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Why Prostitution should not be Legalized
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The topic on the authenticity of prostitution as a subject of legislative action has ignited
heated debate since the 1980s. Various countries around the globe such as the Germans and the
Dutch have legalized prostitution and decriminalized its channels including brothels and pimps,
effectively making commercial sex working a viable legal employment option. One of the
biggest arguments made by the countries that support prostitution is that it is far too spread both
in the streets and on the internet thus banning it would only open loopholes for exploitive pimps
and illegal traffickers. According to Moen (2014) legalizing prostitution would allow sex
workers to advertise directly to their clients and trade freely without having to hide from the
authorities hence generating ample income as well as raising a substantial amount of revenue to
boost the global economy. According to the www.havocscope.com website that analyzes the
black economy, the global prostitution industry is worth more than $180 billion and its
legalization in the United States could generate approximately $20 billion a year. Nevertheless,
many countries around the world have continued to object prostitution and argue against its
decriminalization on the basis that not only does it promote immorality in the society but also
leads to excessive exploitation and humiliation of the sex workers hence unethical. This essay
aims to analyze the theme on the ban of prostitution by providing critical evidence on its
demerits as well as evaluating possible merits that it would encompass.
One of the greatest argument against the legalization of prostitution is that it benefits
pimps, traffickers and brothel owners more that the sex workers. According to Sullivan (2010)
legalizing prostitution leads to the conversion of massage parlors and sex clubs into legal entities
where commercial sex activities can flourish with minor restrictions. As a result the venue
owners convert into sex business dealers who hire sex workers and provide them to potential
clients on demand at a legal capacity. With this kind of business dealings, the sex workers who

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are mostly women are transformed into machine-like assets that are used by their employers to
make money and only gain a small service fee in return. In this perception, although many
scholars have argued that decriminalization of prostitution would empower the sex workers and
provide them with a genuine source of living without arrests and harassment from the authorities,
Sullivan (2010) discredits this argument by providing evidence that prostitution legalization
doesn’t benefit the sex workers but simply benefits the sex business dealers. Therefore, when
arguing on the legalization of prostitution, it is important to consider that this does not only refer
to the legalization of sex workers but entails the decriminalization of the prostitution industry in
its entirety including the pimps, sex entrepreneurs and other third party sex business operatives.
Accordingly, this decriminalization would result to more exploitation and dehumanization of the
sex workers which could easily lead to an emotional stigma.
Secondly, legalization of the prostitution industry would open up a business channel for
sex traffickers. According to Anderson (2002), with the decriminalization of sex industry, sex
clients would increase leading to increased demand thus compelling the sex dealers to result to
extreme measures to source more sex workers for their clients. This would ultimately lead to
increased cases of sex trafficking in a bid to suffice the demand and source clients that fit
specific client’s specifications to ensure customer satisfaction and make more profits. An
illustration of this can be referred to the case in Netherlands where the proposers of legalization
of prostitution argued that this would reduce the exploitation of the immigrants who were as a
result of sex trafficking. On the contrary, after it legalization a research by Agence France Presse
(2003) indicated that more than three quarters of women of women practicing prostitution in the
Dutch brothels were as a result of sex trafficking from foreign countries (2). According to
Bureau NRM (2002), since the decriminalization of the Dutch sex industry, there has been a

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number of increase in trafficking victims as reported by numerous victim support organizations.
This was attributed to the idea that the Dutch market requires more specifications of sex workers
than the community can supply hence requiring supplements from neighboring countries
especially form the Central and Eastern European regions. In this perspective, decriminalizing
prostitution would lead to a high increase in sex trafficking depriving the victims various rights
including the right to freedom
Legalization of prostitution would also pose as a threat to human health. Anderson (2002)
argues that, although a legalized prostitution system requires sex workers to undergo regular
health checks, it is almost impossible to mandate the random clients to undergo the same checks.
This means that, although the sex workers would be health-wise fit to deliver their services, they
are exposed to a high risk of infection from numerous diseases including airborne diseases, as
well as those that are spread through respiratory droplets and contact routes. For example, unless
the countries that permits prostitution put a temporary ban during this period of Covid-19
outbreak, sex workers in those regions could be at high risk of contracting the virus due to the
high contact rate involved with multiple strangers with unknown Covid-19 status. Additionally,
the risk of infection and transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections such as HIV/AIDS is
relatively high. According to the works of Raymond et al (2001), 47% of sex workers in the
States stated that clients who sought for their services expected to have unprotected sex; 70%
reported that they were offered more money by their clients if they accepted to have the
intercourse without a condom while 40% reported that most of their clients got angry or furious
when the sex workers insisted on the use of the condom. According to these reports by different
researchers, it is evident that legalizing the prostitution business not only puts the sex workers at

