Should women who are arrested for prostitution have their names and addresses published in a local newspaper?

No

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by Paul Schingle

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Let's start this debate from a legal standpoint. You can't stop a newspaper from publishing names of persons accused of committing crimes. I know of towns that are small enough where they publish the names of people accused of petit larceny (shoplifting). You can't stop the papers from doing it, but is it right? I try to look at this issue from a cost-benefit analysis. Would publishing the names of prostitutes lessen the likelihood of their engaging in this behavior? If so, would that make the world a better, or safer, place? My instinctive answer to both of these questions is no.

As a rule, women (and, yes, I know some men engage in prostitution as well) who become prostitutes do so for reasons other than sex. For one reason or another, they need money, they need it quick and they need it relatively easy. Very often, they engage in prostitution because of a drug habit. Sometimes, they are single mothers with little education and they see it as a way to a fast buck. Whatever the reason, very often, when a woman has engaged in prostitution it is an act of financial desperation. As such, it is highly unlikely that publishing her name in the paper is going to "shame" her into a life away from prostitution.

While some people view prostitution as some kind of moral issue, the fact of the matter is, more often than not, the only real victim in this "crime" is the prostitute, herself. The prostitute exposes herself to situations that may be impossible to get out of and leading to her own very real harm. Even if publishing names was to reduce the amount of actual prostitution, I don't see it as making the world a safer place.

The only really possible positive consequence of publishing the names of prostitutes would be if it shamed them into quitting the trade. About fifteen years ago, when I lived in Colorado, the suburb of Aurora was publishing the names of johns who were arrested, rather than the prostitutes. While this really may stem the tide of the use of prostitutes, I still have a problem with this "solution." To my mind, we are supposed to have some degree of privacy in America. And, while I admit that the commission of crimes often may force an individual to forfeit the right to privacy, we are dealing with people ACCUSED of crimes-not convicted. Until guilt is shown, I can't really advocate forfeiting civil liberties.

If you look at the issue from a cost-benefit analysis, I think you can only draw one conclusion. What is the benefit of publishing names? I really don't see any. If a woman is so desperate as to feel she has to engage in prostitution, publishing her name isn't going to stop her. What is the cost? Well, I suppose you could say there is no cost, but I would argue that this would be just one more example of letting our civil liberties erode to nothing.

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