Why We Should Decriminalize Prostitution

“Former Sex Worker Maggie McNeill on Why We Should
Decriminalize Prostitution.” Produced by Alexis Garcia. Shot by
Garcia and Zach Weissmueller. Music by Lee Maddeford.
About 30 minutes.

The original release date was July 14, 2014 and the
original writeup is below.

“There is a very common form of rhetoric that’s used against us
… that sex work isn’t work. That it’s a dodge. That it’s a scam.
That it’s a form of exploitation,” says Maggie McNeill, a former
sex worker turned activist who blogs at The Honest
Courtesan. 

“We still pretend that there’s a magical mumbo jumbo taboo
energy about sex that makes it different from all other human
activities.”

McNeill sat down with Reason TV’s Thaddeus Russell for a
wide-ranging interview where she responds to the feminist critique
of sex work, explains why research on trafficking may not be
reliable, and says why prostitution should be decriminalized.

“The problem is that there are already laws for these things,”
states McNeill. “We have a name for sex being inflicted on a woman
against her will. We call it rape. We have a name for taking
someone and holding them prisoner somewhere. We call that
abduction. … Why do we need [prostitution] to be laid on top of
all these other things that already are crimes?” 

Produced by Alexis Garcia. Shot by Garcia and Zach Weissmueller.
Music by Lee Maddeford.