In 2003, the Scottish government enlisted the University of London to do a comprehensive analysis of outcomes of prostitution policies in other countries. The researchers chose Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands to represent various strategies of legalizing and/or regulating prostitution. The outcomes in the states under review that had legalized or regulated prostitution were found to be just as discouraging or even more discouraging than the traditional all round criminalization.
Legalization and/or regulation of prostitution, according to the study, led to:
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A dramatic increase in all facets of the sex industry,
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A dramatic increase in the involvement of organized crime in the sex industry,
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A dramatic increase in child prostitution,
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An explosion in the number of foreign women and girls trafficked into the region, and
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Indications of an increase in violence against women.
A survey of legal prostitutes under the showcase Netherlands legalization policy finds that 79% say they want to get out of the sex business.
