Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business

Some towns in Nevada have legal brothels where sex can be bought lawfully, yet in Las Vegas, prostitutes and their patrons are regularly prosecuted for exchanging sex for money, just as they are elsewhere in the United States. While sex work has long been controversial, it has become even more contested over the past decade as laws, policies, and enforcement practices have become more repressive in many nations, partly as a result of the ascendancy of interest groups committed to the total abolition of the sex industry. Legalizing Prostitution maps out the current terrain. Using America as a backdrop, Weitzer draws on extensive field research in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany to illustrate alternatives to American-style criminalization and marginalization of sex workers. These cases are then used to develop a roster of “best practices” that can serve as a model for other nations considering legalization. Legalizing Prostitution provides a theoretically grounded comparative analysis of political dynamics, policy outcomes, and red-light landscapes in nations where prostitution has been legalized and regulated by the government, presenting a rich and novel portrait of the multifaceted world of legal sex for sale. Review "Weitzer, criminologist and professor of sociology at George Washington University, provides an erudite overview of sex work and detailed case studies of three cities with red-light districts: Antwerp, Belgium; Frankfurt, Germany; and Amsterdam, the Netherlands." Publishers Weekly "Ronald Weitzer, the leading American authority on prostitution, offers readers a comprehensive, astute, and provocative report on prostitution...Legalizing Prostitution challenges simple-minded ideas about a behaviour that takes numerous forms, from streetwalking to high-end escort services." Gilbert Geis, author of White-Collar and Corporate Crime "While there are other recent books on prostitution policy, Weitzer's book combines cogent ideas with interesting original research material. A valuable book for criminal justice policymakers and for serious students of prostitution and crime." - Mary Jane Brustman, Library Journal- Amazon.ca