BY Lux Alptraum
June 2, 2008
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In the five years since New Zealand decriminalized sex work, the number of sex workers has stayed roughly the same. What’s that, you say? Making prostitution legal doesn’t suddenly make it vastly more appealing to all women, everywhere? You mean there are reasons aside from illegality that keep women from becoming sex workers?

Shocking!

As with so many things, criminalizing sex work doesn’t keep women from being sex workers: where there’s a will, there’s a way, right? And, on the flip side, decriminalizing sex work doesn’t suddenly make it an appealing career for every woman in the world — there are lots of women who don’t want to be sex workers, and will never be, regardless of circumstance. Decriminalizing sex work makes it a safer line of work for the women who choose to enter the field. No more, no less.

Let’s hope that other countries can learn from New Zealand’s example.

[Photo by skyshanghai]