Opponents of the legalization of sex work usually try to advance their cause under the shield of a barrage of fake statistics (average entry into sex trade; level of violence; how many sex workers have a pimp; etc.).
See:
This should not be surprising. The political economist Joseph Schumpeter wrote in his book
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942) that "the first thing man will do for his ideal or interest is to lie". (p.264)
But sometimes the real reason for their opposition to sex work is stated. Quote from the opposing view (link given by Patron):
"it [prostitution] is exceedingly violent, but that it also conveys a dark message about how too many men see women. Even in a non-violent exchange, paying another person to have sex with you should not be acceptable. Sex should be mutually desired by, and enjoyable to, both parties. An ethical, empathetic person wouldn’t want to have sex with someone who didn’t want to be there — who felt repulsed or dehumanized by the experience." [color added to the font by this poster]
A different, and in my opinion realistic, view point:
Germaine Greer [one of the major voices of the second-wave feminist movement; scholar of English literature] on sex work and its relation to feminism, on the Australian show
Q & A:
"Most of us have to sell ourselves in some way or another. In some ways selling sex is to sell less of yourself than when you become a company person, when you become identified with your employer, when your employer dictates your very mental processes. We are all involved in selling things that shouldn't be sold at all. It's called capitalism; it's the system, and Eve was the first person to work in it." (4:07)
https://youtu.be/ILN9x_IWKAU?t=4m5s
An older article that is still very much worth reading:
Martha C. Nussbaum: Whether from reason or prejudice: Taking money for bodily services. Journal of Legal Studies, 1998, Vol.27, 693-724
https://humanities-web.s3.us-east-2.../2018-10/Whether From Reason or Prejudice.pdf
Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, appointed in the Department of Philosophy and the Law School.
https://philosophy.uchicago.edu/faculty/nussbaum
