New Zealand legalizes prostitution.

Caligastia · June 25, 2003, 10:35

Prostitution Reform Bill Passes in New Zealand
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - By a single vote, New Zealand lawmakers Wednesday passed a bill decriminalizing prostitution, following months of sustained lobbying by religious and public policy groups who worry about the likely consequences of the proposed changes.

Lawmakers were given a conscience vote on the Prostitution Reform Bill, which makes it legal for those over 18 to solicit sex, while removing the offenses of pimping, brothel-keeping and living off the earnings of a prostitute.

Prostitutes also will be covered by employment and health and safety laws, and brothel operators will have to be licensed.

Supporters said the changes would offer prostitutes much-needed protection from exploitation, while opponents argued the changes would lead to more drug abuse, child prostitution, trafficking of women, and a general expansion of a trade that is by its very nature exploitative.

"We must judge this not on whether it is good for sex workers, but whether it is good for New Zealand society," Nick Smith of the official opposition National Party told the legislature Wednesday.

"Sex should not be for sale," he said. "Prostitution is nothing more than paid rape."

Three years of discussion culminated in recent weeks with an intensifying of campaigning on both sides of the issue. Some lawmakers described the lobbying as the heaviest they had ever faced.

At the end, the mood in parliament shifted to such a degree that the final vote late Wednesday was 60-59 in favor of the bill.

Mixed reaction from women's groups

Major political parties were split, and women's groups came down on both sides of the issue.

The National Council of Women of New Zealand came out in support of the bill.

"No one disagrees that society needs to address those factors that pressure people into prostitution," said the group's president, Beryl Anderson. "But, in the interim, should those currently in the industry, or who seek to leave that industry continue to have lesser human rights than the rest of us?"

On the other hand, the New Zealand Federation of Graduate Women said the bill would "diminish, rather than enhance, the health and safety of New Zealand women and girls."

Some opponents of the bill agreed that the laws covering prostitution needed to be amended. Currently a prostitute who solicits sex is breaking the law, but a client who takes up the offer is not.

But they argued that the proposals now voted in will make matters worse for the very people they are supposed to protect.

Law enforcement representatives also warned that the proposed changes would be difficult to police, and could allow organized criminal syndicates to run brothels.

The bill was backed by such groups as the Green Party, the Family Planning Association and an organization representing women involved in the sex trade, the Prostitutes Collective.

Opposition was spearheaded by the Maxim Institute, a conservative public policy organization, and by churches.

Church leaders last week wrote an open letter to all 120 lawmakers, arguing that the bill would fail in its stated aim of offering greater protection to prostitutes.

"The normalizing of prostitution sends a message that the commercial selling of one's body is an acceptable function in society and will draw many other young and vulnerable people into the business," said the signatories, who included Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Salvation Army leaders.

The church intervention and Maxim's lobbying drew an angry response from the bill's sponsor, Tim Barnett of the ruling center-left Labor Party.

He accused the church leaders of arrogance and said they were ill-informed.

Barnett also claimed Maxim's campaign was being funded by Christian\lang5129 fundamentalist groups in the United States. Maxim denied the charge, saying its campaign was funded by concerned New Zealanders.

In fact, one of the bill's most vociferous opponents was one of Barnett's colleagues, Labor lawmaker Diane Yates, who arranged for an Australian academic opposed to decriminalizing prostitution to visit parliament to outline her concerns.

Prof. Sheila Jeffreys of Melbourne University said that when an Australian state made similar law changes in the 1990s, they resulted in a mushrooming of illegal brothels, some of them linked to organized crime, and an expansion of the sex trade.\lang5129

As campaigning proceeded, a number of wavering lawmakers announced their intention to reverse their earlier support for the bill.

At each reading of the bill, the numbers of lawmakers supporting it slowly dwindled.

The first reading last year passed by 87 votes to 21. By last February, support dropped to 62-56, where it has more-or-less held since then until Wednesday's final reading and vote.

http://www.townhall.com/news/politic...0030625c.shtml

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I don't think this will be a good thing...I'm afraid my homeland will turn into a cesspool of decadence thanks to this.

Bereta_Eder · June 25, 2003, 10:37

and fart taxes

FrustratedPoet · June 25, 2003, 10:43

New Zealand legalizes prostitution .... Sheep Union leaders fear massive job cuts

Panag · June 25, 2003, 11:14

hi ,

and how many girls are there in NZ , ......

have a nice day

August Borms · June 25, 2003, 11:19

alva · June 25, 2003, 11:19

blow-up sheep doll union leaders very optimistic on next years figures and job opportunities

Cruddy · June 25, 2003, 11:22

Good on yer Kiwis!

Tell those Christian Evangelists to get back to Blighty if they want Victorian values.

Just make sure the new business gets regulated and come down hard on the illegal operations.

DanS · June 25, 2003, 11:27

Barnett seems to not be able to get by without an ad hominem or two.

Wernazuma III · June 25, 2003, 12:44

Good move! Outlawing prostitution only worsens the situation of the prostitutes and will never diminish prostitution. Legal prostitution is a major step in pretecting prostitutes from exploitation!

DinoDoc · June 25, 2003, 12:48

Quote:

Originally posted by Wernazuma III
Legal prostitution is a major step in pretecting prostitutes from exploitation!

Seems like it only legalizes it and makes it more acceptable.

Cruddy · June 25, 2003, 13:00

Quote:

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Seems like it only legalizes it and makes it more acceptable.

Quote:

Originally posted by Caligastia
Prostitutes also will be covered by employment and health and safety laws, and brothel operators will have to be licensed.

That answer your worry? Of course, it's only a promise at the minute - but it doesn't look like NZ is going to do it in a half cocked manner.

