This month at Cato Unbound, we will debate a very controversial subject — prostitution and related activities, collectively known as sex work. Our lead essayist, a pseudonmymous former call girl and madam known as Maggie McNeill, advocates treating sex work simply as work: Like many other professions, it has its risks and rewards, and — also like many other professions — when you make it illegal, a black market will emerge. McNeill argues that prostitution is not inherently exploitative, and that much of the danger to sex workers arises precisely from the legal regimes that govern the oldest profession, and the violence inherent to all black markets.

Is she right? Fortunately, the question is to a great degree an empirical one, and we can review the practical consequences of a variety of legal approaches. We have invited three other experts in the field, each of varying viewpoints: Ronald Weitzer is a sociologist at the George Washington University; Dianne Post is an international legal advocate who works on gender-based violence; and Steven Wagner is the president of Renewal Forum, a nonprofit opposed to human trafficking.