http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2015/04/24/why-you-should-be-wary-of-statistics-on-modern-slavery-and-trafficking/

Sorry if this has been posted already. On other message boards I keep seeing the topic of prostitution come up, and every time there is a crusader claiming that legalizing sex work breeds human trafficking. I lack the energy to delve into all the various sources, but always my suspicion and ire is aroused when it is said by them that sex work is debasing, degrading, and always coerced. Yes it is in cases of human trafficking, yet it is dishonest to use that as ammo against legitimate sex work. How prevalent trafficking is is not known beyond dispute, and this article questions some possible exaggerations and falsehoods.

Anyway sorry too if I am killing the levity of the board with such topics. I sometimes fear I can be such a killjoy that I depopulate forums. The article might be worth a bookmark if you anticipate debates with any moralizing prigs that use human trafficking victims as their armor. If not, then skip on by and have a nice day.

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The fact is there are far MORE women and children being abducted for this very purpose than we would ever want to know about, and it makes me sick. Try taking a trip to Thailand or any number of other places where this is rampant. It is more hidden in the U.S. because it is big business, but that does not mean anyone should be oblivious. Making this legal would not reduce the cases by much because the women are being forced... legal or not, they are still held against their will and it would never be legal to fk a damn 10 year old here. It's a bit hard to run to the cops when you are tied and drugged all day long and your children are at risk of harm.. or so they tell them to keep them compliant.  

I don't care to diminish the truth because I am worried about what the stats might do to the hobby either, and I for one would never want this legal. Name me one other business or pleasure that the government stuck their foot in that has not drastically dropped in prices and became a total pain in the ass to bother with. They are in my business enough already... what I do with my vagina is a bit much. The government has no business in my bedroom. It's legal in many parts of Europe too, and children are still being kidnapped and trafficked. If many of us would still do this on the sly, what makes anyone assume traffickers would go sign up for a vendor card? Gosh...

Correlation does not equal causation in this instance.

but still became a hooker...I mean escort

I hear what you're saying about legalization reducing profit, and that trafficking is horrible when it occurs. However, I think separate issues easily get mixed up and confused here. When I try and parse it out, it seems there are at least three in question:

1. Prevalence of trafficking
2. Whether legalized prostitution increases or decreases trafficking
3. If legalized prostitution is desirable for clients and providers

I'm not sure if I understand your position on 1 and 2. The question of whether legalized prostitution would be good for board members is an interesting one, and I appreciate hearing your take on it. I've sometimes thought too that price and quality would probably drop considerably with legalization.

If the government got into regulating prostitution the "cost" would sky rocket. Taxation, mandatory STD tests, etc. When has the price of anything dropped when it became regulated. As far as trafficking goes, many are shipped overseas so legalization will have no effect on that. I do think legalization for me as a client is desirable because I would no longer be breaking the law. I don't care if peeps know I see hookers.

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Here is a thought, if the world actually take the money fighting human trafficking, war against drugs, unnecessary war, etc., etc., and put towards elimination poverty by increasing employment opportunities and education, may be all of these useless unwindable wars fight may be, may be one day world will become better for everyone.

Wise man once said

“There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed”

So true!

There was a lot of emotion that got mixed in with my POV, but mainly I feel that many people like to diminish the real numbers regarding human trafficking because they are so pissed that prostitution and trafficking seem to always be lumped in the same category.  

Would making it legal also make is safer? Only for those who do not bother screening in the first place then want to cry about the outcome of their stupidity afterwards. I hear horror stories all the time, but 9 out of 10 are a result of lax screening, too much drinking or taking chances they would not normally take because they need money that bad. I am not in any way suggesting that 'we deserve what we get' for being careless' mind you, but...

As for rates, most reputable provider rates would go up considerably to cover the costs of all the bs the government would impose, but you would also have more women throwing up 25 dollar ads who are still operating illegally so it would actually hurt the prices overall IMO. Take a look at Houston lol.  

I do not think it would decrease trafficking all that much, because as I stated most of this is done with children. If a guy wants to fk a 10 year old boy he's not going to pay a 40 year old hooker... legal or not.  

Perhaps there are some who try to diminish the real numbers of trafficking because they want prostitution legalized, but I think they are far outnumbered by those doing the opposite. Like you said, and as the author explains in the article, it is very hard to determine what the real numbers are. It might seem like a good thing initially to just assume they are huge, so that more resources are thrown towards ending the problem. But once a bunch of people stand to profit off the issue (either monetarily or by enforcing their private morals), it is questionable whether the real victims are really benefiting, and whether new victims are created as collateral damage.

I tend to think as you do that the legal status of prostitution actually should not have a large effect on illegal trafficking. But perhaps if those who are in the sex industry by choice were not afraid of law enforcement, then the two groups could help each other when real human rights abuses come up on the radar.

"you can't always get what you
But if you try sometime
You just might find
You get what you need!"