DinoDoc · June 25, 2003, 13:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Cruddy
it doesn't look like NZ is going to do it in a half cocked manner.

That wasn't my problem though, Cruddy.

Q Classic · June 25, 2003, 13:12

all they need now is gambling, and they could be the southern hemisphere's las vegas!

any chance of the daily planet opening up a nz branch?

Agathon · June 25, 2003, 13:21

Have any of you ever seen a New Zealand prostitute?

They need all the help they can get.

Solly · June 25, 2003, 13:30

Ever seen an attractive prozzy?

Sava · June 25, 2003, 14:18

Good News

I'm glad to see common sense has defeated misguided, so-called "morality".

Solly · June 25, 2003, 14:20

Free market

Firelad · June 25, 2003, 14:26

If they don't put good effort into the busting of illegal/non-standard compliant operations then they should be punished severely (the authorities). Somehow.

BTW a friend of mine seen a blow-up sheep sex doll for sale on eBay. Your work?

Flubber · June 25, 2003, 14:27

Quote:

Originally posted by Boddington's
Ever seen an attractive prozzy?

Yes but it is rare.

Cruddy · June 25, 2003, 14:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Boddington's
Ever seen an attractive prozzy?

Yes, quite a few in Amsterdam.

Also saw a few in London.

I have to admit though, the ugly ones outnumber them by maybe 3-1.

Flubber · June 25, 2003, 14:42

The bottom line is that most countries don't know what to do with the prostitution issue. pretty much everyone abhors the idea of people being forced into the trade or children being in the trade .

But it gets fuzzier at times. Is the guy that leaves a few bucks behind that different than the guy that bought dinner, drinks and a new bracelet for his "girlfriend" to ahieve the same result

Canada's laws are pretty typical of the confused way this issue is treated . . .

prostitution in Canada is legal-- has been for as long as I can remember BUT

communicating for the "purpose of prostitution" in a " public place" is an offence. Note that inside a motor vehicle is explicitly defined as a public place for the purpose of the provision. But it seems that over the phone is NOT public.

Then there are rules about:
"living off the avails"-- pimping
"procuring a prostitute"-- also pimping
"keeping a common bawdy house"-- brothels

So you have an activity that is legal but it is illegal to have someone else arrange it or profit from it, talk about it in a public place, or set up a private establishment to pursue it.

Real clear eh ??

Cruddy · June 25, 2003, 14:53

So Flubber, where in Canada are the rules on health care? Licensing? Pensions? Group lobbying - do the sex industry workers have a union?

There's a big difference between turning a blind eye and regulation.

Flubber · June 25, 2003, 15:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Cruddy
So Flubber, where in Canada are the rules on health care? Licensing? Pensions? Group lobbying - do the sex industry workers have a union?

There's a big difference between turning a blind eye and regulation.

Each of the things you mention does not exist except that some towns and cities will licence escorts. THis licencing though is usually just an attempt to place a barrier in the way and charge people with something for non-compliance

I agree-- The Canadian approach has been to largely ignore the issue. The laws on the books make the street trade and massage parlours/ brothels etc illegal. The "living off the avails" and procuring rules have been used to target the escort agencies.

Really the only way to carry on prostitution legally here is for a prostitute to work on her own at her client's location. Each is an independent contractor I guess.

The way the laws are written , its like they feel there is no problem or issue if it is not visible. And the laws that are on the books don't seem to be often enforced here anyway . . . any average citizen could tell you where the hooker streets are and the prostitutes seem to be there EVERY night.

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I have struggled with my own views on whether prostitution should be legal at all. While I would prefer that it did not exist, I can't get past the concept that a woman has the right to do with her own body as she freely chooses. The only problem with this idea is that I wonder how many prostitutes have " freely chosen " to do this . I doubt it is very many. I'd bet that for every gal earning a decent living of her own free choice, there are dozens of abused, beaten, intimidated and far too young women out there, strutting their stuff because they HAVE TO. and far too many more that are dead already.

Solly · June 25, 2003, 15:19

Murder of a female has nothing to do with prosititution.

Az · June 25, 2003, 15:59

they must ensure that the pimps and the madams will get out of the equation.

Wernazuma III · June 25, 2003, 16:50

Quote:

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Seems like it only legalizes it and makes it more acceptable.

Even illegal prostitution is somehow accepted by police and admionistration everywhere, simply because you can't get rid of it, and so are illegal practices. With legalization the society gets more grip and control on the standards of how prostitutes are treated. They can organize themselves in unions and make use of their rights instead of keeping quiet so nobody can menace to denounce her to the authorities...
Human trade and forced prostitution will still be there (and still be illegal of course), but the step of legalizing that sector of prostitution which is willing to accept certain standards will surely help to diminish inhuman practices.

chequita guevara · June 25, 2003, 17:01

By legalizing it you take away the market for street walkers.

Flubber · June 25, 2003, 17:20

Perhaps a combination of legalizing /regulating with a crackdown on the illegal bits.

A regulated industry with say weekly medicals, a safe environment for prostitutes and their customers, help for the drug addicts . . . would be better than the current situation. The customers would have little reason to pick up little girls on street corners and the parasites known as pimps would have a tougher time.

The underage streetwalkers would likely still try to do business but there should be less of a market for them ( if comparable services are available safely and legally)and the police could really crack down on them and their customers.

AS an aside, I sometimes wonder where the authorities are now when it comes to the underage girls. Some of them are hardly into their teens for cripes sake. A few of them stand a few blocks from my office tower and they always seem to be there

If it were somehow possible to get rid of the coerced and underage folks-- and toss most of the pimps into deep dark cells . . . what would remain is something much less objectionable. At the very least the girls would be safer .