Last updated on: 5/26/2017 | Author: ProCon.org

Did You Know?

1. Prostitution dates back to at least 2400 B.C. when it appeared on an ancient Sumerian list of professions along with doctor, scribe, barber and cook. Although very old, prostitution is not literally considered to be the "world's oldest profession."
2. Prostitution is illegal in the United States except in 10 rural counties in Nevada.
3. The same brothel in Nevada could cost an owner a $200 fee in Lander County, a $150,000 fee in Nye County, and up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000 fine in Las Vegas.
4. In 1751, Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa banned short dresses and replaced waitresses with waiters to suppress prostitution.
5. Researchers have identified at least 25 types of prostitution by location (street, brothel, etc.), solicitation (CB radio, newspaper ad, etc.) and/or sexual practice (bondage, lap dance, etc.).
6. In Sweden, Norway, and Iceland selling sex is legal, but buying sex is illegal.
7. In Japan prostitution is illegal, but selling non-coital sex acts is legal.
8. Prostitution is criminalized, legalized, and decriminalized in Australia depending on the state.
9. In 2004 the number of US prostitution-related arrests ranged from California's 14,506 to Vermont's three.
10. Proponents of legal prostitution have included Ann Landers, the ACLU, and The Economist while opponents have included Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Susan B. Anthony.
11. Medieval canon lawyer Johannes Teutonicus, when defining prostitution, suggested that a woman who had sex with more than 23,000 men should be classified as a prostitute, although 40 to 60 would also do.
12. An estimated 1% of American women, or over one million people in the United States, have worked as prostitutes.