When the sex trade is not legal, the girls and guys have no protection other than their pimps. To suggest they are not victimized is to say they have 100% control of that decision. Getting into the trade is easy. Getting out is damned near impossible until the gal or guy is so worn out or so beat up that the pimps just don't see any profit in them anymore. I'd call that a crime involving a victim.

The johns or johnettes are also involved in crime because they support an illegal trade through their purchase.

The health of prostitutes is generally not good. STD transmission is high--although there are no reliable data for North America. In countries where the trade is legal and controlled, the transmission of STDs is lower than countries where it isn't. Period. (The bigger risk is Heb B and C, not HIV; subsequently, people who have unprotected sex with prostitutes are at higher risk than if they have unprotected sex with people from the general population. Yes, having unprotected sex with a prostitute is stupid. BUT, it must happen, because the frequent non-use of condoms explains why the transmission rate is higher from the prostitute population, that and the higher rate of infection. In countries where the trade has been legalized and the girls/guys must have regular medical exams and blood work, the infection rate is about that of the general population. Concomitat with the sex trade is IV drug use. In Glasgow, a study shows that the regular use of drugs takes place in 81% of the prostitutes who were in the survey. Whether or not the chicken came before the egg is a different matter.)

To say that prostitution is a victimless crime says two things:

1) It is a crime
2) Prostitutes are being perceived as people who want to be prostitutes

I don't doubt that some do, but maybe most would prefer to be working at something else. They will not be able to work at something else until they can get out of the trade. If people are going to prostitute themselves, they require the protection of the State, not the protection of pimps.

No doubt the highly-paid call girl/guy population will be mentioned as examples of people who have, for one reason or other, been successful. Fact is, they are the exception, not the rule.

I hasve never used the services of a prostitute, although I have known a few. They ain't happy people for the most part, and their work is the reason they aren't happy. That's anecdotal and really of no use in this statement, other than to say that I think legalization is answer number one, and help is answer number two. Unless of course we are willing to toss these people away as rubbish, in which case, not much of what I said matters.