Here's Germany's experience with legalized prostitution. 

http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/welcome-to-paradise/

If our laws against coercion worked well, there would not be as much exploitation in this country.  We don't want laws that only serve to punish criminals once a victim has been exploited.  We need to avoid creating incentives that would allow the sex industry to prosper.  I have no problem with someone (unrelated to me) deciding to work in the sex trade.  Just don't dilute our laws for their benefit.

Prostitution will never "work the same way" as other occupations because people will never feel the same way about their relatives working these jobs and most clients will always demand extreme privacy (unless of course we enact laws that would result in Canada becoming a destination for sex tourists - I'm sure people flying in from San Diego won't care as much who sees them entering the safe, legal brothel in Richmond, BC).