Decriminalization of prostitution in long island

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Running Head: DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION IN RHODE ISLAND 1

Decriminalization of Prostitution in Rhode Island

Cinthia Gutierrez

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION IN RHODE ISLAND 2

INTRODUCTION

In 2003, the District Judge of Rhode Island ruled that indoor prostitution had in fact, been

allowed in the state since 1980, when a the ambiguous language outlawing prostitution was

declared unconstitutional and was removed (COYOTE et al. v. Dennis J. Roberts, II et al., 1980).

However, it was not until 2003, when a group of women were brought before the law accused of

prostitution in massage parlors, that the law formally acknowledged that parlor prostitution, a

form of indoor prostitution, was not outlawed by current law, which established the

decriminalization of indoor prostitution in the state (Rhode Island ex rel. City of Providence v.

Choe). As a result, the indoor sex market grew rapidly after the decision (Breton 2005).

While much research has been that supports the notion that legal prostitution does in fact

have a positive impact on society, little has been done on how this particular law affected Rhode

Island. There has been research that suggest that decriminalization lowered STI and violent

crime rates (Cunningham & Sha 2014). In this paper, the author argues that the impact was much

lower, and in come cases, non-existent in the lowering of rates. In order to examine this opposing

view, this paper will present a literature review of previous research on the subject, followed by a

methodology on how this research was conducted (as well as limitations to the research), and

will present the results and findings based on the primary data collected. At the end, some

recommendations for follow-up research will be given, as well as disclaimers on the nature and

claims given in this paper. For the purpose of this paper, we will be focusing on the years 2003

to 2009, when decriminalization was formally acknowledged by the courts, and when the public

as well as sex workers were made more aware of how the law worked, in order to assess its

impact on society as a whole.

DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION IN RHODE ISLAND 3

LEGAL PROSTITUTION IN PREVIOUS RESEARCH

Prostitution, what many call the oldest profession in the world, has come to have a rather

negative stigma around it in modern times, often based on personal beliefs rather than on

documented evidence. Even though it is classified as a victimless crime, meaning that there is

not actual victim in the act, many still argue that its practice degrades and brings corruption to

society as a whole. It is through this debate that many have tried to criticize and impede the

legalization of prostitution, arguing that the problems that it presents cannot be solved by

legislation regulating it (Weitzer 2009). This view is a bit problematic, since not only does it fail

to take into account the possible benefits from it, but it also proposes that prostitution is only

composed of individuals who are victimized and do not have the actual will to participate in

prostitution. Lawmakers, then, try to “rescue” prostitutes from a job that they themselves have

chosen (Showden & Majic 2014; Weitzer 2009). While it is known that not everyone who

engages in sex work does so voluntarily, there is a growing movement across the world from sex

workers who want to see prostitution being legalized by their governments because that is how

they earn a living (Weitzer 2009).

In recent times, many countries around the world have passed some form of legislation

either decriminalizing or legalizing prostitution. In the United States, the issue of prostitution has

been left up to the states. The great majority of them have made prostitution illegal, with the

exception of the state of Nevada, which has legalized brothels in some areas of the state. Even

there, it is still illegal in some counties (Brents & Hausbeck 2001; Lutnick & Cohan 2009). The

reason that countries give (including the United States) for not wanting to legalize prostitution

often come from the belief that if prostitution is legalized, there will be a surge in the spread of

sexually transmitted diseases (Brents & Hausbeck 2001; Lutnick & Cohan 2009). Saunders

DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION IN RHODE ISLAND 4

explains that conservatives aim to “protect” women by keeping them from sex work, so that they

can “be protected from illness and violence by adherence to a life script in which sexual activity

is experienced only within appropriate marriage,” (2004). This view not only unnecessarily

points to the woman as the main guilty party for transmitting a disease, but also overstates the

role that marriage has in preventing STDs from spreading. World associations, even those who

are fighting the spread of such diseases such as AIDS, understand that putting constraints on sex

work, and blaming women for the any negative outcomes associated with it, goes not only

against the role of the organizations, but against women’s rights too (Saunders 2009). In the

countries in which prostitution has been legalized, the opposite of what the critics predicted has

been observed. By recognizing that sex workers are legitimate workers who contribute to the

economy and social sphere of a country, their rights are advanced and their protections are

expanded (Weitzer 2009). Furthermore, by not treating or seeing sex workers as oppressed or as

victims, individual and worker rights are recognized by giving them protection and even by

regulating conditions under which sex work can take place, by making them safer (Weitzer

2009).

Another issue linked with prostitution, particularly with local authorities, is its

association with crime. In West Germany, where prostitution is legal, the police have debunked

this accusation, stating that prostitution has little to do with the crime that goes on in the country.

In fact, most prostitution-related crimes are petty crimes, such as cheating a customers, and even

those are not frequent because of the laws that surround the profession (Yondorf 1979). In other

countries, it is not necessarily the act of prostitution that is a problem to the authorities, but rather

the ambiguity of the laws surrounding it, which are not always specific as to who is committing a

DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION IN RHODE ISLAND 5

crime, and what type of punishment to give them. The problem is somewhat lessened by passing

legislation that directly outlines how the law protects prostitutes (Weitzer 2009).

In the United States, the debate surrounding prostitution has been very similar to that in

other countries. Much of it is founded on religious beliefs, and those beliefs have led people to

take on a crusade against the “immorality and perversion” that they believe prostitution to be

(Weitzer 2009). Even measures that were aimed to prevent STDs, such as the distribution of

condoms, have been scrutinized in favor of abstinence until marriage (Weitzer 2009). These

measures have not proved so far to be effective against the problems that religious leaders and

religious advocates claim to be fighting. While their religious stance may not be the main driving

force behind the fight against prostitution in the United States, it does add fuel to the situation,

and it continues to be one of the more cited “moral” reasons as to why prostitution should not be