Introduction

Sex work is often called the oldest profession in the world. It manifests itself in a plethora of forms and is practiced by different types of individuals (although female sex workers almost certainly are the largest group), while various other individuals may profit from it. Legislators have tried to make laws and regulations to combat forced sex work and to regulate voluntary prostitution, but an adequate solution to fight exploitation without inducing undesirable effects must still be found in many countries. Every option that is being tried seems to have negative side-effects. On the one hand, combating forced work may lead to stigmatization of sex workers and neglect of their rights, while, on the other hand, the liberation of sex work may result in fewer obstacles to the exploitation of victims by traffickers (Malsch & Tsang, 2020; Wijers, 2022).