Dialogue: Blind spot in the feminist fervour

By GARTH GEORGE

It is of no concern to me one way or the other whether prostitution is decriminalised or not, for it is not a commodity I have ever had need of, nor am I ever likely to since I am persuaded that I would find the fleeting rental of a female body more than a little deflating.

It's called the oldest profession in the world and centuries of proscription have never managed to do much more than from time to time drive it underground. There have always been and will always be women who will choose to rent their bodies for money, and I don't necessarily buy the objection that most of them are forced into it by economic need or a background of deprivation, violence or abuse.

Nevertheless, I am puzzled at why all of a sudden the decriminalisation of prostitution should become a concern for a Government beset on all sides with seemingly insurmountable economic, educational, social and infrastructural problems.

Particularly is that so of a Government that is matriarchal and long on feminism and which numbers among its leaders a coterie who pay slavish homage to the human rights pronouncements of the United Nations.

The Prostitution Reform Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last November, was referred to a parliamentary select committee, and is expected to return to the House next month for its second reading.

An explanatory note to the bill said: "The aims of this bill are to decriminalise prostitution, to safeguard the rights of sex workers and protect them from exploitation, to promote the welfare and occupational health and safety of workers, to create an environment which is conducive to public health and to protect children from exploitation in relation to prostitution."

Which, of course, is absolute garbage, a series of highfalutin but meaningless ideals framed by people who have no idea of the facts of life, let alone how it is lived in the grubby world of brothels, procurers, pimps and prostitutes.

And I can assure you that if the bill becomes law - and since it passed its first reading 87 to 21 that is a foregone conclusion - it will do nothing whatsoever to achieve its aims but will make worse all the perceived problems it sets out to alleviate.

In fact, the proscriptions that now apply under the Summary Offences Act 1991, which make it illegal for anyone to solicit for money, live off the earnings of a prostitute or keep or manage a brothel, are more likely to have the desired effect. But, of course, those laws haven't been policed for years.

What amuses me more than anything is that the provisions of this bill are in direct contravention of at least three long-standing United Nations conventions, to all of which New Zealand is a signatory.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 says: " ... prostitution, involving as it does the sale of (usually) a woman's body, objectifies and dehumanises the prostitute and this position cannot be improved simply by allowing the prostitute to subject herself to this degradation."

The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 1949 says: " ... prostitution and the accompanying level of traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community."

And the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979 requires that " ... parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic of women and exploitation of prostitution of women."

So where does this Government, whose members will rattle off United Nations conventions at the drop of a hat to justify any piece of politically correct nonsense, really stand on "human rights"?

Hypocrisy we have come to expect from politicians of all colours and creeds, but the hypocrisy of this move - to provide open slather for every white-slaver, pimp and brothel-keeper who can gather together a barracoon of willing (and often unwilling) girls and women - is breathtaking.

What it will do is make prostitution a legitimate business activity, a career choice for (mostly young) women (and these days men).

It will result in an increase in prostitution which, in turn, will bring more sexually transmitted diseases, abortions and unwanted pregnancies, and it will encourage the exploitation of young people by unscrupulous procurers.

The bill, of course, will be subject to what parliamentarians euphemistically call a "conscience vote." That's hilarious. They couldn't rake up one decent conscience between the whole 120 of them.

* garth_george@herald.co.nz