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  • Legal

Where Is Prostitution Legal In The US?

  • Nabeel Ahmad
  • November 17, 2020

Referred to as the world’s oldest profession, prostitution was a common practice, recorded as early as 2400 BCE by Sumerian priests in the city of Uruk.

Prostitution is widely known as a sexual engagement of one gender with another in exchange for money. Historically, the gender ratio has been the same; with women as prostitutes and men as clients. Prositution is the sexual intimacy practised between two ‘strangers’- not friends, not spouses- in exchange of immediate payment.

The rate of prostitutes depends on the agency and on the girl herself, as to what she’s offering in what amount of money. The prostitutes can be male, female and even transgenders, thus the act can be both heterosexual and homosexual.

Where is Prostitution Legal in the World?

There is a list of countries where prostitution is legal, limitedly legal (meaning in some parts of the country it is legal and in others it is not) and illegal in 2020.

CountryProstitution StatusPopulation 2020
IcelandLimitedly legal341,243
ArmeniaLimitedly legal2,963,243
IrelandLimitedly legal4,937,786
NorwayLimitedly legal5,421,241
SwedenLimitedly legal10,099,265
AustraliaLimitedly legal25,499,884
MalaysiaLimitedly legal32,365,999
CanadaLimitedly legal37,742,154
FranceLimitedly legal65,273,511
United KingdomLimitedly legal67,886,011
JapanLimitedly legal126,476,461
United StatesLimitedly legal331,002,651
BelizeLegal397,628
MaltaLegal441,543
LuxembourgLegal625,978
CyprusLegal1,207,359
EstoniaLegal1,326,535
LatviaLegal1,886,198
SloveniaLegal2,078,938
UruguayLegal3,473,730
PanamaLegal4,314,767
New ZealandLegal4,822,233
Costa RicaLegal5,094,118
SlovakiaLegal5,459,642
FinlandLegal5,540,720
DenmarkLegal5,792,202
SingaporeLegal5,850,342
El SalvadorLegal6,486,205
KyrgyzstanLegal6,524,195
NicaraguaLegal6,624,554
BulgariaLegal6,948,445
ParaguayLegal7,132,538
SwitzerlandLegal8,654,622
IsraelLegal8,655,535
AustriaLegal9,006,398
HungaryLegal9,660,351
HondurasLegal9,904,607
PortugalLegal10,196,709
GreeceLegal10,423,054
Czech RepublicLegal10,708,981
Dominican RepublicLegal10,847,910
CubaLegal11,326,616
BelgiumLegal11,589,623
BoliviaLegal11,673,021
SenegalLegal16,743,927
NetherlandsLegal17,134,872
EcuadorLegal17,643,054
GuatemalaLegal17,915,568
ChileLegal19,116,201
VenezuelaLegal28,435,940
PeruLegal32,971,854
PolandLegal37,846,611
ArgentinaLegal45,195,774
SpainLegal46,754,778
ColombiaLegal50,882,891
KenyaLegal53,771,296
ItalyLegal60,461,826
GermanyLegal83,783,942
TurkeyLegal84,339,067
EthiopiaLegal114,963,588
MexicoLegal128,932,753
BangladeshLegal164,689,383
BrazilLegal212,559,417
IndonesiaLegal273,523,615
IndiaLegal1,380,004,385
Saint Kitts And NevisIllegal53,199
DominicaIllegal71,986
Antigua And BarbudaIllegal97,929
Saint Vincent And The GrenadinesIllegal110,940
GrenadaIllegal112,523
Saint LuciaIllegal183,627
BarbadosIllegal287,375
BahamasIllegal393,244
SurinameIllegal586,632
GuyanaIllegal786,552
Trinidad And TobagoIllegal1,399,488
LithuaniaIllegal2,722,289
AlbaniaIllegal2,877,797
JamaicaIllegal2,961,167
CroatiaIllegal4,105,267
LiberiaIllegal5,057,681
United Arab EmiratesIllegal9,890,402
JordanIllegal10,203,134
HaitiIllegal11,402,528
RwandaIllegal12,952,218
CambodiaIllegal16,718,965
RomaniaIllegal19,237,691
North KoreaIllegal25,778,816
AngolaIllegal32,866,272
Saudi ArabiaIllegal34,813,871
AfghanistanIllegal38,928,346
IraqIllegal40,222,493
UgandaIllegal45,741,007
South KoreaIllegal51,269,185
South AfricaIllegal59,308,690
ThailandIllegal69,799,978
IranIllegal83,992,949
EgyptIllegal102,334,404
PhilippinesIllegal109,581,078
ChinaIllegal1,439,323,776

Note: Sample rates have been extracted online, courtesy of World Population Review.

What States is Prostitution Legal?

Nevada is the only US state where prosititution is legal, but only in licensed brothels. Any practices happening outside of those brothels are recognized as illegal.

Brothels have been permitted in Nevada since the 19th century. In 1937, a law was sanctioned to require week by week health checks, all things considered. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a request to stifle prostitution close to military basis- influencing the red light areas of town of Reno and Las Vegas.

At the point when this request was lifted in 1948, Reno authorities attempted to close down a brothel as a public annoyance; this activity was maintained by the Nevada Supreme Court in 1949. Under Nevada state law, any area with a population of up to 700,000, as of the last decennial census, is permitted to license brothels. Incorporated towns and urban areas in provinces that permit prostitution may direct the exchange further or prohibit it.

As of now seven out of Nevada’s 16 countries have dynamic brothels (these are generally provincial areas). As of February 2018 there are 21 legitimate brothels.

Legalizing prostitution creates a widespread in sexually transmitted diseases as well as AIDS, which will burden the country’s healthcare system and endanger lives of young men and women. Even though today, in a few states and few countries today, prostitution is deemed legal, however, there are lots of cultural, social and feminist values that are being targetted.

Conclusion

Prostitution started centuries ago, and though in a different shape than today, it has gained its popularity over time. Many prostitutes today are offended when being called that, and prefer to be called ‘sex workers’ instead, because this is also their profession. There will always be a debate whether it is right to legalize prostitution or not, and there will always be a backlash to this profession.

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Nabeel Ahmad

Nabeel Ahmad is the founder and editor-in-chief of Legal Inquirer. Apart from Legal Inquirer, he is a serial entrepreneur, and has founded multiple successful companies in different industries.

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