Legality of prostitution

People have been arguing for centuries about how to treat the oldest profession: to ban it harshly, drive it underground, or officially recognize it? While some countries severely punish such services, others turn the sex industry into a legal business with taxes and trade unions - which is often discussed on this site. As a result, in different parts of the world we see amazing legal chaos: there are shop windows with neon lights, there are brutal raids and punishments. So where is the oldest profession legal and what regulatory mechanisms exist?

Models of regulation of prostitution in the world

Lawmakers in different countries are building their own systems of control over this activity: somewhere everything is legal, but with a bunch of conditions, somewhere it is prohibited, but flourishes in the shadows, and somewhere clients are suddenly told checkmate. In classical legalization, brothels operate, licenses are issued, and the tax authorities rub their hands - Germany and the Netherlands are examples of this.

Decriminalization goes the other way: no special rules, but no fines either. For example, like in New Zealand: if you want to work, work, but without the mafia and pimps. But the Scandinavian model turns everything upside down: a prostitute is a victim, a client is a criminal, the system works as a social experiment.

There is also a complete ban, when punishment threatens everyone in a row - from girls on the street to their clients, as in the UAE or most US states. But, as practice shows, the stricter the law, the deeper the shadow industry goes. As a result, none of the models turned out to be ideal - each has its own paradoxes, surprises and social consequences.

Countries where prostitution is legal

There are corners of the world where the sex industry does not hide in the back streets, but feels quite official, like an ordinary business.

1. The Netherlands have long turned prostitution into a tourist attraction: shop windows with red lights, licensed brothels, regular medical examinations.
2. In Germany, there are sex hotels, prostitutes' unions and even pension contributions.
3. In Switzerland, you can rent sex services for an hour in special “boxes” – like parking, but for intimate meetings.
4. In Austria and Australia, everything is regulated at the regional level, in some places brothels are legalized, and in others they are prohibited.
5. But the real revolution happened in New Zealand, where decriminalization gave courtesans complete freedom – now they can work without fear and pressure from pimps.

However, even in these countries, legality does not mean the absence of problems: the black market still exists, and public opinion is still divided.

Countries with partial legalization of prostitution

There are countries that seem to be not against sex services, but are also afraid to officially give them the green light. In Spain, prostitution is not prohibited, but organized brothels are illegal, so the girls work as “independent entrepreneurs”. In Mexico, everything depends on the state: in some places the industry is completely legal, and in others illegal brothels flourish under the noses of the police. Canada has come up with a strange hybrid: sex work is legal, but advertising services, running a brothel or looking for clients on the street is already a violation. In Colombia, the government seems to be okay with it, but hasn't come up with any special laws to protect sex workers, leaving everything to chance. In the UK, individual work is not prosecuted, but any attempt to organize a business on it is immediately subject to an article. As a result, such half-measures create the effect of a gray zone: the industry exists, but is regulated chaotically, leaving many loopholes for the shadow market. While the world is looking for a balance between morality, safety and economics, the sex industry continues to live by its own, sometimes paradoxical, rules.