A generation ago, most people did not know how
ubiquitous and grave human trafficking was. Now most
people agree that the $35.7 billion business is an
appalling violation of human rights. But when confronted
with prostitution, many people experience an odd
disconnect because prostitution is shrouded in myths,
among them the claims that prostitution is inevitable,
men need the sex of prostitution, and prostitution is a
job or service like any other. In Not a Choice, Not a
Job, Janice Raymond challenges both the myths and their
perpetrators. Raymond demonstrates that prostitution is
not sex but sexual exploitation, and that legalizing and
decriminalizing the system of prostitutionas opposed to
the prostituted womenpromotes sex trafficking, expands
the sex industry, and invites organized crime.
Specifically, Raymond exposes how legalized prostitution
in the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Nevada
worsens crime and endangers women. In contrast, she
reveals, when governments work to prevent the demand for
prostitution by prosecuting pimps, brothels, and
prostitution usersas in Norway, Sweden, and
Icelandtrafficking does not increase, women are better
protected, and fewer men buy sex. Raymond expands the
boundaries of scholarship in womens studies, making this
book indispensable to human rights advocates around the
world.
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