I don’t think sex work is empowering for women

Or for anyone for that matter. I know some men are sex workers too. But I feel that prostitution, hard core pornography, stripping professionally and so on are industries people enter if one they are trafficked and abused into it or if by choice because they see no other economic alternative to sustain themselves whether due to lack of educational or vocational opportunities. I feel it demeans sexuality into a commercial transaction and cheapens and debases it.I truly feel sorry for sex workers. I’m not one to think it should be criminalized because then sex workers would be scared to go for help from the authorities. I also know the “clients” have diverse reasons for paying for sex work too. Some are just lonely and want someone to talk to, others are there for purely sexual gratification. Others wish for companionship when they have no significant others or spouses to have a connection with. I also feel like fixing the problem is also understanding why men and sometimes women seek out in the first place. And there should also be programs to reintegrate sex workers into society with educational opportunities and vocational training and therapy to help with processing the trauma of their experiences. As a society we should help the most vulnerable so they don’t feel they have to turn to sex work to survive and there should be stronger safety nets for people who fall on hard times and better access to higher education and vocational training to keep others out of poverty in the first place. And there needs to be more education to spread awareness about human trafficking and the signs of it. There also need to be harsher laws on the traffickers and victims should not be punished if they say murder their slave masters. That is just my view.