San Francisco May Soon Be Hooker Haven

Surprisingly, it's not always about sex...

(NEWSER) - In the wake of Craigslist’s “adult services” shutdown , Sudhir Venkatesh refutes five myths about the world’s oldest profession, in the Washington Post :

• Men aren’t always looking for sex: In fact, while studying high-end sex workers, Venkatesh found that many men who hire prostitutes simply end up talking or having dinner together. Approximately 40% of such transactions are actually sex-free. (For lower-end sex workers, that number is around 20%.)

Both are booming as tourists flock to inauguration

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has already done his part to boost the economy—for Washington’s prostitutes and drug dealers, who tell New York they’re experiencing quite the boom in business thanks to inauguration travelers. Some prostitutes came into town specifically for the event and are already “pretty booked up;” one coke dealer is stocking up out of an expectation he’ll push “serious weight.” More»

Even sex isn't selling as truckers losing 'play money' bypass Nevada brothels

(NEWSER) - The flagging economy is threatening to send Nevada's whorehouses to the poorhouse, the Los Angeles Times reports. Managers of some of the state's 25 legal brothels say they have no shortage of newcomers—some as old as 74—wishing to enter the world's oldest profession, but food and fuel prices mean the truckers they rely on for business are running short of cash. More»

Trafficked women aren't giving consent, campaign maintains

(NEWSER) - British authorities are targeting men who pay for sex with a hard-hitting ad campaign comparing some instances to rape, Reuters reports. Because thousands of women trafficked into the country each year are forced into prostitution, there's nothing consensual about the sex they sell, the ads suggest. "Walk in a punter, walk out a rapist," say the ads to be posted in men's rooms. More»

Crackdown on men soliciting prostitutes hailed as success

(NEWSER) - A Swedish law that penalizes men who solicit sex with prostitutes rather than the women themselves has been a huge success in cleaning up the streets and reducing human trafficking, proponents say. But Swedish sex workers see the ban as an undue burden on an already burdensome job and argue almost unanimously for decriminalization, Der Spiegel reports. More»