual intercourse with only one man for support is a mistress.
The term is used, loosely, to indicate someone who engages in sexual acts that are disapproved;[1] whether acts outside of marriage, or as a means to an affluent life style or the status associated with the customer. Cultural usage varies widely, and the use of the term as a pejorative indicates acts that are not formally considered prostitution in a cultural context."

(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution>)

Although I think that prostitution is wrong, I can see why people turn to selling their body. If times get hard or money is scarce, it is an easy way to earn money if you are able to emotionally disengage yourself. If someone is homeless, they are unable to obtain a job due to having no home address, but as prostitution is illegal, no legal documents are needed. Earning money this way can often save someone's life, as they don;t have to go to sleep hungry.

However, many prostitutes often turn to drugs due to their lifestyle of living on the streets, and this can lead to a vicious cycle, often involving their sexual clients. The problems that prostitution initially solved are deepened as money becomes vital to pay-off drug dealers.

I think prostitution is especially wrong if the person has children, as this can have a huge impact on their lives and may eventually lead them along the same path. I read a magazine article recently about a married mother who prostitues herself because she does not feel wanted by her husband, but does not want the complications of embarking upon an affair. However, I think prostitution is much worse than infidelity.

Prostitution in adults is not always a voluntary choice, but it is not as bad as child prostitution, where the children are forced into it, and have no means of escape. Adults take advantage of their vulnerability, and it is a form of paedophilia, except worse, because the people actually pay to have sexual intercourse with children.

""For a great part of 1992 I lived in a beautiful apartment on Capitol Hill. I drove my expensive car. I bought lovely clothes and travelled extensively out of the country. For the first time in my 20 years as an adult woman, I paid my own way. There was no need to worry about affording my rent, my phone bill, all the debts one accumulates simply by living month to month. I felt invincible. And I was miserable to the core. I hated myself because I hated my life. All the things I came to possess meant nothing. I could not face myself in the mirror. Working in prostitution lost my soul."" Survivor interviewed by Debra Boyer, Lynn Chapman and Brent Marshall in Survival Sex in King County: Helping Women Out (1993), King County Women;s Advisory Board, Northwest Resource Associates, Seattle.