Should Prostitution Be Legal?

Greater demand for prostitution caused by legalization and decriminalization creates an increase in the market for sex.

This creates a more dangerous environment for those selling sex because it drives prices down and the need for riskier sex acts up. And since there aren't enough women prostituting to meet the increased demand, trafficking increases.

Proving this point, researchers from the London School of Economics did a quantitative empirical analysis of over 150 different countries and their prostitution policies. Their study found that “The scale effect of legalizing prostitution leads to an expansion of the prostitution market and thus an increase in human trafficking... On average, countries with legalized prostitution experience a larger degree of human trafficking inflows.”[1]

Learn more about prostitution

  • Additional footnotes from video
  • [7] UK Home Office (2004) Solutions and Strategies: Drug Problems and Street Sex Markets: London: UK Government
  • [8] Raymond, J., D’Cunha, J., Dzuhayatin, S. R., Hynes, H. P., Ramirez Rodriguez, Z., & Santos, A. (2002). “A comparative study of women trafficked in the migration process: Patterns, profiles and health consequences of sexual exploitation in five countries (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Venezuela and the United States)”. N. Amherst, MA: Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). Retrieved March 15, 2003, from http://action.web.ca/home/catw/readingroom.shtml?x=17062
  • [9] Vanwesenbeeck, I. (1994) Prostitutes' Well-Being and Risk. VU University Press, Amsterdam.
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