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Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

nytimes.com

191–200 of 361 posts

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do those factors have the same meaning when someone would rather not be e.g. a cleaner or an orderly at a nursing home? Those jobs are physical and not so pleasant. They pay much less than prostitution. Yet, many people are so employed.

Prostitution is still about selling what is most intimate, not really the same. Also, how are we supposed to reach gender equality if one gender's body is for sale as a matter of routine ? Note that I still agree with your point on being a cleaner, that's why I think universal income is a good idea.

Coal miners sell their body for their job too. There are plenty of jobs that will destroy your body but pay better than average for your skill level.

At the end of the day when an adult makes the decision to do a particular job because it pays better than the alternative we can't automatically count them as a "victim". It robs people of their agency and infantilizes them.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#192
post #167
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of people argue that "consensual murder" (a.k.a. euthanasia ) should be legal (with the appropriate safeguards to prevent abuse). Edit: Actually I retract this comment. You bring an interesting point, and shouldn't be downvoted. I guess the argument "to prevent abuse" includes "to prevent people from exchanging their lives for money". And you could say the same for sex - people should be able to choose to have…

Euthanasia doesn't fit the description of consensual murder. I'm not sure how ... I guess euthanasia is more of a medical procedure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensual_homicide

It is exactly how opponents of euthanasia frame the debate, so it is not surprising that the GP was confused.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#193
post #51
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you can't speak English to the prostitute or she seems afraid, it would be a suspicious situation. "child sex traffickers" I don't know where you get that from.

It was one of the big reasons the gov't claimed they shut it down. https://u.osu.edu/osuhtblog/2018/04/17/backpage-com-and-chil...

Didn't that turn out to be bullshit though?

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I recall correctly, the owners of Backpage we're charged with taking money and working with the traffickers. It may not have been a matter of Backpage accidentally being an exploited market place. I suspect that changed their willingness to host agents within their walls.

Coverage of the case is here: https://frontpageconfidential.com/category/backpage/ The fed's argument is that there was so much illegal prostitution activity on Backpage that the owners must have been supporting it. The defense is currently occupied with getting access to the servers, presumably to show that the frequency of illegal postings was small compared to the rest of the site and that all reported postings we…

Fun fact, prostitution isn't a federal offense.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#195
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

95% seems like an awfully wrong guess. There is a lot of forced prostitution, then a huge great area of those that for various reasons have no other option (from abusive boyfriend to immigration status to economic factors) and then a very small crust of voluntary sex workers, mostly at the high-end of the market. The ratio between these three will vary massively between country/region/city but in any case it is often…

Could you cite sources for these claims? The numbers I've seen are opposite to what you claim, and seemed to indicate that a lot of the "trafficking" is actually people traveling to another country for a while to earn (relatively) easy money without risking getting stigmatized by people they know. You can see sort of the same thing play out without the stigmatization with carpenters and similar coming from low-wage c…

As someone who spent 10 years in the business trafficking is indeed rare. In my experience it is mostly through organized crime in LA, SF, and NYC.

Almost all Asian AAMPs are trafficked women. They are snuck in on ships and forced to work to pay their “debt”.

Outside of this women work in prostitution because they need money. A lot of people demonize this work saying how terrible it is, but the reality is an hours work is a days wages at a normal job. That’s very tempting.

Internet ads and online advertising got women off the streets and made things incredibly safer. Women could focus on screening clients instead of attracting them, increasing safety.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#196

I think the most unmentioned facet regarding prostitution is that for many men, prostitution may be the only way for them to obtain sex, which I feel is just as much of a "right" as is the right for women to obtain an abortion. No I don't believe taxpayers should be required to pay for prostitutes, nor for abortions. But the market for both should be decriminalized. Not only is this something that is morally right, t…

Nobody actually has a right to make someone else have sex with them.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#197

Its so simple for me. Just like with weed.... Legalize it! Why are we concerning ourselves with how people pleasure themselves in private? It's disgusting. Of course, have law enforcement root out the kiddie stuff, and have a legal framework to ensure safety (STI testing, etc) but my goodness, the efforts we currently go through to catch consenting adults in mutual benefit...

There is no federal prohibition against prostitution like there is against marijuana. This can be effectively accomplished at the State or even local level. Talk to your representatives, start ballot initiatives.

Another avenue that may be worth exploring is opening brothels on reservations, similar to casinos.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#198
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was one of the big reasons the gov't claimed they shut it down. https://u.osu.edu/osuhtblog/2018/04/17/backpage-com-and-chil...

Didn't that turn out to be bullshit though?

Probably. But nobody knows for certain, the government destroyed the evidence.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coverage of the case is here: https://frontpageconfidential.com/category/backpage/ The fed's argument is that there was so much illegal prostitution activity on Backpage that the owners must have been supporting it. The defense is currently occupied with getting access to the servers, presumably to show that the frequency of illegal postings was small compared to the rest of the site and that all reported postings we…

Fun fact, prostitution isn't a federal offense.

There's a federal statute regarding trafficking persons across state lines as I recall. It's not specifically "prostitution" but meets the general description if there's an interstate nexus, which of course can be easily shown for an internet site in many cases.

Re: Stamping Out Online Sex Trafficking May Have Pushed It Underground

#200
post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has lived here (US) for close to 15 years, what I find baffling is that some of the voting isn't even that myopic. It is so strongly ideology based that a poor coal miner would vote for a politician who would gut his healthcare and scream "socialism is bad" at any alternative which might actually be beneficial to them in the short term.

The reason it’s baffling to you is because you’re viewing it through your own ideological bias. Maybe, just maybe, that poor coal miner knows exactly what he’s voting for because that’s what he wants?

I was going by the PP's premise of choosing one's one good over the greater good of society. What I observed was actually the opposite since that poor coal miner is against "higher taxes" & "socialism" even though it is directly benefiting him. That level of adherence to an ideology is what I found baffling (which has nothing to do with my own ideology).
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