all men are not born handsome nor all women beautiful.

Instead there is a perfect gradation from extremely attractive to extremely unattractive, with an unfavorable balance of the old and ugly. This being the case, the persons at the wrong end of the scale must, and inevitably will, use extraneous means to obtain gratification. (Emphasis mine)
Prostitution is one topic in which the causes have been debated by many. There are three theories that I will discuss throughout this paper. The theories include a functionalist, feminist, and social psychological view of the subject. The argument that appears more correct is a matter of opinion. The functionalists believe there are two main reasons why a person would become a prostitute. The first reason deals with sexual morality. To break it down further the argument is that our sexual morality system, while condemning prostitution, actually and inadvertently encourages it. We live in a society that encourages the belief that sex with a spouse is meaningful while sex with a prostitute is meaningless. This idea may actually encourage men to seek sex with a prostitute if all they want is meaningless sex. Additionally certain sex acts, such as oral copulation or anal sex, are considered immoral by our society. This means that the common belief among society is that these acts should not be done with their spouse. This may motivate men who desire these acts to seek the services of an immoral prostitute. Another reason proposed by the functionalist is the belief that prostitution actually serves to strengthen sexual morality. Basically the sex industry keeps the respectable women pure because men can satisfy their immoral sexual desires elsewhere. There is some evidence to support the functionalist view of prostitution. Studies have shown that in certain societies such as traditional Asian societies where prostitution is prevalent, respectable women are less likely to engage in immoral sex acts. On the other hand many western societies where prostitution is less common, respectable women are more likely to engage in immoral sex acts. Now lets look at the feminist view. Feminist believe that the functionalist theory is nothing more then a reflection of our societys sexist views. They believe that the men partaki ng in the acts are just as immoral as the prostitutes themselves. They take their argument a step further by suggesting that the topic of prostitution is a small part of the larger patriarchal system in which men dominate the exploited women. Feminist also argue that society teaches boys to dominate girls and are expected to continue this behavior into adulthood. On the other hand society teaches girls to be submissive to boys, and to remain that way into adulthood. To prove this the feminist point out that prostitution is more prevalent in societies in which there is a greater presence of gender inequality. The basic idea is that prostitution and a male patriarchy support each other. This is because prostitution supports and encourages the idea that all women can be bought or are less valuable then men. Finally lets look at the Social Psychological Theory. This theory argues that there are three main reasons why some women become a prostitute. First are predisposing factors such as parental neglect, child abuse, or some other traumatic event. Attracting factors such as the belief that a women can have an easy life or make allot of easy money as a prostitute. And precipitating factors, such as unemployment, peer pressure, or other outside influences. While predisposing factors may cause a women to consider becoming a prostitute, it is unlikely she will actuaIn my opinion each theory states a very convincing argument. It is difficult to remain unbiased when thinking of this topic due to our personal beliefs. Although the supporters of each theory may not want to admit it, the fact is that if you look close enough you will see they all say the same basic thing. This one thing is the fact that prostitution is not merely an

issue that involves prostitutes; it involves all of society and many outside influences.

lly become one without some of the other listed factors.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prostitution law

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (March 2010) This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (March 2010)

Prostitution legal and regulated Prostitution legal, but not regulated; brothels are illegal Prostitution illegal No data

Sex and the law

Social issues

Age of consent Antisexualism Censorship Circumcision Deviant sexual intercourse Ethics Homophobia Miscegenation (interracial relations) Norms Objectification Pornography Public morality Red-light district Reproductive rights Same-sex marriage Striptease Survival sex

Specific offences

(May vary according to jurisdiction)

Adultery Buggery Child grooming Child pornography Child prostitution Criminal transmission of HIV Female genital mutilation Incest Pimping Prostitution (forced) Pedophilia Public indecency Rape (statutory marital) Seduction Sexting Sexual abuse (child) Sexual assault Sexual harassment Slavery Sodomy UK Section 63 (2008) Violence Zoophilia

