Decriminalising prostitution could dramatically reduce sexual violence and sexually transmitted infections, according to a new study.

Research published in the Review of Economic Studies found that when prostitution was decriminalised in Rhode Island, sexual violence fell by 30 per cent and female gonorrhoea incidence decreased by more than 40 per cent.

The findings were based on an examination of the impact of a six-year prostitution decriminalisation policy in the state, from 2003 to 2009.

Previous research shows that 23 per cent of female sex workers report they have had gonorrhoea, compared to 4.7 per cent for women who have never been paid for sex.

The study states that the decline in sexual violence was due to a number of factors relating to the decriminalisation of prostitution.

When sex work is legal, prostitution firms are more likely to invest in locks, security cameras and security personnel to reduce the opportunity of premeditated client violence, researchers said.

Decriminalisation also reduces violence by increasing sex workers’ willingness to cooperate with police and reducing opportunities for police corruption. Currently only 34 per cent of prostitutes who are victims of violence by clients report it to the police.

Researchers added that the decrease in sexual offences may also be down to the fact that decriminalising prostitution frees up police personnel and equipment, which could ultimately help bring down other crime rates – such as rape.

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Show all 11 1 /11 International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures People carrying red umbrellas march through downtown Skopje, Macedonia, marking the International Day to End Violence Over Sex Workers. The banner reads: The Stigma Kills. AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Women participate in a march through a street in Skopje. AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures People shout slogans and hold a banner during a march to support sex workers rights. AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Sex workers demonstrate to call for the end of the violence perpetrated against them and punishment for culprits in Skopje. AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures A woman with 'sex worker' written on her thighs takes part in the march. AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKIROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Activists of the Kenyan Sex Workers Alliance chant slogans during a demonstration in Nairobi on December. AFP / JOHN MUCHUCHAJOHN MUCHUCHA/AFP/Getty Images International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Kenyan male and female sex workers walk with their supporters and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community to mark the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Hundreds of sex workers gathered to demand decriminalisation of sex workers in the country and to give them more rights and protection. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Female sex workers blow up condoms as they walk with supporters and members of the LGBT community. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures A Kenyan sex worker plays with inflated condoms during the march. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers - in pictures Protesters hold red umbrellas symbolising the protection of sex workers. AP Photo/Sayyid Azim

Manisha Shah, one of the paper's authors, said: “This paper presents important causal evidence that doing so would improve public health outcomes and reduce violence against women.

“We think this is a big finding in a world where good empirical evidence has historically been limited.”

The findings come after human rights group Amnesty International called for the formal decriminalisation of adult sex work, after its research showed criminalisation interfered with prostitutes' human rights.