Diane Sawyer's piece on prostitution is heart breaking.

Diane Sawyer's segments on prostitution is heartbreaking and one of the first points she makes is the high statistics of violence these women endure and the also death. Surprise, men think they are disposable and Sawyer estimates the life expectancy is 35.
Factors besides enormous violence, verbal abuse, humiliation are also homelessness, drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Many also suffered child abuse.

Based on the above paragraph it makes the law's focus prosecuting these women even more heart breaking. Some women interviewed said they did exit the industry after being arrested. Sawyer also reports the pimps are rarely prosecuted and the segment highlighted how abusive they are. The use fear, intimidation and violence and walk away unscathed.

Legalizing prostitution would be best but with careful monitoring and open available support services to exit the industry and also help with any of the abuse issues such as violence, homelessness, drugs and alcohol abuse. If it is legal than women who are confronted with violence can turn in theory to the police where they can't and in fact are more likely to be arrested than their pimps and clients.

If it is legalized than women and clients can be tested to make sure they do not have diseases. If it is legalized and kept out of the parks and streets than women and girls who are not sex workers may not be harassed by men looking for sex workers.

Sawyer's show does not cover male prostitution or under age prostitution.

One young woman, Skyler who studied opera sang as Diane Sawyer requested and her voice was beautiful. She suffered a trauma so terrible she cannot talk about it and since the interview she disappeared. Made me cry. Is she dead? Did she descend further in to despair and drugs? Her friend had the most enormous stabbing wound with over a hundred stitches and Sawyer said this woman did return to live with her grandmother. It was clear she had suffered so much on every level possible.

abc.com Sawyer says to go here and you can express your thoughts and there is info on resources.

After I posted this I thought more about the politics of sex, the double standards and the hypocrisy.
I think of an ex President who used an intern and it was free exchange -- he played on her emotions giving her gifts but he became angry when she did not understand her role and that she was ultimately disposable. I don't care how liberated people think they are -- there is still shocking sexism and women have to deal with the hostility of this "knowing your place" and this "disposable" mentality. I made art when I was very young literally turning that concept of disposability around.

There is hypocrisy and it can also be found in women. A socialite that barters a very expensive dress or trip to some where for being a companion does not consider that sex work. Economic power, opportunities and ideologies seem out dated and dishonest.

There are women that marry men or date them with the clear understanding the money and the gifts are part of the deal and the same with divorcing these men. It is lucrative and more money than most of these women can earn in mainstream corp. America or for that matter in a life time. I have heard the rumor that women that marry men for money with the intention of making money attempt to get pregnant right away because a child means more money for the lucrative divorce settlements which are their ultimate goal and this does go both ways with men that marry women for their money and same gender relations. Sexual politics have economic issues that are part of most everyone's lives.

I wish Diane Sawyer uses her resources to track down Skyler if she is alive and help her to get off the street and return to her musical education, help her get employment and help with her drug addiction.