Prostitution, in particular its nobility, morality, and legality, is a controversial subject.
Many view it as an honourable means of earning a living and empowering people to do whatever they please with their bodies. Others see it as inherently debasing and a means of men asserting power over women, preventing their social, emotional, and physical progression.
Whatever view one takes, British Columbians have been shocked this week to hear the allegations against Reza Moazami (although it has not received nearly as much press as it might have, had the Surrey Six trial not been going on a few floors below in the same courthouse).
Moazami is alleged to have recruited girls, some as young as 13, into forced or coerced prostitution (for ease of typing, I will not be using "alleged" or "allegedly" throughout this article, but the fact remains that the charges against him have not been proven and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.).
His targets were not accidental. From what we have heard, the girls came from broken homes or had drug addictions or both. They were isolated from support networks like friends and family. Some had already worked in the sex industry. Sometimes, he used girls already working for him to recruit others. Other times, he approached and recruited the girls himself.
He used many luring techniques common to other human traffickers and pimps: promises of money, drugs, luxury, camaraderie, and protection. Once the girls were further isolated and dependent on the trade for their new and, at times, comfortable lifestyle, he used more threatening and abusive techniques to keep them from leaving.
Whether guilty or not, the reality is that there are many, many others doing the same thing to innocent and vulnerable people around the world. Entire lives are destroyed by this. Often, the cause is not prostitution itself, but the circumstances surrounding it. This includes exposure to violence, unsafe working conditions, and imposed poverty when those doing the front-line work do not get their fair cut of the profits.
Much of this comes down to a lack of legal protection. When there is no legal structure in place as a means of dispute resolution (i.e. through private contracts or government regulation of a legal industry), then it is usually the most aggressive or violent parties who resolve the dispute in their favour. The most-common victims of human trafficking and sex slavery, children and women, are at an obvious and unavoidable disadvantage.
Under cross-examination by Moazami's defence counsel, the first victim to testify described how difficult it was to leave Moazami, even when he had been arrested and she was in the exclusive presence of police officers. But, she did not feel that she could trust police officers.
This is just a simple example of why the present policing system does not work. The fact that this particular victim was at risk of being prosecuted and therefore reluctant to come forward to report indisputable malum in se should be a clear indication of the lack of reasonable alternatives that the present legal structure presents to victims.The law, as it standsm criminalizes victims and that is a serious problem. There is no reassurance for victims who come forward that they will not be prosecuted for their presently illegal activities. Human traffickers, johns, pimps, and abusers are able to operate with near impunity.
The fact that escort and "masseuse" postings can still be found on Craigslist with numerous ads displaying pictures of young, foreign women (some promoted as being "new") suggests that others continue to serve the demand Moazami did (as if there was any doubt of that).
Legalizing and regulating the industry will protect vulnerable members of society. Gangsters, crooks, and thieves will not control the industry any more. Victims will be empowered to pursue perpetrators of abuse and exploitation. The sex trade is not going away, no matter what prohibitions are in place. Even those who oppose it must accept this as incontrovertible. Until then, people will unnecessarily suffer and profits will go to the criminal underworld as opposed to those working and government tax coffers for the public benefit.
