Legalizing prostituion increases human trafficking:

[LadyHawkAZ]

10. This is true

but I suspect even a definitive proof of cause and effect wouldn't convince anyone. I have taken into account the other reports surrounding the numbers when the numbers first appeared: I'd already read the reports from Sweden indicating a worsening of conditions and the increased difficulties in locating the now deeply underground sex trade, so the fact that the numbers are rising in spite of that makes it reasonable to assume that the rise really *is* a rise, not just the result of better policing.

Likewise, the reports from German police, as I mentioned, have been that legalization has made the traffickers and their victims easier to identify, even if law enforcement considers the punishments inadequate. So it's fairly reasonable to assume, also, that the drop in trafficking really *is* a drop in trafficking, and not just underenforcement.

It may not be provable, but there are some reasonable conclusions that can be drawn given other reported conditions in both countries. Sweden has not done well by most accounts. Germany OTOH had a large-scale test in 2006 with the World Cup "40,000 trafficking victims" flap and responded well to it, even though both the number and the hysteria turned out to be ridiculous. With all that factored in, I think the statistics are probably correct. Other people's MMV.