E.+Persuasive+Research+Essay

“1.2 million children in the U. S. are involved in child prostitution. The average prostitute is only 16 or 17 years of age.”(Farley) Prostitution is often overlooked and ignored by many. There should be more effort put forth to stop prostitution because it degrades women, and damages young ladies both emotionally and physically.   Prostitution degrades women. It demeans their status from human beings into simply female bodies who receive money to fulfill sexual desires. By selling themselves to total strangers, prostitutes prove they have no self respect. They choose to give away the most intimate part of themselves to satisfy the pleasures of men. When you become a prostitute you are exposing yourself to violence, crime and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Prostitutes perform the sex act in the customer’s car or take the customer to a nearby room rented for this purpose (Macmillian).  Prostitution degrades prostitutes emotionally. Street prostitutes experience levels of post traumatic stress disorder that is similar to levels among battered women, rape survivors, and survivors of torture. They also experience high levels of anxiety and depression. Street prostitution increases the risk of contracting HIV\AIDS (Barkan). Prostitution is a major contributor of HIV transmission in many parts of the world including Africa and South Asia. Street prostitutes are often infected with sexually transmitted diseases.  Prostitution also damages women physically. Prostitution initiates crime and exposes prostitutes to extreme violence. Prostitutes themselves are especially vulnerable to robbery and assault. 75% of prostitutes have been raped in situations ( Edward Montague ) . 58% of American prostitutes reported violent assault at the hands of clients Street prostitutes are controlled by men known as pimps, who act as their managers and protectors. Many women are beaten by their pimps when they refuse to work or if they disobey his rules. A lot of street prostitutes are drug addicts. Often women turn to prostitution after they are already addicted to obtain money for their habit. But in some cases, pimps are the ones who introduce the women to drugs.   Thirty-five to eighty-five percent of prostitutes are survivors of incest and/or early sexual abuse”. “Prostitutes are not committing an inherently harmful act” (Sherry E. Colb). They’re reacting to the cruel treatment from their shameful past. A high percentage of street prostitutes are victims of rape and statistics of this crime would decrease if prostitution was made legal. Unlike street prostitutes, who most often enter the business out of desperation, call girls sometimes defend their work as an intelligent choice, saying that it provides more income than most other jobs and allows them a high degree of freedom. Assistance should be offered to help prostitutes. This act not only destroys women emotionally but also physically. Let’s lower the statistics of street prostitution by teaching kids and young adults the value of self respect.   Work Cited   <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">“Melissa Farley, PhD and Howard Barkan, DrPH (*) <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Women and Health, 27 (3): 37-49. 1998 by The Hawforth Press, Inc.” <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">(// Article copies available for a free form Haworth Document Delivery Service 1-800-342-9678.) // <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 27pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"General Logon Page." //Gale Error Page//. 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Web. 21 Jan. 2011. <http://www.bayswan.org/stats.html>.   <span style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">"Prostitution Research & Education Website." //Prostitution Research & Education Website//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2011. <http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/c-prostitution-facts.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Eras Medium ITC','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">