Dear Editor,
Jamaica is a strange country in many ways; religion and sex are perfect examples. Our religion is largely based on puritanical, evangelical doctrines; while sexually, well, to put it politely, we show no restraint.
This strange anomaly can also be found in prostitution. For, while many a Jamaican male has engaged in a monetary transaction with a woman for sex, the people are against the legalisation or decriminalisation of prostitution.
Apart from the blatant hypocrisy that the position above entails, what irks me the most is that most of them miss the point of decriminalising prostitution. The point of decriminalisation is not to ‘free up’ the sex, as so many would have you think; but instead used to monitor, care for, counsel, taught about the hazards of that profession, and eventually led to a way out of prostitution.
If its decriminalised then the practictioners could come out of the woodwork and be registered — TRN, NIS, everything. They could then be monitored as it relates to hours worked, that they are paid properly, and that they not only use contraceptives but also get regular health check-ups and insurance.
All of this can be done, but only if we first have a mature discussion about prostitution. It isn’t going anywhere. From the ‘rent a dread’ on the north coast to the women on Rippon Road, the demand will always be there, and unfortunately, for differing reasons, there will be a supply.
The onus isn’t on us to condemn anyone.
This, my friends, can only be done if they are in the system and they can only enter the system through decriminalisation. One doesn’t have to like something to decriminalise it, look at alcohol, but once it’s decriminalised then it can be regulated and avenues can be put in place to get them out.
While no father wishes to have his daughter enter prostitution, if they did enter it they would pray they were safe and had ways out.
So let’s stop the hypocrisy and have the discussion, because then we can tax, regulate, care for and help out of that line of work. If not, it will remain a shady underground rife with disease, which could in the long run make its way into our homes.
Alexander Scott
alexanderwj.scott@gmail.com
Jamaica is a strange country in many ways; religion and sex are perfect examples. Our religion is largely based on puritanical, evangelical doctrines; while sexually, well, to put it politely, we show no restraint.
This strange anomaly can also be found in prostitution. For, while many a Jamaican male has engaged in a monetary transaction with a woman for sex, the people are against the legalisation or decriminalisation of prostitution.
Apart from the blatant hypocrisy that the position above entails, what irks me the most is that most of them miss the point of decriminalising prostitution. The point of decriminalisation is not to ‘free up’ the sex, as so many would have you think; but instead used to monitor, care for, counsel, taught about the hazards of that profession, and eventually led to a way out of prostitution.
If its decriminalised then the practictioners could come out of the woodwork and be registered — TRN, NIS, everything. They could then be monitored as it relates to hours worked, that they are paid properly, and that they not only use contraceptives but also get regular health check-ups and insurance.
All of this can be done, but only if we first have a mature discussion about prostitution. It isn’t going anywhere. From the ‘rent a dread’ on the north coast to the women on Rippon Road, the demand will always be there, and unfortunately, for differing reasons, there will be a supply.
The onus isn’t on us to condemn anyone.
This, my friends, can only be done if they are in the system and they can only enter the system through decriminalisation. One doesn’t have to like something to decriminalise it, look at alcohol, but once it’s decriminalised then it can be regulated and avenues can be put in place to get them out.
While no father wishes to have his daughter enter prostitution, if they did enter it they would pray they were safe and had ways out.
So let’s stop the hypocrisy and have the discussion, because then we can tax, regulate, care for and help out of that line of work. If not, it will remain a shady underground rife with disease, which could in the long run make its way into our homes.
Alexander Scott
alexanderwj.scott@gmail.com