The Economics of Prostitution

I used to look down on women who sold their bodies. I hated how there was prostitution and thought it was a filthy occupation. But one day in class, my economics professor brought up a topic on how prostitutes make our society safer. I was surprised by what he said but as he started explaining, it made more sense.
In our society, the norm is that people who love each other and feel passionate towards each other have sex, but sex also takes place because there is a natural desire for it. Men sometimes just need to have sex and will rape in order to satisfy their carnal desire (I am not saying that women do not rape men, but, in this case, let’s drop it for simplicity’s sake). Prostitutes can allow men to fulfill their desire by giving them an option, the choice to pay for it when he needs to fulfill his needs. Assuming that the prostitute is willing to sell sex, by which the definition is that she is not trafficked into this industry, and there is someone who demands this service then there is a market for this. If you ban prostitution though, then rape rates may rise (however, it does not necessarily mean that if you promote prostitution then rape rates will drop).
Is banning prostitution really reasonable? I think we all know that sex does not only arise from strong chemistry between two people but also from a humanistic need. When this need arises, and if the man has no one to go to, then he may turn to raping the first girl he sees in a dark alley or corner but if prostitution was not banned, then he could easily go to a prostitute. Banning prostitution means it would make finding prostitutes harder than if it weren’t banned. It also means that it’s easier for a man to just rape a girl instead of spending his time looking for a prostitute.

Many people are against prostitution because it is not understood. These women who sell their bodies don’t do it for fun, and our society needs to be more open about the fact that copulating is not a sin, it is human nature. Therefore as long as there is a demand for sex, there will need to be people supplying it. Otherwise, the black market that these men will turn to, because of the lack of supply from the ban, will be innocent girls on the street.