Question: Why isn't sex work better regulated?

Decriminalizing sex work



The decriminalization of sex work is the removal of criminal penalties for sex work.[1] In most countries, sex work, the consensual provision of sexual services for money or goods,[2] is criminalized. It is claimed that removing criminal prosecution for sex workers creates a safer and healthier environment[3] and allows them to live with less social exclusion and stigma. In the last decade, organizations such as UNAIDS, WHO, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UNFPA, and the medical journal The Lancet have called on states to decriminalize sex work in the global effort to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic and ensure sex workers' access to health services.[4][5][6][7] New Zealand was the first country to decriminalise sex work, with the passage of the Prostitution Reform Act in June 2003.[8]
Legal models of sex work

NGOs,[9] academics[10] and Government Departments[11] often categorise the approach to prostitution laws and approach into 5 models:
Prohibitionism
All aspects of prostitution are criminalised. Often the sex trade is seen as a violation of human dignity, moral or religious beliefs.[11] e.g. Russia[12] (Also known as "Criminalization".)[1]
Abolitionism
Whilst prostitution itself is legal, 3rd party involvement is generally prohibited. Solicit ion is also often prohibited. Whilst this model recognises prostitutes may choose work in the trade, it is morally wrong. Laws are designed to stop prostitution affecting the public.[11] e.g. England[11]
Neo-abolitionism
Neo-abolitionists believe there is no free choice for people entering prostitution, it violates their human rights and that prostitution is the sale and consumption of human bodies. Whilst prostitutes themselves commit no crime, clients and any third party involvement is criminalised.[11] e.g. Sweden[11] (Also called the "Swedish model" or "Nordic model".)[9][10]
Legalization
Whilst prostitution is not prohibited, there is legislation to control and regulate it.[11] The extent and type of control varies from country to country and may be regulated by work permits, licensing or tolerance zones.[11] e.g. The Netherlands[11] (also called "regulationist".)[12]
Decriminalization
Decriminalization is the removal of criminal penalties for sex work, and sex workers receive equal protection and recognition as workers in other industries.[1] e.g. New Zealand[11]
Negative effects of criminalization
Health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sex workers are considered one of the key populations at risk for HIV infection,[13] and sex workers who inject drugs are at even more risk due to unprotected sex, syringe sharing, alcohol or drug dependence, and violence.[14] Stigma, poverty, and exclusion from legal social services have increased their vulnerability to HIV infection.[13]  Health risks and transmission of HIV as well as other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increased in incidences where condom usage and accessibility is limited or used to identify and criminalize sex workers.  Many sex workers are managed by 'gatekeepers' who may be brothel owners, clients, or law enforcement figures, who often dictate condom usage.[15] In Cambodia, a survey showed that 30% of sex workers who refused to put on condoms were sexually coerced. Fear of law enforcement and incarceration also discourages possession of condoms since they provide evidence for officers to prosecute and arrest.[15] Evidence suggests that HIV risk can be sharply reduced when sex workers are able to negotiate safer sex.[4] Decriminalization of sex work decreases the risk of HIV infection by breaking down stigma  and increasing access to health services, reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS and STIs.[4]
Discrimination and stigma
Sex workers experience significant stigma and discrimination as a result of criminalization.[16] Though they consider sex work a legitimate income-generating activity, sex workers are viewed as immoral, deserving of punishment, and thus excluded from healthcare, education, and housing.[4][16] Criminalization laws exclude sex workers from health systems that provide access to preventative care such as condoms and regular HIV or STI testing.[17]
Human rights abuses
Sex workers, as a population that suffers disproportionately from HIV/AIDS, are often denied many human rights such as the right to freedom from discrimination, equality before the law, the right to life, and the right to the highest attainable standard of health.[18][19] A study conducted in more than 11 countries by  (SWAN) concluded that more than 200 sex workers have experienced violence and discrimination.[20] These acts of violence toward sex workers often include abuse, rape, kidnappings, and sexual violence. Sex workers also face extortion and unlawful arrests and detention, which profoundly impact their mental, physical, and social wellbeing.[21] It is difficult for sex workers to seek criminal justice when it is reported that many police officers are partaking in the sexual and violent abuse.  In Macedonia, police violence towards sex workers is particularly high: 82.4 percent of sex workers were assaulted by police in 2007.[20] Criminalization laws such as bans on buying, solicitation, and the general organization of sex work perpetuate an unsafe environment for sex workers, provide impunity for abusers, and prevent sex workers from reporting crime to the police.[19]
Decriminalization and criminalization