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high risk of contracting various diseases but jeopardizes the healthcare sector’s efforts to curb the
rising risk of transmission and spread of various diseases.
Moreover, legalizing the prostitution industry could lead to increased child prostitution,
child trafficking and the excessive abuse of children rights against sex. According to Tiggeloven
(2001), The Amsterdam-based ChildRight department has recorded a tremendous increase in
children prostitution which is mostly attributed to the legalization of the sex industry. The
increase had multiplied by more than 300% from 4000 in 1996 to 15000 children in 2001 most
of which are a result of trafficking from 3rd world countries especially Nigeria. This reports by
various children rights departments shows that legalizing the prostitution industry promotes child
trafficking due to the rising demand of sexual services. Moreover, with legalized prostitution,
some exploitive parents, relatives and guardians transcend the limits and lure their children to
engage into prostitution activities by connecting them to direct clients or brothels attendants in
order to earn the family an extra coin. According to (), 55% of the buyers who get the services of
the children are unsuspecting as the children could be from the age of 15 to 17 most of whom
resemble full grown women. This findings indicate that a complete ban of prostitution would
suppress clients demand for sex workers thus closing the loophole for sex trafficking hence
considerably reducing the number of children involved in trafficking. Additionally, with
prostitution illegalized, the authorities are at liberty to conduct numerous raids at sex clubs as
well as massage parlors to inspect any incidences of prostitution thus increasing the chances of
uncovering any forms of child prostitution.
Additionally, legalization of prostitution converts sexual intercourse from a marital affair
in to a monetary aspect thus undermining normal human relationship. When the legal barrier on
prostitution disappears, the social settings is undermined and the society slowly learn to accept

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sex as a commodity or item that can be purchased or procured openly in the streets. Accordingly
legalization of prostitution makes it seem as acceptable even to those who previously
undermined it, thus demeaning the historical and cultural constructs of many social entities.
Anderson (2002) emphasizes that permissibility of sex as an economic activity promotes the idea
to both young and elderly men that women are sexual tools and that sex can be considered as an
extra-curricular activity and source of fun and leisure. Thusly, its decriminalization encourages
men to transact for sex publicly and in a permissible perspective thus undermining the real
essence of sex or marriage and reducing the respect that was awarded to the women by their
male counterparts. According to Moen (2014), the permissibility of prostitution has led to an
underrating of relationship affairs thus effectively leading to the break-ups of many marriages
and courtship affairs. Additionally, the earning derived from the prostitution act is considered
immoral hence transforming the states that permit, control and collect revenues from the
prostitution industry into a mere pimps.
Legalization of prostitution leads to increased clandestine, illegal prostitutions and
rebellion among sex workers. A major, the major goal of prostitution legalization is to move the
sex workers from the streets where they are more vulnerable to in-house controlled facilities.
However, most of the women in the streets opt to stay there to avoid exploitations by pimps, sex
entrepreneurs and brothel owners while other avoid fees associated with registration and regular
health checks. Additionally, most sex workers are not proud of their profession and hence would
prefer to work in anonymity rather than have a system registry that can trace them to their place
of work. Research shows that the sex workers especially women avoid the idea of being finger-
pointed in the neighborhood or being stigmatized as ‘whores’ hence the reluctance to register in
a public registry system Therefore, subjecting the prostitutes to a system where they are

