197 – Legalization or Decriminalization: What Does it All Mean?

Dr. Sandie Morgan and Dave Stachowiak are joined by Dr. Donna Hughes to discuss the four different legal approaches to prostitution and their impacts on society. Dr. Hughes is the founder and editor-in-chief of Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence. She shares her years of experience on this highly debated topic to better inform our community. Key Points There are four legal approaches to prostitution that all have different impacts on sex trafficking: criminalization, legalization, decriminalization, and the Nordic (Abolitionist) model. Criminalization is the current model of the United States that criminalizes everyone involved in prostitution. Legalization includes removing criminal penalties and turning sex work into a regulated business. Decriminalization also removes the criminal penalties, however, there are no regulations put into place. The Nordic model holds perpetrators accountable and provides services for victims. Countries that utilized the legalization approach anticipated getting rid of organized crime, but only succeeded in expanding illegal, unregulated prostitution. We need to be aware of legislators organizing for the decriminalization of prostitution in order to raise awareness and oppose their strategies. Resources Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence Donna's Papers and Presentations Selected Works by Dr. Hughes  Are you enjoying the show? If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to subscribe or rate the podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Click here for FAQs about podcasts and how to subscribe. Haven’t been receiving our newsletter? Visit our homepage to join today. Contact us with questions, comments, or suggestions at [email protected]. Transcript Dave [00:00:00] You're listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. This is episode number 197, Legalization or Decriminalization: What Does it All Mean?   Production Credits [00:00:10] Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential.   Dave [00:00:31] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Dave Stachowiak.   Sandie [00:00:36] And my name is Sandie Morgan.   Dave [00:00:39] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Sandie, your work has really just built relationships and connections and partnerships around the globe, and today we're so glad to be able to dive in on that first piece. We talk about in every introduction, studying the issues, and being able to bring a voice to who really just has tremendous expertise in this area. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Donna Hughes. She is a professor and holds the Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair in women's studies. She has a joint appointment with Gender and Women's Studies and Criminology and Criminal Justice. She's the founder and editor in chief of Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence. Donna, we're so glad to welcome you to the show.   Donna [00:01:29] I'm really thrilled to be here.   Sandie [00:01:31] It's an important topic and I would love to talk about a lot of your work, especially if people have not found Dignity: A Journal on Sexual Exploitation and Violence. We'll have a link to that in our show notes.   Donna [00:01:46] Thank you.   Sandie [00:01:46] And Dr. Hughes really digs deep on these issues, but today we want to talk about a growing discussion or debate in our community about Legalization or Decriminalization: What Does it all Mean? So, can you kind of give us a primer on legalization and decriminalization with regards to prostitution and human trafficking?   Donna [00:02:14] OK, there are four legal approaches to prostitution and all of them have a different impact on sex trafficking. The first is the one that in the United States people are most familiar with and that's criminalization because,

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