What are the consequences of making prostitution legal in america based on countries that have it legalized?

[Sevenpointfive]

[Lliam]

First, I don't care what consenting adults do.
Second, I think there would be advantages. It would put a lot of pimps out of business because their "protection" would not be unnecessary.
It might cut down on human trafficking and organized crime. Women would be less vulnerable to forced exploitation.
Prostitutes and their clients would be entitled to police protection like every other citizen.
It would probably make prostitutes less vulnerable to abuse because they would be able to report abusers to the police without fear of, themselves, being prosecuted.
Clients would have legal recourse if they caught STDs from, or were robbed by, prostitutes.
Prostitutes could get checked regularly for STDs and present their certifications to clients. They could even insist on certification from clients.
Prostitutes could form unions and associations.
There could be government regulation, similar to regulation of restaurants and other businesses.
If prostitutes didn't have to operate in the shadows, they could work in safe environments like normal businesses.
Rape and violent crime might decrease if men had a safe outlet for their sexual frustrations.

[TurboKid]

I think inevitably you will see more legalized brothels and advertising for them, including people touting on the streets in red-light districts. But probably also some reduction in human trafficking (although usually legalized prostitution will not completely eliminate the underground economy), reduced spread of STDs, things of this nature. It might possibly increase the number of people who cheat on their partners as well since it's so easy when it's legal and you have a brothel which is openly advertised and not part of some underground criminal organization.

[TurboKid]

In Japan which is my main point of comparison, the cheating part is maybe the biggest con I see. I've known my share of married salarymen who cheat on their wives in brothels, and even when they don't want to so much... like their bosses take them to a pinsaro (pink salon, type of brothel) and they feel compelled to follow the lead of their bosses... it's like a part of the job to drink with the boss and sleep with prostitutes with the boss, even though they are married.

[Sevenpointfive]

nothing shady. no streetwalking. just self-advertising. maybe no physical place of business? but maybe something?

i'm all for entrepreneurship

[Sevenpointfive]

that sounds horrible honestly. i would never solicit a girl unless i absolutely had to. gun to my head type of thing

[TurboKid]

It is maybe the downside of legalizing it. It can inadvertently normalize it a bit. For advertising, I think that's also inevitable to some extent even if it's restricted to red-light districts... like this in Japan:

This is Pinsaro offering 2000 yen/service (~$18.38 USD)... typically maximum 30-min blowjob or until the guy busts a nut.

What I see in Japan with high-powered businessmen is kind of like strip clubs. It can be somewhat obligatory for a businessman to entertain clients or bosses at strip clubs in the US. In Japan, that can extend to brothels.

[Sevenpointfive]

the idea of currency was the downfall of our society. we were never meant to evolve this way

[TurboKid]

I'm in the pro-legalization camp though. I think we can sort these things out with values rather than laws, and often think laws have more perverse side effects than their absence. It's like I am in favor of ending the war on drugs but that might actually make people use more drugs if they can just pick them up from a store legally rather than deal with a shady dealer. It'll probably also drive prices down unless they're taxed heavily. At the very least, we won't be locking people up and ruining their lives for these things, and we might be able to put a dent on the ability for gang members to thrive selling such things on the black market.

[Sevenpointfive]

it's gonna cause more crime but if we put up the border and stomp out the dealers then there are les drugs. don't feed cartels

[TurboKid]

I'm thinking it's hard to beat the cartels with force. They got narco-submarines already. Every time they try to tighten up in the US, the dumber ones seem to get replaced by smarter, more resourceful, maybe even more ruthless ones. I think it's easier to beat them in the market with home-grown. Put them out of business. Although I think that legalized way carries its share of undesirable side effects... but I think it's easier to tackle side effects with law-abiding citizens than with ones who invest all their efforts into bypassing the law.

[ChrisMaster69]

It’s one of those topics that result in shock and comments like ban it, burn them all in hell.

the thing is it’s being going on for eons.

Woman ‘can you do me some cave painting or make me a new flint’

Caveman ‘oh it will cost you’

Woman ‘how about some sex?’

Caveman ‘how many flints do you want’

Society needs to accept it exists and is never going away.

you then need to look at exactly how you protect those who work as prostitutes and also those who use them.

The key things are to stamp out crime, violence and abuse.

also sexual diseases, drug dependency etc.

The ostrich approach does not work, it just leaves entire areas of cities open to crime and pretty much no go areas.

legalising it without putting other measures in place also does not work, you end up with trafficking, underground prostitution, etc.

[adventurous-1]

I see it as a positive move, it removes or limits the crime element and helps the population with controlling STD's. Women won't be hooked into drugs to keep them preforming or traumatized for not doing as expected. They will be healthy and free to change their lifestyle when they feel its time to do so. The taxes gained from the business will be a very positive bonus rather than a drain on the cost of law enforcement and prosecution. The time the police spend on prostitution could be better spent doing things of greater value.

[jahaims]

Without doing any research on countries where it is legal. I would say it would be more positive then negative if it were to be properly regulated. That being said with marijuana being legal is more places cartels have moved to pushing more lethal/dangerous drugs. So maybe the black market for prostitution would increase underage trafficking and fill other holes the legal market wouldn't allow.

[007kingifrit]

lots of increased crime in broad daylight. prostitution isn't making things violent because its illegal... it causes violence SO WE MADE IT ILLEGAL

try it in some places. see what happens

[Sevenpointfive]

well that was my question. based on those places with prostitution legalized, do the consequences stay the same or would they be different?

[007kingifrit]

a British town legalized prostitution a year or 2 ago. they made a documentary about it. looks pretty bad

[Sevenpointfive]

do you recall the title? i'd be interested

[Mofunfour20]

Women won't be able to waste a mans time, and money by dangling the idea of sex in front of him. Seems fair to me and would level the playing field between the two genders

[joeldalton]

There is a correlation with an increase in human trafficking in places where prostitution is legalized.

[blondfrog]

Higher sex trafficking. Other than that its better than having pimps.

[Abtraction]

don't think it will ever happen in the USA, the ladies will not let it happen.

[888theGreat]

Reduction of marriages and many diseases. Anyone that uses prostitutes deserves to get hiv and aids.

[Karen35]

It’s can only make it worst with the highest number of abuse and infection

[anylolone]

Depends on how it's regulated.