Paying attention to the issue would entail lobbying for "legal sex work" so that prostitutes had rights both as individual people and sex industry workers. Sex workers need to have a say and the legal capacity to organize in order to get their needs met. This would include bylaws and regulations that state their specific legal rights as workers. These worker rights would have to include clauses regarding safer working conditions and avenues of legal repercussions for those who physically harm and/or rape sex workers. Advocating for the legalization of prostitution should be viewed as another rape deterrence strategy; "legal" prostitutes would be less likely to be sexually assaulted (Sullivan, 2007). These objectives towards the protection, health, and safety of sex workers could be initiated and enacted under the guidance of feminist criminological theories. In 2006, the United States government rejected the idea of managed zones for sex workers. "We should challenge the existence of street prostitution, not imply through the development of managed areas that it is acceptable or that its existence should be tolerated..." (Kendall-Raynor, 2007). Most people have heard the tired cliche that "prostitution is the world's oldest profession." Prostitution cannot be abolished by religion and its various moral components. In the minds of most, physical survival takes precedence over moral and philosophical values. Most street prostitutes are trying to survive through the night. When were street hookers ever afforded the luxury to ponder the words of all the great sages on earth? There are many levels in the hierarchy of prostitution, ranging from the glamorous high-class sex worker to the lowest of filthy street hookers. At the worst end of the spectrum prostitutes are often poor, drug-addicted, intellectually and/or mentally challenged, and emotionally and/or psychologically disturbed. They might spit in the face or bite the hands of those who try to help them, but these behaviors fall under the umbrella of

If the sex industry was regulated and sex workers were provided with legal protection, safety, and health services, they might inadvertently be given the opportunity to climb out of survival mode and escape from prostitution.
References

Akers, R.L. (1997). Criminological Theories Introduction and Evaluation, second edition. Los Angeles, California: Roxbury Publishing Company.

Hagan, F.E. (2002). Introduction to Criminology. Theories, Methods, and Criminal Behavior, fifth edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.

Kendall-Raynor, P. (2007). Nurses demand safe zones for sex workers in vulnerable areas. Nursing Standard 21.17, 10 (1). Retrieved on 5 December 2007 at http://find.galegroup.com

Monet, V. (1997). Prostitution can benefit women. Opposing Viewpoints: Human Sexuality. San Diego, Greenhaven Press. Retrieved on 6 December 2007 at http://find.galegroup.com

Sullivan, B. (2007). Rape, prostitution, and consent. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 127 (16). Retrieved on 5 December 2007 at http://find.galegroup.com