Canada
Canada's prostitution law was challenged in 2012 by Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch, and Valerie Scott in the Bedford v. Canada case.[22]  They claimed that the Criminal Code prohibits sex workers from their labor rights because it permits sexual acts in exchange for money but criminalizes sex workers and their clients from communicating the exchange in a public setting. The plaintiffs argue that this is a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of expression and liberty and threatens their safety.   The case has now reached the Supreme Court of Canada and is supported by sex workers who believe it will eradicate the "whore stigma" that is often associated with sex workers.[23] The Bedford case had the impact of shifting Canada's legal framework towards decriminalization, as the court recognized that these prohibitive criminal laws increase harm toward sex workers.[24]
Sweden
In 1999, Sweden passed a law that banned prostitution and criminalizes buyers.  Since the implementation of the law, supporters of this approach have claimed the number of prostitutes has decreased. Pye Jakobsson, a spokeswoman for the  and a representation for sex workers, believes that this reduction in numbers may not particularly mean less prostitution, and that "You can't talk about protecting sex workers as well as saying the law is good, because it's driving prostitution and trafficking underground, which reduces social services' access to victims."[25] The Swedish example is often cited as a form of partial criminalization, rather than decriminalization, since the purchasing of sex remains a crime.[1] Both the Swedish Government and sex workers agree that this model has increased stigma against sex workers, however the Swedish Government views this as a positive outcome – arguing that sending a message about sex work is more important. Sex workers have reported a number of human rights violations as a direct result of these laws, including the deportation of sex workers (even EU citizens), increased evictions and vulnerability to homelessness and high rates of discrimination from authorities including police and social services.
Denmark
In Denmark, prostitution was decriminalized in 1999, allowing for both selling and buying of sex to be legal as long as both participants are above the age of 18.  Brothels and pimping, however, still remain illegal in the country.[26] Previously, sex workers were permitted to work as long as it was not their only source of income.[27]
Nevada, USA
The legalization of brothels in Nevada has shown that sex workers are better protected and are in less danger of health risks.[28] A number of precautions are taking to ensure the safety of the sex workers, such as a voice-recorded documentation of the negotiation that establishes the amount and payment before any trade occurs.  Many brothels also have a panic button that will alert the manager which is located in an accessible location, often above at the head or side of the bed.  Furthermore, the brothels in Nevada have established an ally relationship with law enforcement in cases where back-up was needed for troublesome customers.[28]
New South Wales, Australia
Laws covering sex work in Australia are state and territory based, with different regulations in different places. New South Wales decriminalised sex work in 1995, after the Wood Royal Commission into Police Corruption showed that police were inappropriate regulators of the sex industry.[29] A governmental review in 2016 resulted in continuing support of decriminalisation of sex work "as the best way of protecting sex workers and maintaining a more transparent sex work industry".[30]
New Zealand
In New Zealand, decriminalization occurred with the Prostitution Reform Act 2003[31][32] The law's goal was to create a "framework that (a) safeguards the human rights of sex workers and protects them from exploitation: (b) promotes the welfare and occupational health and safety of sex workers: (c) is conducive to public health: (d) prohibits the use in prostitution of persons under 18 years of age: (e) implements certain other related reforms."[31]  A 2008 review states, "On the whole, the PRA has been effective in achieving its purpose, and the Committee is confident that the vast majority of people involved in the sex industry are better off under the PRA than they were previously."[32]  Although obtaining accurate counts of sex workers has been problematic, the review also states, "Committee was satisfied that the popular assumption that decriminalisation would increase the numbers of people involved in prostitution was flawed."[32]
Catherine Healy, the national coordinator of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC), who was part of the driving force for the original 2003 law, in an interview twelve years later, had "detected a marked change in police-sex worker relations after passage of the PRA. 'After decriminalisation that dynamic shifted dramatically, and importantly the focus on the sex worker wasn’t on the sex worker as a criminal. It was on the rights, safety, health and well being of the sex worker.'"[33]  Further, "sex workers in New Zealand are beginning to assert their rights now that the stigma associated with sex work has begun to decrease" as demonstrated by a sex worker successfully prosecuting a brothel owner for sexual harassment by her employer.[33]
See also
Sex workers' rights