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mandated to oblige to certain legal requirements, most of which are they deem, would do more
harm than good in curbing street prostitution.
Comparatively, although prostitution in the Netherlands has been legalized, a
considerable proportion of the sex workers still operate illegally underground to maintain their
anonymity and protect their identity thus avoiding stigmatization that follows them everywhere.
This is more so because despite the legalization of prostitution and acceptance in the societal
settings, the stigmatization of women still remains and most of them are shamed and humiliated
due to the profession. One other reason why women avoid the legal system is to avoid being
under control of bosses who subject them to ill mal sexual malpractices against their wishes.
According to Martin (2002), Chief Inspector Nancy Pollock of Scotland noted that prostitutes in
the streets have more control of the acts they will perform than those in in-house facilities ran by
pimps. For example, on the streets, rarely do women do anal intercourse or have unprotected sex.
However, those who run the brothels try to secure the interests of the clients and fetch more
revenue by forcing the women to perform some of above named sexual acts against their wishes.
More so, making commercial sex legal extensively expands the sex industry rather than
control or regulate it. It is widely perceived that decriminalization of prostitution would control
its growth and expansion. On the contrary, removing the legal barriers promotes sexual
exhibition to attract both local and international clientele. In most regions that permit prostitution
such as the Netherlands, women of all ages and races who are almost fully naked are exhibited at
any time of the day for display in brothels to attract prospective buyers. Moreover, other than
endorsement form government entities, legalization of prostitution supports the development of
multiple sex businesses agencies comprising of prostitution entrepreneurs who pose as sub-
governing agents representing the rights of the clients or the sex workers with the intention of

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furthering their own interests. With this bulk of associates and agents in the prostitution industry
the need for more prostitutes in the business becomes an essence to ensure every sector in the
entity gets a cut of the revenue. Accordingly this leads to international sourcing of clients and
prostitutes consequently making the prostitution industry exceedingly large thus hardly
controllable. With such a high expansion rate, government measures to effectively regulate and
control the system become less effective subsequently leading to increased cases of sex
trafficking and child prostitution.
Furthermore, unlike other professions legalizing sex working does not enhance sex
workers’ choice. Most sex workers who find themselves in the prostitution business only do that
as a means of survival and lack of other options but not as career choice. Thusly, rather than
subjecting them to the entirety of prostitution by legalizing and taxing it, the legal entities should
focus on creating more profitable jobs in the especially in the production sector thus offering the
sex workers better choices in the career line. A research interview conducted by Raymond et al.
(2001) indicated that choice in indulging in prostitution could only discussed in the context of
unavailability of alternatives. A huge percentage of the interviewee described prostitution as a
measure of last result and a dishonorable way of supporting their livelihoods. The research
indicated that, more than 65% of a legislative agents were convinced the sex workers did not
choose the sex industry voluntarily. Similarly, more than 70% of social service providers had the
feeling that sexual workers did not voluntarily choose to engage in prostitution. Accordingly, one
can deduce that women who enter in the prostitution industry live in denial and shame or are
constantly looking for alternative means of livelihood that can exterminate their connection to
the sex industry. In this perspective, legalizing the prostitution industry will grant the industry

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more legal security and market industry thus allowing pimps and brothel owners to lure more
desperate women into the involuntary industry.
Legalization of prostitution promotes gender-based violence. According to numerous
observation reports, women take up a considerable size of the sex workers in the sex industry
with most of the clients being men. Slezak notes that, prostitution has been greatly linked with
sexual violence and rated as a virulent and powerful source of women’s oppression. Women in
the brothels and the streets are viewed as vulnerable by their male clients and hence subject to all
kinds of violence including rape and physical assault. Thusly, decriminalizing sex working will
lead to an increase in male clients as well as an increase in the female sex workers thus leading
to a multiplication of the cases of violence against the women. Raymond et al (2002) revealed
that sex workers who were victims of sexual violence feel that prostitution establishments take
little measures to protect the sex workers and mostly focus on the satisfaction of the client
without much consideration of the circumstances. In nations where commercial sex is a legal
business function such as Germany, cases of women abuse in brothels have been on the rise. It is
also anticipated that there are many more cases that go unreported and never get in the record
either due to ignorance of the law by the victims or fear of stigmatization. According to a
research by Huisman and Kleemans (2014) the finding from a survey carried out on 770 sex
workers in New Zealand most assaulted sex workers hesitated to report acts of sexual violence
against them to the police due to their sense of stigma and need for anonymity.
Additionally, legalizing and decriminalization of the sex industry promotes organized
crime. It is widely perceived that illegitimate acts in the prostitution industry can be controlled
when stakeholders in the prostitution business are made accountable for all the illegal activities
that take place in their premises. Those that advocate for the decriminalization of the sector base

