Why is it that a heterosexual is considered mentally mature enough to consent to sex at the age of 16, but a homosexual isn't until they are 18? Is it to help avoid exploitation? In what way can a homosexual be exploited that a heterosexual cannot? Are politician's concerned that a 16 year old boy might be "turned?" I wonder how many heterosexual men would say that they could have been turned into a homosexual at the age of 16 if they had been shown interest by another man? Not many I'd bet! I believe in fairness. Either the age of consent for homosexuals should be lowered to 16, or the age of consent of heterosexuals should be highered to 18. Personally I feel that 16 is a good age as it enables girls to complete their education before starting a family.
I believe that if somebody has sex with someone below the legal age of consent they should serve 2 days in prison for every day the child is short of their 16th birthday. Having sex with someone on their 15th birthday would result in a 2 year sentence, sex with an 11 year old would result in a 10 year sentence. Sex with an infant could result in a sentence of up to 30 years. Where both parties are under the legal age of consent the case would have to be assessed individually, but where there is an age difference of 2 years or greater the act should certainly be considered a serious offense.
Simply making prostitution illegal is like burying our heads in the sand. People have been probably been using sex to get what they want since before money existed, it still occurs now despite being illegal, and I suspect will continue for many years to come. If a person choses this path of their own free will then that is their choice and I see no reason why we should try to stop it. The big problem with prostitution is that people are often forced into it by other people or by some form of chemical addiction.
What I would like to see is sex in massage parlours to be legalised. I'm sure most of us at least suspect it already goes on there anyway, so why not make it legal? Legalising it would not only make us accept reality but also allow us to regulate. It would be mandatory for all massage parlour employees to attend interviews on a regular basis. These interviews would take place in a mobile office of some kind (possibly a specially equipped van with privacy windows) so that employees make speak freely with regulators. The employee's needs would be assessed to see if there is any help available to them. If they are being forced to prostitute against their will then an appropriate course of action will be taken, if they are participating voluntarily but only due to some form of drug addiction then a free rehabilitation course will could be offered. If the employee has simply chosen this path of their own free will and requires no assistance then no help will be needed.
The purpose of this proposal is to acknowledge the reality of the current situation, prostitution exists, so that help may be offered to those people who are prostituting their bodies who do not wish to be doing so. Street prostitution should still be illegal as this not only makes the issue too prominent to children but is also very unsafe for the person working without the protection of other members of staff and video security that would be present within a massage parlour.