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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsSocial IssuesHuman RightsPublic PolicyDecriminalizationSex WorkLegalization•••Started 4mos agoActive 2wks ago

Should the government decriminalize consensual sex work?

Prostitution is currently illegal in the United States, except for parts of Nevada. Advocates argue criminalization forces workers into dangerous underground markets without police protection. Opponents believe commercializing sex is inherently exploitative and increases human trafficking. The "Nordic Model" offers a middle ground by criminalizing the purchase of sex to curb demand, while decriminalizing the sellers to protect them.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 5.1k America voters.

54%
Yes
46%
No
41%
Yes
37%
No
7%
Yes, legalize, tax, and regulate it to ensure health and safety
5%
No, legalization increases human trafficking and violent exploitation
6%
Yes, consenting adults have the right to do what they want with their bodies
2%
No, prostitution is immoral and degrades society
2%
No, punish the buyers of sex, not the workers

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 5.1k America voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 5.1k America voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @BBBXPQXfrom PR  answered…4mos4MO

I think they should be punished because that is not a job it is getting money in a easier way and a humiliating way for yourself.

 @BBBSJ37 from Virginia  answered…4mos4MO

For some, it is the only way to make money and if the government doesn't want to change to create a more stable workforce then this is the alternative.

 @BBCYKKQ from Florida  answered…4mos4MO

Yes, because it's their body and you can't really control people who want to do that but the legalization will increase human trafficking.

 @BBBDSPR from Texas  answered…4mos4MO

I would combine two answers and say Yes, consenting adults have the right to do what they want with their bodies but also No, legalization increases human trafficking and violent exploitation

 @BDXH46F from Virginia  answered…2wks2W

Under a worker’s government, sex work should be criminalized and sex workers provided a new job

 @BDXCGK5 from Florida  answered…2wks2W

Make it much harsher and more applicable than current laws

 @BDRTRZR  from Kentucky  answered…3wks3W

He worries about the effects of legalizing sex work. Even though it is usually a transaction between two consistenting adults. He feels with human trafficking to protect society it is better to keep it illegal

 @BCJW86P from Texas  answered…3mos3MO

legalize and regulate to ensure health and safety but enforce rules on it, cant be publisized, no under age workers, and regular health inspections, only adults and not comersialized publically keep it private

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

A Moment of Darkness': Washington Post's No-Endorsement Decision Ignites Media Firestorm

Even though the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is neck and neck, The Washington Post has decided not to make a presidential endorsement for the first time in 36 years, the publisher and CEO announced Friday."We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates," Will Lewis wrote in an opinion piece published on the paper's website. He referenced the paper's policy in the decades prior to 1976, when, following the Watergate scandal that the Post broke, it endorsed Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter. The last time the Post did not endorse a presidential candidate in the general election was 1988, according to a search of its archives.Colleagues learned the news from the editorial page editor, David Shipley, at a tense meeting shortly before Lewis' announcement. The meeting was characterized by someone with direct knowledge of discussions on condition of anonymity to speak about internal matters.Shipley said that he told other editorial board leaders Thursday by management that there would be no endorsement, though he has known for weeks. He added that he "owns" this decision. The reason he cited was to create "independent space" where the newspaper does not tell people for whom to vote.Colleagues were said to be "shocked" and uniformly negative. Post corporate spokespeople have not responded to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump's presidency, denounced the decision starkly."This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty," Baron said in a statement to NPR. "Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage."A similar decision by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong led this week to the resignations of the paper's editorials editor and two editorial board members. Soon-Shiong said that he had asked the editorial board to draft a "factual analysis" of Trump and Harris' policies and plans. In her resignation letter, editorials editor Mariel Garza said the decision made the paper look “craven and hypocritical,” given its past reporting and editorials on Trump.

▲  1013 replies

About This Data

Based on 5.1k responses to this question.

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iSideWith. (2026). “Should the government decriminalize consensual sex work?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://www.isidewith.com/poll/5544451415

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