The following two quotes come from a recent news article:
"The personal moral views of people such as prosecutions boss Mokotedi Mpshe should play no role in deciding whether sex work is legalised, NGO Sweat (Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force) said on Wednesday."
"She (Vivienne Lalu, Sweat's advocacy programme co-ordinator) told Sapa that while Sweat respected people's right to hold a Christian moral view -- which was essentially what Mpshe had been expressing -- South Africa was a secular state, and it was inappropriate that those views should be enshrined in the country's laws."
I found the article interesting as it raises the question of whether it should be permissible for ones worldview to influence every area of their life and work.
Arguably, legislation should be evaluated not on the basis of whether it allegedly 'enshrines a Christian moral view' but whether it does what it is supposed to do viz. protect, correct and direct the society that is making it.
I suspect that for this reason Mpshe may have it right.
Their is suffiecient scientific (secular) research that shows that the legalisation of prostitution opens a pandora's box of social ills... sex trafficking perhaps being one of the most insidious.
Too many South African's are already in bondage, need we legalise new ways to further enslave?
Who knows perhaps the next 'right' we choose to legalise is the the 'right' to pedophilia...
'Constitutional rights' forbid that we allow that to happen!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Four points need to be made in response to the argument for retaining the total criminalisation of prostitution(status quo) The first point is that total criminalisation has not ended prostitution, including related vices. The second is that there is no conclusive evidence that supports assertions that prostitution and related vices increase with the removal of criminalisation. The third point is that crime and sin are not synonymous.In this regard I agree with the Wolfenden Committee's statement that – if all sin is not equated to crime then there exists “a realm of private morality and immorality which is not the law’s business” The fourth and final point is: the challenge presented by prostitution is not whether or not we agree with the practice but rather, what is the measure of a great society? For me the measure of a great society lies in the treatment a society accords to its most defenseless and vulnerable and the extent to which it is inclusive.
My comment is a question more than it is a statement. Although my mother has a point my question is; As christians do we not have a social responsibilty for society as a whole? Meaning that the privatization of religion is not an option. Yes South Africa is a secular nation and doesn't prescribe to christian morality but as Christtians are we not to impose our views not because of pride but due to the fact that we know them to be true? If I have knowledge that others have not come to realise is it not my responsibility to inform everyone? Secularization can only have ill effects on society.
Post a Comment