So you could believe that stealing in general is wrong but also believe that stealing to feed ones family is not wrong. Similarly, selling sex might be wrong, but selling sex to feed ones family might not be wrong. Buying sex, on the other hand, would always be wrong, because you could always just give the starving person money rather than pay him/her for sex.

By way of example, “I think your consumption of meat is wrong, even though you think it tastes better than other sources of protein” and “I think prostitution is wrong, even though you think the paychecks are worth it”. Yes, the latter is condescending, but so is the former. Respecting our fellow human beings does not make every viewpoint equally valid; sometimes someone is actually wrong.

As Amber said, however, it is necessary to “listen to what the people *actually affected* want and say”. To ignore their experiences in favor of a clear-cut black-and-white answer is to do them a grievous injustice and also avoid any chance of reaching a real solution. Once their stories are out there, it may become possible to talk meaningfully about ways to reduce prostitution while helping the women who were, or who would have become, sex workers.

Amanda - prostitutes have long been described as disease-ridden, pestilential, and similar terms. Using a “disease” analogy may not be an intentional dogwhistle on Hugo’s part, but FFS, he knows better. And while I’m in agreement that sexual exploitation of women is bad, “love the hooker, hate the trick” is not much more than wanting to drive prostitutes out of business with the very lovingest of intentions. It’s not like these women are selling sex because they got tired of their six-figure investment banking jobs.

Basically:
*Skeptical of benefits of Swedish model as law, especially after reading article linked.
*Find arguments from sex workers’ rights activists more convincing than ones from abolitionists.
*Hope to see more and better dialogue between disagreeing sides of debate.

She estimates, based on her years in journalism, that a typical female reporter pitches one story to an editor for every FIVE that a male colleague will pitch.

Does pitching more stories actually help, or does it just get a female reporter labelled a “bitch”? Basically, is it due to female reporters’ fear of the double standard, or is it an accurate judgement on their part about what will happen to them if they’re more assertive?