Legalizing Drugs and Prostitution Can Also Help the Economy

Portugal and The Netherlands have legalized/decriminalized both drugs and prostitution, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala haven’t and are suffering from it.

Sex work will never cease to exist, therefore it should be legalized and regulated for the safety of the workers and customers. While prostitution is technically legal in Central America, it’s merely the exchange of money for sexual services. Brothels are still illegal and prostitution isn’t being regulated. Legalizing the entire industry, reduces violence against women who are constantly assaulted by their customers and pimps, which brothels provide protection against. With the lack of organizations, sex workers aren’t being monitored, which allows underage girls to be part of the industry. In Nicaragua the minimum age for prostitutes is 14 years old. There should be restrictions and a set of rules within the industry to prevent it from intertwining with child abuse and sex trafficking. citation

Brothels are beneficial for the health safety of sex workers and their clients. Regulation prevents the spread of STDs within the public. Nevada is the only state in The US where prostitution is legal. However, there are many restrictions and they don’t allow prostitution to occur outside of licenced facilities such as brothels, which there are only 20 of. Sex workers in Nevada have to get tested weekly for gonorrhea and chlamydia and monthly for Syphilis and HIV. Nevada also requires condoms for all sex in brothels. Although it varies by county, Nye county made $141,779 in revenue from worker registration cards and brothel license fees. (Rindels, 2018)

In the hope of regulation, The Netherlands legalized brothels in 2000. Over the years, they’ve been able to establish rights for sex workers including health insurance, unemployment, etc. Brothels have also placed panic buttons in every room in case a customer poses a threat. The legalization of prostitution has helped give sex workers rights and protection. The Netherlands believes that sex is a right, because it’s beneficial for people’s mental and physical health. The Netherland is one of the only countries in the world that provide subsidized prostitution for the disabled. Those with physical disabilities can receive government assistance to hire sex workers. (Ward, 2014)

Prostitution flourishes in the black market that wouldn’t play such a huge role if brothels were legitimized, licensed, medically inspected, zoned and taxed. Prostitution can be both safe and profitable if regulated correctly. And if it’s legalized, countries can focus that tax money and their resources to fight the cartels who also pertain to human trafficking Violence is one of the biggest problems Central America is facing today. In Ben Raderstorf’s article, Crime rate is so high and the government is being so negligent that Venezuela’s homicide statistics are never even completed.

Americas barometer reports that insecurity shapes the behavior of citizens so much that they often revolve their lives around preventing falling victim to these crimes. People avoid certain routes, their form of transportation, change their job, move to different neighborhoods, or even emigrate. Governments in the Northern triangle are struggling to find a solution to these issues, because prisons are overcrowded and criminal justice systems are corrupt.

Investing in security will help the economic state of these countries. Out of fear for crime, employment and purchasing decisions are impacting the economy, because people aren’t being active within society and fueling consumerism. This constant fear of being robbed or killed will eventually hinder the population, which will start declining if everyone continues to leave the country.

Violence is particularly prominent within the LGBT community. Trans people especially experience constant ridicule, rape, and extreme violence. Alice Driver’s article, “The Road to Asylum” was incredibly hard to read. It tells a story about Avelar—a trans woman in El Salvador. I had no idea how bad violence against trans woman was in Central America. It’s bad enough here in The United States, but in El Salvador it’s out of control and there’s no law enforcement to protect the trans community. According to the article, the average life expectancy of a trans woman in the Americas is 30-35 years.

was one of the many who were continuously threatened, beaten, and raped by men even when she wasn’t working. She was raped by 15 gang members while doing chores in her neighborhood. She was also shot several times on two different occasions and survived. Once by a notorious serial killer who wanted to terminate the trans population. And another by MS13 members who tried to profit off sex workers and demanded she paid them some of her profits.

Alvera was once attacked and in an act of self defense, stabbed the man who was trying to kill her. For this, she was sentenced to four years in a male prison. Alvera believed that the judge disregarded the fact that she was acting in self defense and the threats she’d face in a male prison due to the fact that he was religious. In the four years that she was in prison, Alvera was raped nearly everyday. As a trans woman, she was denied any medical help. She recounted, If it weren’t for the lack of rights and protection of sex workers, Alvera wouldn’t have faced nearly as much trauma as she did. Legalizing prostitution would prevent sex workers from fighting for their lives on a daily basis.

Drug profits are what drives all of the violence, because there are several different drug trafficking organizations fighting over limited transit routes. One of the reason prices are so high is due to all the expenses that go into avoiding governmental authorities. The few operating firms in the hemisphere are controlling drug costs and the legalization of drugs will decrease current prices. This drastic change within the market will throw off the lucrative industry, minimizing the incentive to use violence. The reduction of profits will also limit their power by decreasing the amount of drugs they’re able produce and resources to corrupt law enforcement.