Prostitution. Few other words have such a heavy, negative stigma attached to them. The concept of offering sexual services in exchange for money seems extremely unsavory to say the least, but is it truly unethical?
In theory, prostitution does not immediately run into major ethical obstacles. The idea of two consenting adults exchanging money for a service is the basis for many other legal enterprises such as eyebrow waxing and theater performances. In this case, the service being exchanged is sex, which is also not unethical in itself. Therefore, arguably, putting these two together should not immediately cause any ethical complications. In fact, prostitution is legal in several countries including Germany and Hungary.
However, prostitution in practice creates several issues that are unarguably unethical, such as the sex trade, where people are unwillingly kidnapped from their homes and families and forced to prostitute themselves to the financial benefit of an employer who exploits them. Even in places where prostitution is illegal, underground sex trade markets exist and are creating huge problems for law enforcement authorities who are trying to shut them down. In many places, especially where prostitution is underground and unregulated, it is nearly impossible to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of the prostitutes, which leads to unfair and sometimes dangerous conditions for employees. All of these unethical phenomenon are tried-and-true consequences of the current prostitution environment, and many argue that the only way to eliminate these serious concerns is to eliminate prostitution itself.
However, Many argue that many of the problems of prostitution, including the underground sex trade, could be eliminated or significantly reduced through legalization which would allow for regulation of the practice. Therefore, the legalization issue of prostitution remains a highly relevant and extremely concerning ethical dilemma.
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