Portals Sexuality Criminal justice Law

Prostitution law varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. Prostitution is legal in some parts of the world and regarded as a profession, while in other parts it is a crime punishable by death.[1] In some jurisdictions prostitution is illegal. In other places prostitution itself (exchanging sex for money) is legal, but surrounding activities (such as soliciting in a public place, operating a brothel, and pimping) are illegal. In other jurisdictions prostitution is legal and regulated. In Western criminology, the research and analysis of prostitution usually falls within public order issues.[citation needed]
Contents
[hide]

1 Overview 2 Legal themes

2.1 Victimhood issues

2.1.1 General

2.1.2 Economic and health issues 2.1.3 Human trafficking

3 Demographic impact

o o

3.1 Gender 3.2 Developed v. developing countries

4 Views on prohibition 5 Regulated prostitution

o o o

5.1 Mandatory health checks 5.2 Labor laws 5.3 Status of unregulated prostitution

6 Worldwide laws

6.1 Summary of legal status

6.1.1 Prostitution illegal 6.1.2 Prostitution legal, but procuring illegal 6.1.3 Prostitution legal and regulated

6.2 Country details

6.2.1 Australia 6.2.2 Canada 6.2.3 India 6.2.4 Philippines 6.2.5 Sweden, Norway, and Iceland

7 Enforcement 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

[edit]Overview
In some countries, prostitution may be a contentious issue. Members of certain religions may oppose prostitution, viewing it as a threat to the moral codes laid down in their scriptures. Sex worker activist groups may view it as a human rights issue.[2] Other people are merely curious or may view it as a "necessary evil". Some feminists organizations are opposed to prostitution, as they see it as a form of exploitation of women and male dominance over women, and as a practice which is the result of the existing patriarchal social order; the European Women's Lobby which bills themselves as the largest

umbrella organization of womens associations in the European Union and works to promote womens rights and equality has condemned prostitution as "an intolerable form of male violence".[3] Working prostitutes themselves may often be largely absent from the discussion. There is a case of discrimination against prostitutes even though the profession may be legal for instance, in Turkey its 15,000 registered prostitutes serving 56 brothels can't get married and their children are barred from occupying high rank army, although they can serve in other areas of government service. [4] The Wolfenden Committee Report (1957) which informed the debate in the UK stated what many[who?]consider to be the most appropriate principle for governments to observe: [the function of the criminal law is] to preserve public order and decency, to protect the citizen from what is injurious or offensive and to provide safeguards against the exploitation and corruption of others, ...It is not, in our view, the function of the law to intervene in the private lives of citizens, or to seek to enforce any particular code of behaviour, further than is necessary to carry out the purposes of what we have outlined. Finally, the United Nations in its Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others[5] favors criminalizing the activities of those seen as exploiting or coercing prostitutes (socalled "pimping" and "procuring" laws) while leaving prostitutes themselves free from regulation. The Convention states that "prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person". [6]

[edit]Legal

themes

Legal themes tend to address four types of issue: victimization (including potential victimhood), ethics and morality, freedom of the individual, and general benefit or harm to society (including harm arising indirectly from matters connected to prostitution).

[edit]Victimhood [edit]General

issues

This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2011)
Many people who support legal prostitution argue that prostitution is a consensual sex act between adults and a victimless crime, thus the government should not prohibit this practice. Many anti-prostitution advocates hold all prostitutes are themselves victims, arguing that prostitution is a practice which can lead to serious psychological and often physical long term effects for the prostitutes. [7][8][9] They may also argue that the act of prostitution is not by definition a fully consensual act, as they say that all prostitutes are "forced" to sell sex, either by somebody else or by the unfortunate circumstances of their lives (such as poverty, lack of opportunity, drug addiction, a history of childhood abuse or neglect, etc.). [citation needed]

In 1999, Sweden became the first country to make it illegal to pay for sex, but not to be a prostitute (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute). A similar law was passed in Norway and inIceland (in 2009). As of 2012, the Republic of Ireland is considering a similar model to that of the Nordic countries (Denmark excluded). [10]

