Prostitution has been around for thousands of years. It is mostly illegal in the US and many countries around the world. While some parts of the world have found a way to legalize and regulate prostitution it is still a serious problem for many communities.
The Triumph of Flora (ca. 1743), by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
A 1908 US investigation into white slavery was one of the first indications of the relationship between prostitution and more serious crimes. By 1901 the Mann Act was deployed to prohibit white slavery including interstate transport of women for “immoral purposes”.
In 1918 the Chamberlain-Kahn Act provided a means to quarantine any women suspected of having a Sexually Transmitted disease. A failed medical examination was considered proof of prostitution. The intent of this law was to stop the spread of disease among US soldiers.
Previous white slavery laws were a bit of a problem for prostitutes on vacation. In 1944 US courts ruled that prostitutes could once again travel across state lines if the reason was not for prostitution. In the 1970s Nevada began regulation of prostitution effectively making it legal and a bit safer for everyone.
Authorities in Arizona have come up with a modern plan to help stop prostitution called Project Rose. This amazing innovation of law enforcement has one small challenge. It deprives women of basic legal rights that should be enjoyed by all US citizens. In an ironic effort to help prostitutes, Arizona basically reduces their rights back to slave status. We are not sure if this program is effective but I would recommend Nevada over Arizona for any form of adult entertainment.
The Project Rose cure for prostitution includes the following “diversion program” steps:
- Target a large volume of suspected prostitutes in a specific area
- Detain said prostitutes in handcuffs and bring them to a local Church
- Force prostitutes to meet with Prosecutors, Detectives and Project Rose members where they are offered a ‘diversion program”
- Prostitutes are not charged with a crime and not allowed to speak with a lawyer during this process. In other words they are kidnapped
- Prostitutes that do not accept the diversion program are threatened with actual criminal charges
Most diversion programs target people with actual criminal charges. Detaining people not charged with any crime is a unique innovation with unintended consequences. It forces people into the system without due process even if they are not guilty. Manifesting prostitution is a very broad charge that deserves and requires due process. Read all about this case via Arresting Sex Workers in Arizona to Save Their Souls | VICE United States.
After Arizona cure prostitution they can take on the next problem.
The sculpture of Pan having sex with a nanny goat was in a garden in Herculaneum before the Mount Vesuvius eruption in A.D. 79, historians believe. (Image credit: Alamy)