this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
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https://orgs.law.harvard.edu/lids/2014/06/12/does-legalized-prostitution-increase-human-trafficking/
I know there's a handful of studies out there, but this one is fairly comprehensive.
It's difficult to know for sure the answer to your question. The authors theory is more that due to economic reasons, the demand following legalization grows faster than the domestic supply, because demand grows higher in countries with high wealth because they can afford it, and supply is lower because wealth people are less likely to become prostitutes.
They then look at a bunch of countries to put specific numbers on those trends and see if they balance out to an increase or decrease in trafficking.
The evidence gives weight to their theory, which would sidestep the specifics of how enforcement was conducted.
It's also important to note that their study was independent of the harm reduction aspect of decriminalization, which is increasingly well accepted.
What I'd be curious to know is if decriminalization results in a global increase in trafficking, or just local.
If someplace decriminalized prostitution, and that just diverted trafficked persons there instead of elsewhere rather than causing more people to be trafficked, then you could potentially be doing a net good making sure that people who ended up trafficked ended up in the lest harmful place that could happen to them.
The problem with this are in places where prostitution is legal, police can search a brothel and as long as everyone there is scared enough not to tell them it's a trafficking situation, there's basically nothing they can do. In countries where it is illegal, they can arrest them, then get them somewhere safe, and then find out it was trafficking and help them out.
If people are too scared to tell the police, they'll be too scared in either case. Police can also arrest people for suspicion, they just can't press charges.
In jurisdictions where it's illegal, the vastly more common occurrence is that trafficked persons are afraid to talk to the police because they're doing illegal things and fear legal penalties.
Actual evidence suggests that outcomes for trafficked persons are better when it's decriminalized, even though it happens more often.
I don't think that's a fair exchange
Okay.
From the metrics in the study referenced above trafficking accounts for roughly 25% of prostitutes, regardless of legality. When it's legal, they have workplace protections and get normal workplace benefits like retirement plans.
When it's illegal, they have little legal protections, and are subject to abuse because while victims, they're also criminals and are punished if caught or saved.
Personally, I think better outcomes for the majority of people is preferable to markedly worse outcomes for a smaller set.