There has been some considerable noise made in regards to the legalization of prostitution. After all, it’s seen as a “victimless crime” and the oldest profession in the world. But it remains illegal today for good reason.

Though a woman shouldn’t have to be thrown in jail for making a choice by her own free will as to what to do with her body, there are a great many women and young girls who don’t have the choice–their lives as prostitutes were forced upon them by pimps, traders or even their parents.

Legalized prostitution makes it easier for human trafficking to take place. With prostitution legal, it becomes harder to tell whether or not they are working on their own or if they are actually being forced into the life. There would be little in these situations that law can do to help, unlike now, where laws against prostitution lead to more effective tracking against pimps and traffickers.

The most prominent example of this is in Amsterdam where districts have been set up for legalized prostitution. According to research gathered by Dutch economist Helen Mees, it is estimated that 50 to 90 percent of the women selling their bodies in the “red light” districts are doing so against their own will. Worse yet, because of the uncertainty, police are forced to stand down as women are raped.

Experts have been keen to call human trafficking the fastest growing criminal enterprise of the 21st century. And in the United States, the problem is only growing. Those who think that legalizing prostitution will reduce human trafficking need look only in a state where it’s already legal: Nevada.

In a testament to the growing problem of human trafficking in Nevada is the arrest of 58-year-old Kemp Shiffer, a former professor at the University of Nevada, Reno and a former employee for the Internal Revenue Service. He has been formally charged with bringing a woman to Nevada from California with the intent to prostitute her, according to a record by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He now faces a trial for human trafficking. The young woman from California, meanwhile, will have to face the ordeal of Shiffer’s efforts to profit off of the sexual use of her body.

In an article for “The Examiner” by Youngbee Dale, the average age for trafficking victims is between 12 and 14. Half of the victims are under 18. In Las Vegas, these girls are taken from Southeast Asia to work in “happy ending” massage parlors. This activity takes place not just in the red light neighborhoods, but also in shopping malls. The disgusting truth is that many a young girl is raped while unknowing patrons get an Orange Julius and a corndog across the way.

In a study conducted by Shared Hope International, a major non-profit group dedicated to fighting human trafficking, it was shown that more than 400 child prostitutes were identified on the streets in one month in 2007. An additional 1,496 domestic cases of trafficking minors from 40 states were reported in Las Vegas.

It’s safe to say that contrary to popular belief, the trafficking problem will not be lessened, but rather dramatically aided if the rest of the United States follows Nevada’s example.

Furthermore, while prostitution may be referred to as the “oldest profession in the world,” it’s also the deadliest.

According to a study released by the American Journal of Epidemiology, the average lifespan of a prostitute is only 34. The rate at which American prostitutes are killed on the job is 51 times the rate of the second spot on the list of dangerous jobs; working in a liquor store.

Everything from sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, to deals with clients gone tragically wrong must be counted among the risk. To encourage women into this line of work is not only a risk, it borders on the inhumane.

Sex in itself is a wonderful thing when it’s between two consenting adults. Prostitution, however, makes way for rape and trafficking, something which puts a disgusting stain on the very word “sex.” It makes it easier for men to sell young women and girls and it makes it more difficult for the people whose duty it is to protect them to do their jobs. Only pain and crushed lives can follow the legalization of prostitution, which is why it must be prevented.