Would legalising prostitution be good for economy?

The state of the Kenyan economy is affecting quite a plethora of important matters and feeling the full impact are honest and hardworking Kenyans who are trying to foster employment and create jobs.

High taxes seem to be affecting how business is done and it is hard not to succumb to illegal ways or give up all together.

But there remain businesses that continue to flourish despite the faltering shilling, bureaucracy, corruption, organisational structures and the rising cost of living.

Hard economic times are not only affecting security for businesses and citizens, they are also dividing homes and turning youths into criminals, alcoholics and drug users.

First hit in all this is our moral obligation. The search for money that drives us to work in order to ensure a brighter future is also turning our morals south.

Money has made us forget who we are and where we are from and most importantly who God is.

I was thrown into jail a few months ago and the most interesting cellmates I met were young innocent girls who told me stories about their escapades in prostitution that left me cracking in the ribs but also made me weep inside.

Men and women are turning to questionable ways of trying to make ends meet or satisfy personal hunger while young boys and girls are selling their bodies and integrity for an unsustainable way of earning a living through sex.

For those out to make money with their bodies, sleeping with one person will not quench their financial thirst. That relationship is unlikely to last no matter how long one keeps thinking that their body is a ticket to richness.

The result of the increasing number of people using their bodies for monetary gain is a rise in sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

A possible solution could be legalising the sex trade. Prostitution and agriculture might be the oldest forms of business in the globe, mainly because we cannot do without either of them. When you can’t beat them, you choose to join them.

If prostitution was legal and measures were put in place to control it, we could reap some gain as a nation economically.

1. This would control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

The law put in place to indict a carrier who deliberately spreads HIV is great. Hence, when one decides to engage in this business it would be mandatory to use protection at all times.

Subsequently, our police do not have to charge red light bystanders for doing what we all know happens all over the world, but they can charge them for not having any condoms on them.

2. It would boost the condom business, especially for the honest business people sacrificing their sleep to sell in the middle of the night.

3. A reasonable tax would be imposed on prostitution and sex work, coupled with a strict age limit that would earn the government some spending money in order to improve on sanitary standards and costs of living.

4. There would be a law that would govern this business hence increasing security at night and during the day.

I do not condone sexual work as I feel the body deserves more than to be sold and it is hard to enjoy the gift of loving with money.

Albeit, European countries that have embraced this controversial legalisation are economically superior.

Legalising and regulating sex work might be a way to strengthen our global financial standing, something that all Kenyans are desperately awaiting to see come true.