The problem is that “legitimate” prostitution provides cover and legitimacy for sex trafficking. I personally favor a combination of the Nordic model (I.e. don’

The problem is that “legitimate” prostitution provides cover and legitimacy for sex trafficking. I personally favor a combination of the Nordic model (I.e. don’t prosecute prostitutes themselves) and prosecutorial discretion; middle class Orange County basement whores aren’t bothering anyone as long as they’re discreet about it. Nor are the differences as clear as you make them out to be. Sure, there are clear cut cases of human trafficking, but how do you know that your Orange County basement whore isn’t caught up in an abusive relationship with some indolent man who uses her as his livelihood? More to the point, how does the john know? The whole narrative that women freely choose sex work and find it fulfilling may be true in some cases, but there’s no easy way to tell which cases those are, and the human consequences of guessing wrong are awful.