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their argument on the fact that this will improve the transparency between prostitutes and the
authorities hence providing better chances to deal with the illegitimacies involved in the business
thus reducing or eradicating illegalities such as sex trafficking and child prostitution. However,
that is not always the case, research has established that controlling and regulating the
commercial sex sector creates a channel to hide sexual malpractices and exploitation by allowing
brothel to function on an official capacity. According to Verhoeven et al (2015), the commercial
sex business supports many activities of the black market and its legalization and
decriminalization has yielded little results in driving out organized crime. However, it is quite the
opposite, Verhoeven et al, (2015) emphasizes that fighting this illegitimacy such as child
prostitution and sex trafficking using the official system has proved to be even more complicated
activity in the decriminalized prostitution sector.
In conclusion, the legalization and decriminalization of prostitution has been supported
by numerous groups due its ability to provide income for its actors as well as generate
government revenue. However, this legalization has proved to have many demerits most of
which are detrimental and could lead to adverse effects for the participants and the community in
general. One of the effects that can result from the legalization of the prostitution industry is the
transmission and spread of communicable diseases. Although the legalized systems emphasize
on the regular checkup of the sex worker, it fails to protect the sex worker from the client who
could be carrying viral diseases such as Ebola or Covid-19 and spread it to the sex-worker.
Another great disadvantage is the exploitation of the workers by middlemen and brothel owners.
In most cases, the sex workers who are mostly women are transformed into machine-like assets
that are used by their employers to make money and only gain a small service fee in return.
Additionally, unlike other professions most women who enter in the prostitution business do it

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involuntarily that as a means of survival and lack of other options but not as career choice.
Therefore the legalization and taxation of the industry is not only viewed as unethical but also a
mockery to the unfortunate and exploited sexual workers. Finally the legalization of the
prostitution industry is aimed at controlling and regulating it but on the contrary ends up
expanding it extensively consequently leading to numerous sex associated crimes such as sex
trafficking, child prostitution and gender based violence.

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References
Agence France Presse (2003). No More Prostitutes, Danish Union Says. July 30, 2020.
Bureau NRM (2002). Trafficking in Human Beings: First Report of the Dutch National
Rapporteur. The Hague
Huisman, W., & Kleemans, E. R. (January 01, 2014). The challenges of fighting sex trafficking
in the legalized prostitution market of the Netherlands. Crime, Law and Social
Change, 61, 2, 215-228.
Martin, L. (2002). The Compassionate Detective. The Herald: [Glasgow]
Moen, O. (2014). Is prostitution harmful? Journal of Medical Ethics, 40(2), 73-81. Retrieved
July 30, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/43282920
Raymond, J., d’Cunha, J., Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, S., Hynes, H.P., Ramirez Rodriguez, Z., and
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). Available at
www.catwinternational.org
Slezak, I. (2017). Violence Towards Sex Workers. Analysis Based on Research into the Field of
Indoor Sex Work in Poland. Polish Sociological Review, (198), 237-254.

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Sullivan, B. (2010). When (Some) Prostitution Is Legal: The Impact of Law Reform on Sex
Work in Australia. Journal of Law and Society, 37(1), 85-104.
Tiggeloven, C. (2001,). Child Prostitution in the Netherlands. Retrieved at
www.nw.nl/hotspots/html/netherlands011218.html.
Verhoeven, M., van, G. B., de, J. D., & Kleemans, E. (March 01, 2015). Relationships Between
Suspects and Victims of Sex Trafficking. Exploitation of Prostitutes and Domestic
Violence Parallels in Dutch Trafficking Cases. European Journal on Criminal Policy and
Research, 21, 1, 49-64.