- Question
What should the legal status of prostitution be?
Sometimes called ‘the world’s oldest profession’, prostitution holds a complex cultural place. While it is underpinned by gender norms and has been linked to violence, it also represents a source of agency for some and a viable career option for many. Should it be treated like any other job by the state? And if the state wishes to curtail prostitution, is making it illegal the best option?
Prostitution should be illegal
This position holds that prostitution should be illegal. It argues sex work is inherently harmful—a form of oppression that fuels sex trafficking and violence against women, often driven by economic coercion—and that selling the body is immoral and carries lasting consequences.
Prostitution should be decriminalised
This position holds that prostitution should be fully decriminalised, treated like any other profession. It argues that decriminalisation protects sex workers, lets them unionise, relieves stigma, and respects sex work as the worker's own choice — and that selling sex is not inherently wrong.
- Sex Work is the choice of the Sex Worker
- Prostitution is no different from other capitalist exploitation
- Prostitution can help women celebrate their sexuality
- Decriminalisation protects sex workers
- The sale of sex is not inherently impermissible
- Decriminalisation enables sex workers to unionise
- Decriminalisation would relieve prostitution's stigma
Prostitution should be legalised
Countries like Austria and the Netherlands have adopted a system of legalisation rather than decriminalisation, under which sex work is legal only under conditions dictated by the state.
We should adopt a Nordic Model
This position favours the Nordic Model, which decriminalises selling sex while criminalising its purchase. It argues this targets demand and shields sex workers from prosecution and exploitation, while pairing the law with support for those seeking to exit prostitution.