It’s jarring to read familiar arguments put forward in the context of prostitution:

Proponents say the measure will free up $11 million the police spend each year arresting prostitutes and allow them to form collectives.
“It will allow workers to organize for our rights and for our safety,” said Patricia West, 22, who said she has been selling sex for about a year by placing ads on the Internet. She moved to San Francisco in May from Texas to work on Proposition K.

Unions, it seem, want to get into the pimp business. I suppose it’s a fit.
Be that as it may, however, I simply don’t believe this assertion:

“We feel that repressive policies don’t help trafficking victims, and that human rights-based approaches, including decriminalization, are actually more effective,” said Carol Leigh, co-founder of the Bay Area Sex Workers Advocacy Network and a longtime advocate for prostitutes’ rights.

To the extent that a law creates demand anywhere in the world, it creates a willingness to seek out supply, and although I’ll avoid giving the assertion religious significance, there’s a reason certain behaviors tend toward corruption.