Nevada is the only state in the country where any kind of prostitution is legal, and it has held this distinction since There are currently about 20 licensed brothels spread across seven counties. In practice, though, the lines between legal and illegal aspects of the sex trade are often blurred in Nevada. Many of the laws governing prostitution are seldom enforced. But Nevada may soon be facing a fork in the road. This November, residents of Lyon County will vote on whether to close the legal brothels in their area.
Many activists and some state legislators are hoping that the ballot initiative in Lyon County will start a broader push to shut down brothels across the state. In the same election, one of the most notorious pimps in Nevada, Dennis Hof, is running as the Republican candidate for state Legislature. In country after country that has tried it, legalized prostitution has led to an increase in demand, which in turn has led to a rise in sex trafficking. Many argue that full decriminalization of the sex trade makes it safer, but this is not borne out by the facts.
Full criminalization of the trade is no better. The Swedish model, also known as the Nordic model and the equality model, criminalizes the buying of sex but not the individuals who are sold for sex.
The system prevents the arrest of women in the sex trade while maintaining penalties for the buyers, brothel owners and pimps who fuel the market. First introduced in Sweden in , the model works because it acknowledges the fundamental power imbalance at the heart of the sex trade. Most women who work in the global sex trade enter prostitution as minors, at an average age of 13 to 14 years old.
Many are coerced into the trade through violence and often as a result of poverty and desperation. According to a government report , the partial decriminalization approach enjoys broad popular support in Sweden, with a majority of both women and men favoring it. All of these countries have seen a reduction in both prostitution and sex trafficking. Full legalization or decriminalization of the sex trade has not yielded such results.