[edit]Economic and health issues

It is argued[citation needed] that street prostitution is not victimless as it may damage the reputation and quality of life in the neighbourhood and diminish the value of property. Maxwell (2000) and other researcher have found substantial evidence that there is strong co-occurrence between prostitution, drug use, drug selling, and involvement in non-drug crimes, particularly property crime. Because the activity is considered criminal in many jurisdictions, its substantial revenues are not contributing to the tax revenues of the state, and its workers are not routinely screened for sexually transmitted diseases which is dangerous in cultures favouring unprotected sex and leads to significant expenditure in the health services. According to the Estimates of the costs of crime in Australia,[11] there is an "estimated $96 million loss of taxation revenue from undeclared earnings of prostitution".

[edit]Human trafficking
Main article: Human trafficking Sigma Huda, a UN special reporter on trafficking in persons said "For the most part, prostitution as actually practiced in the world usually does satisfy the elements of trafficking."[12] Internationally, the most common destinations for victims of human trafficking are Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US, according to a report by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).[13] The major sources of trafficked persons include Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.[13] Prostitution laws have been argued to affect trafficking flows.[14]

[edit]Demographic [edit]Gender

impact

Considerable diversity and stratification of experiences are available within prostitution: from straight and gay prostitutes on the street to elite escort services. For these purposes, sexual services may be offered by biological men and women, and the transgendered and transvestite. In Vienna, in April 2007, there were 1,352 female and 21 male prostitutes officially registered. [15] The number of prostitutes who are not registered (and therefore work illegally) is not known. A recent study by TAMPEP, on the prostitute population from Germany, estimated that 93% of prostitutes were female, 3% transgender and 4% male.[16]

Arrest statistics show that in those states where buying and selling sex are equally illegal, the tendency is to arrest the service provider and not the customer, even though there are significantly more customers than sellers. Thus, it is a fact that more women than men are arrested, and the true extent of the crime is underreported. James (1982) reports that, in the United States, the arrest ratio of women to men was 3:2, but notes that many of the men arrested were the prostitutes rather than the clients.

[edit]Developed

v. developing countries

"By 1975, Thailand, with the help of World Bank economists, had instituted a National Plan of Tourist Development, which specifically underwrote the sex industry ... Without directly subsidising prostitution, the Act [the Entertainment Places Act] referred repeatedly to the personal services' sector. According to Thai feminist Sukyana Hantrakul, the law 'was enacted to pave the way for whorehouses to be legalised in the guise of massage parlours, bars, nightclubs, tea houses, etc." See Aarons Sach, "A prostitute at nine," The Times of India Sunday Review, 22 January 1995. With particular reference to children, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child creates specific obligations. Article 34 stipulates that: State Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, State Parties shall, in particular, take all appropriate national, bilateral, and multilateral measures to prevent: The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity. The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices. The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. As of 2000, twenty four countries had enacted legislation criminalising child sex tourism, e.g. in Australia, the Crimes (Child Sex Tourism) Amendment Act 1994 covers a wide range of sexual activities with children under the age of 16 committed overseas. Laws with extraterritorial application are intended to fill the gap when countries are unwilling or unable to take action against known offenders. The rationale is that child-sex offenders should not escape justice simply because they are in a position to return to their home country. There is little research into whether the child sex tourism legislation has any real deterrent effect on adults determined to have sex with children overseas. It may be that these people are simply more careful in their activities as a result of the laws. There are three obvious problems:

the low level of reporting of sexual offences by child victims or their parents; the poverty which motivates the decision to survive economically through the provision of sexual services; and

the criminal justice systems which, in the Third World country may lack transparency, and in the First World country may involve hostile and intrusive cross-examination of child witnesses with no adult witnesses to corroborate their evidence.

