commodifying the vagina

The issue of prostituting the Filipina is something our AKBAYAN party-list representative in Philippine Congress deems detestable because of the commodification and objectification our women and children are subjected to, just so they can live off with rather measly sum of money. Since it is illegal, it works underground and so, the number of Filipinas engaged in the flesh trade can only be estimated. At an alarming rate of 400-500,000, these prostituted women and children run the risk of exploitation, violence, trafficking, sexually transmitted diseases, negligible healthcare, and similar crimes and assaults against Filipinas. As a response, House Bill 2419 is under legislation in order to protect our women and children from such a dastardly occupation and were there more congresswomen in the House of Representatives, issues concerning women will be addressed more easily with feminist experts around.
I strongly agree that the prostitution of Filipinas should be stopped and the passing of the anti-prostitution house bill will greatly help the drive to cease any activity exploiting our women and children. It is disgusting that this grave criminal offense has corrupted our Filipinas in exchange for unworthy economic subsistence, and yet it seems that patriarchy in the society points a blaming finger at our prostituted women and children, unerring in its accusation that the Filipinas had it coming. Our women and children are humans, too, so they deserve some right to be respected and to live decently and in equal footing with men, whose acquisition of these living commodities’ sexual services exacerbates the plight of exploited women and children. These marginalized subjects are not worth a few pesos nor are they deserving of the various assaults incurred in the performance of their work, so to speak. It is right to shift the crime to the perpetrators of sexual exploitation of Filipinas because it is with their doing that our women and children are stripped of their dignity with just a small amount of money.
The proposed bill should be facilitated so finally, our prostituted Filipinas can start a healing process when they eventually haul their violators in jail. Only a speedy passing of the anti-prostitution bill, supported by men and especially women representatives in Congress and by the Filipino populace at-large, will realize that our Filipinas’ and children’s dignity is priceless and their humans rights should be championed at all cost. Also, the government should be able to generate enough financially compensatory jobs our Filipinas may engage in so they need not subject themselves under selling of the flesh out of sheer desperation and hopelessness. Eliminating prostitution is one way of subverting the macho gaze of women from mere objects or merchandise to persons of worth and honor; it is high time that women and children share the same privileges in life which men enjoy as a consequence of their social position.