Since 2000, commercial sec work has been legal in the Netherlands. Rates of STIs in Female Sex Workers should have been going down due to the prevalence of government testing centers and outreach staff, but from 2006-2013 the overall infection rate stayed fairly constant. Another thing that seems to be a sticking point, however, is that even with government oversight in Amsterdam’s Red Light District, the selling of sex has not necessarily led to a decrease in involuntary sex work. I think that on the balance it’s still better to have a governing body keeping tabs on an industry that relies on the selling of people’s bodies. What are your thoughts?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4552148/
Prostitution was legalized during the 20th century in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country. Brothels, known as general houses (genelevler), need a permission from the government in order to operate. Sex workers are issued identity cards by regulatory agencies, allowing them to receive free health care and other social services. However, in certain big cities such as Ankara and Bursa, general houses have been dismantled by court order.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Turkey
Even though sex workers are stigmatized by society in this majority conservative country, their rights are still protected by the government. As a Turkish citizen, I am glad that sex workers are provided with the social services they deserve.
According to an article in the BMJ,
Countries like the Netherlands or Germany partially legalized prostitution by regulating and licensing brothels as well as relations between prostitutes, clients, and brothel owners. However, as Vidhya summarized in her post, these countries found that their new laws had made little improvement in working conditions, and in some cases, even found that the emotional wellbeing of sex workers had declined. Such findings prompted the need for "a more broad-based approach" in these countries, and the governments in these countries are considering additional legal measures.
Sweden, Norway, Canada, France, and Northern Ireland implemented the "sex buyer law" (also known as the Nordic model), criminalizing the buying of sex but not the selling of it. The Nordic Model Information Service found a drop in the number of murders of women working in prostitution since law reform, but campaigners still argue that this model limits sex workers' and clients' access to health checks and preventative measures.
It is important to note, however, the differences in health outcomes when governmental regulation is done more effectively.
New Zealand fully decriminalized prostitution (both the buying and selling of sex) in 2003 and created a framework to protect sex workers from exploitation as well as to promote their welfare and health. They found that since the law change, the rights, health, and welfare access of sex workers has improved.
Considering the differences in health outcomes of varying degrees of legalization, what is the best way to legalize and regulate prostitution?