[edit]Views

on prohibition
The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (March 2011)

This section's factual accuracy isdisputed. (February 2011)

See also: Feminist views on prostitution In most countries where prostitution is illegal, the prohibition of the sex trade is subject to debate and controversy among some people and some organizations, with some voices saying that the fact that prostitution is illegal increases criminal activities and negatively affects the prostitutes. Those who support prohibition or abolition of prostitution [17] argue that keeping prostitution illegal is the best way to prevent abusive and dangerous activities (child prostitution, human traffickingetc.). They argue that a system which allows legalized and regulated prostitution has very negative effects and does not improve the situation of the prostitutes; such legal systems only lead to crime and abuse: many women who work in licensed brothels are still controlled by outside pimps; many brothel owners are criminals themselves; the creation of a legal and regulated prostitution industry only leads to another parallel illegal industry, as many women do not want to register and work legally (since this would rob them of their anonymity) and other women can not be hired by legal brothels because of underlying problems (e.g., drug abuse); legalizing prostitution makes it more socially acceptable to buy sex, creating a huge demand for prostitutes (both by local men and by foreigners engaging in sex tourism) and, as a result, human trafficking and underage prostitution increase in order to satisfy this demand.[18][19][20][21][22] A multi-country study for the International Organisation for Migration found that 75% of men who buy sex prefer women under 25 years old, and over 20% prefer girls under 18 years old. [23] In Netherlands, at the end of 2008, six people were convicted in what prosecutors said was the worst case of human trafficking ever brought to trial in the Netherlands. Experts said the case could have an impact on the Dutch prostitution policy. Jan van Dijk, an organized crime and victimology expert at the International Victimology Institute Tilburg of Tilburg University, said "The honeymoon of the new prostitution legislation is over; we are really reconsidering whether we're on the right track".[24] In Amsterdam, in the last few years, a significant number of brothels and prostitution "windows" have been closed because of suspected criminal activity, and in 2009 the Dutch justice ministry announced plans to close 320 prostitution "windows" from Amsterdam.[25] Some have argued that an extremely high level of violence is inherent to prostitution; they claim that many prostitutes have been the subject of violence, rape and coercion before entering prostitution including as

children,[26][27] and that many young women and girls enter prostitution directly from state care in at least England, Norway, Australia and Canada.[28] Abolitionists believe tolerance of prostitution is tolerance of inegalitarian sexuality in which male sexual demands can override women's sexual autonomy and overall well-being.[29][30]

[edit]Regulated

prostitution

The state of Nevada is the only US state to allow some legal prostitution. In some countries, (or administrative subdivisions within a country), prostitution is legal and regulated. In these jurisdictions, there is a specific law, which explicitly allows the practice of prostitution if certain conditions are met (as opposed to places where prostitution is legal only because there is no law to prohibit it). In countries where prostitution is regulated, the prostitutes may be registered, they may be hired by a brothel, they may organize trade unions, they may be covered by workers' protection laws, their proceeds may be taxable, they may be required to undergo regular health checks, etc. The degree of regulation, however, varies very much by jurisdiction. Such approaches are taken with the stance that prostitution is impossible to eliminate, and thus these societies have chosen to regulate it in an attempt to reduce the more undesirable consequences. Goals of such regulations include controlling sexually transmitted disease, reducing sexual slavery, controlling where brothels may operate and dissociating prostitution from crime syndicates. In countries where prostitution is legal and regulated, it is usual for the practice to be restricted to particular areas. In countries where prostitution itself is legal, but associated activities are outlawed, prostitution is generally not regulated.

[edit]Mandatory

health checks

Not all countries with regulated prostitution require mandatory health checks (because such checks are seen as too intrusive, a violation of human rights and a discriminatory policy, since the clients don't have to be subjected to them). A few jurisdictions, however, require that prostitutes undergo regular health checks for sexually transmitted diseases. In Nevada, state law requires that registered brothel prostitutes be checked weekly for several sexually transmitted diseases and monthly for HIV; furthermore, condoms are mandatory for all oral sex and sexual intercourse. Brothel owners may be held liable if customers become infected with HIV after a prostitute has tested positive for the virus.[31] Prostitution outside the licensed brothels is illegal throughout the state; all forms

of prostitution are illegal in Las Vegas (and Clark County, which contains its metropolitan area), in Reno (and Washoe County), in Carson City, and in a few other parts of the state (currently 8 out of Nevada's 16 counties have active brothels, see Prostitution in Nevada).

