Why is prostitution illegal?

It condones dangerous, immoral activity and tempts the weak, sick and twisted minded.

Because many of those involved in prostitution are under the control of someone else. They are forced to work and hand over money they make.

Because legislators where you live think it's immoral and therefore should be banned. Of course making law (or voting, or anything else political) doesn't necessarily have anything to do with making sense.

Where I live, it's not illegal. But then I'm not American, I'm British. What IS illegal is everything surrounding it - advertising for sex, pimping, "living off immoral earnings" (which applies to pimps, not prostitutes), street-crawling... we are well aware of how girls can be exploited, and then it's not them who should be punished, it's the people who exploit them.

But if you work for yourself, and get clients through private recommendation, what's wrong with the act of prostitution itself? That's how we see it. The only difference from meeting someone and having sex with them is that money changes hands.

A nice case the newspapers had huge fun with around 25 years ago was CIR v Aken. Ms Aken, otherwise known as Miss Whiplash, was a "high-class prostitute" who didn't advertise, didn't work for a pimp, and so she was doing nothing illegal as regards sex. The only reason she ended up in court was not declaring her earnings and paying tax on them (CIR = Commissioners of Inland Revenue). She tried to argue that she shouldn't pay tax because then the government would be living off immoral earnings. Nice try, said the judge, but the law is clear - prostitution is a trade within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts, therefore it is taxable, so pay up!