[edit]Labor

laws

The regulation of prostitution is problematic because standard labor regulations cannot be applied to prostitution. The typical relation between employer and employee where the employer is in a position of authority over the employee is, in the case of prostitution, viewed by many as contrary to the physical integrity of the prostitute. It is forbidden to order a person to have sex on a given moment at a given place. Many sex operators also do not want to pay social security contributions, which comes with paid labor. Therefore, many prostitutes, in countries where prostitution is regulated, are officially listed as independent contractors. Sex operators typically operate as facilitators only and do not interfere with the prostitutes.

[edit]Status

of unregulated prostitution

The existence of regulated prostitution generally implies that prostitution is illegal outside of the regulated context. For example, Nevada has laws against engaging in prostitution outside of licensed brothels, encouraging others to become prostitutes, and living off the proceeds of a prostitute.

[edit]Worldwide

laws

Prostitution legal and regulated Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is not regulated Prostitution illegal No data

Prostitution legal and regulated Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is not regulated Prostitution illegal No data

Prostitution legal and regulated Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is not regulated Prostitution illegal (except in some rural counties of the US state of Nevada) No data

Prostitution legal and regulated Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is not regulated Prostitution illegal No data

Prostitution legal and regulated Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is not regulated

Main article: Prostitution by country

[edit]Summary

of legal status

Below there is a presentation of the legal status of prostitution around the world, as reported by the 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which was released in 2009. [32]

[edit]Prostitution illegal
In these countries prostitution itself (exchanging sex for money) is illegal. The punishment for prostitution varies considerably: in some countries, it can incur the death penalty, [1] in other jurisdictions, it is a crime punishable with a prison sentence, while in others it is a lesser administrative offense punishable only with a fine.

Africa: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Asia: Afghanistan,[33] Bahrain,[34] Burma,[hr 1] Brunei,[35] China,[hr 2] Iraq,[36] Iran,[37] Japan (illegal, but no judicial penalty is defined, see Prostitution in Japan), Jordan,[38] Kuwait,[39] Laos,[hr
3]

Maldives,[40] Mongolia,[hr 4] North Korea,[hr 5] Oman,[41] Pakistan,[42] Philippines,[hr 6] Qatar,[43] Saudi

Arabia,[44] South Korea,[hr 7] Sri Lanka,[hr 8] Syria,[45] Taiwan,[hr 9] Tajikistan,[46] Thailand,[hr

10]

Turkmenistan,[47] United Arab Emirates,[48]Uzbekistan,[49] Vietnam,[hr 11] Yemen.[50]

Europe: Albania, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Croatia, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco,Montenegro, Norway, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine. In Sweden, Norway and Iceland it is illegal to pay for sex (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute)

North America: Antigua and Barbuda,[hr 12] The Bahamas,[hr 13] Barbados,[hr 14] Dominica,[hr 15] Grenada,[hr
16]

Haiti,[hr 17] Jamaica,[hr 18] Saint Kitts and Nevis,[hr 19] Saint Lucia,[hr 20] Trinidad and Tobago,[hr 21] United

States (no federal law, but illegal in all states except Nevada, where some rural counties license brothels, see Prostitution in the United States).

Oceania: Fiji,[hr 22] Samoa,[51] Marshall Islands,[hr 23] Nauru,[hr 24] Palau,[hr 25] Papua New Guinea,[hr
26]

Solomon Islands,[hr 27] Tuvalu,[hr 28]Vanuatu,[hr 29] The Federated States of Micronesia.[52]

South America: Guyana,[hr 30] Suriname.[hr 31]

[edit]Prostitution legal, but procuring illegal

In these countries, there is no specific law prohibiting the exchange of sex for money, but in general most forms of procuring are illegal. These countries also generally have laws against soliciting in a public place (e.g., a street) or advertising prostitution, making it difficult to engage in prostitution without breaking any law.

Africa: Burkina Faso,[hr 32] Central African Republic,[hr 33] Cote d'Ivoire,[hr 34] Ethiopia,[hr 35] Madagascar,[hr
36]

Malawi,[hr 37] Sierra Leone.[53]

Asia: Hong Kong,[hr 38] India,[hr 39] Israel, Kazakhstan,[54] Kyrgyzstan,[55] Macau,[hr 40] Singapore, TimorLeste.[hr 41]

Europe: Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia,[56] Spain, United Kingdom

North America: Belize, Canada,[hr 42] Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua.

Oceania: Australia (in western states and Tasmania, see Prostitution in Australia), Kiribati,[hr 43] Tonga.[hr 44] South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile.

[edit]Prostitution legal and regulated

In some countries, prostitution is legal and regulated, though activities like pimping and street-walking are generally illegal. The degree of regulation varies by country, for example, not all countries require mandatory

health checks (because such checks are seen as too intrusive, a violation of human rights and discriminatory, since the clients aren't subjected to them). In some of these places, the regulations are very tight (e.g., Nevada), while other places (e.g., New Zealand) are very loosely regulated.

Africa: Cte d'Ivoire, Senegal Asia: Europe: Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey North America: Mexico, Panama, United States (only in some rural counties of Nevada, see Prostitution in Nevada)

Oceania: Australia (in most eastern states, see Prostitution in Australia), New Zealand South America: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

[edit]Country [edit]Australia

details

Main article: Prostitution in Australia In Australia, prostitution laws vary from State to State (see Prostitution in Australia). Most have decriminalised prostitution in varying ways. Regulation (sometimes known as legalisation) permits prostitution in certain forms, usually through zoning (confinement to certain areas) or licensing (licensing a limited number of prostitutes to work in certain areas of a city). Regulation views prostitution as a necessary evil if not a social necessity. The aim is not eradication so much as control, the goal being to keep prostitution limited to areas of town where it will not offend the rest of the citizenry. But regulation does little to change the dynamics between prostitutes and the public in that it legitimises prostitution only to the point that it may be practised in certain circumstances, but does not accord prostitutes any practical rights beyond the right not to be criminally charged in certain circumstances. In this context, decriminalisation also means institutional controls over the lives of those who engage in this work rather than granting the women control over the work they choose. See Egger (1991) and Pinto et al. (2005). Australia is a destination country for women who are trafficked into prostitution (there is trafficking for other purposes in Australia, though no research has been conducted which focuses on other forms of exploitation). The Australian Government announced a $20 million counter-trafficking package in October 2003, which recognises women trafficked into prostitution as victims of a crime and offers support to help them recover. However, this does not mean that the Australian Government considers all women in prostitution to be victims of a crime, only that trafficking is a crime. Most women trafficked to Australia are from South East Asia and China with some from Eastern and Central Europe and Latin America.

Kathleen Maltzhan reported for The Brisbane Institute in 2004[57] that in Victoria, trafficked women have been located in a number of legal brothels which is an issue that prostitution regulatory regimes have yet to seriously address: Legalisation legitimises prostitution. Despite the fact that most efforts to regulate prostitution come from a desire to limit the industry and protect women within it, the fact is that sex industry entrepreneurs always have more power than the women in it. They put huge resources into lobbying for recognition of the industry. Over time, what begins as a way to address sex industry criminality and violence becomes the means to portray prostitution as a legitimate industry which should not be criticised. Some elements in the sex industry will always ensure all men's demands are met. Trafficking is one way of doing this. We cannot return to the bad old days of criminalisation but we have to move beyond criminal control. An important principle in any discussion about prostitution is that the industry must be as safe and lucrative as possible for the women in it. If they want to leave they must have clear, accessible pathways out.

[edit]