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...but it clearly is. Consider how much more serious (and frightening) we consider a sexual assault compared to a physical assault.
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While this viewpoint may hold true for some percentage of people, the issue of rape is still only nominally relevant (it involves sex).
One of the primary horrifying factors of rape is the violent loss of control over one's body. Legalization of prostitution on the other hand is an act which could potentially give many women more control over their bodies.
As mentioned earlier, many women who are part of the prostitution market in America are caught in a catch-22, where they may be subject to slave-like working conditions, yet have no legal recourse due to their participation in a crime. Discussion of rape simply muddies this issue.
Money-wise, this is like most illicit activities (drugs, weapons, ect...) When made legal, the supply and demand curve shifts, and the ready availability of prostitutes (drugs, weapons) changes prices. In the specific case of prostitution, there would likely still be a premium placed on the service, due to social bias, and there would also be the potential for price changes due to regulation / taxation. Widescale legalized prostitution would probably be subject to intense regulation scrutiny, much as the cited case in Nevada is.
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I should hope that in the future both coal mining, industry work, and prostitution can be left behind.
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Wanted to hit this point a bit back as well, since the dirty / dangerous jobs show a similar reasoning as being used towards prostitution, but without the extremism. The point as I understand it was that these are undesirable occupations which people would not choose given a choice. (Also "industry work" is really vague, so I've taken it to mean heavy industry work.)
First off, dangerous jobs are legal, they are generally well regulated, and they often pay a premium based upon the conditions (danger in their case). They have experienced numerous scandals and problems during their history, and social economic forces have acted over time to correct the problems. All of these things are similar to a legalized form of prostitution (looking at areas like Amsterdam / Nevada)
People regularly choose to work dangerous jobs and are often proud of their association with the job. They cite various reasons, but some like the extra pay, some like the thrill, and some just like the type of work. Some would choose these types of work over jobs which require years of school and study. (Anecdotally, I know several foundry and mining workers who hold this view) Given the option in a free market, reasonable people pursue work which may be undesirable to the public at large.
Finally, these jobs and workers exist because of a need in society, their work is as important as normal 9-5 jobs, and will exist until that need goes away. If we attempt to reduce the number of workers in this field, then the cost of finding laborers to perform the work will increase, or they will be found from a different source.
In the case of prostitution, people will always want to have sex, and there will always be those who can't get enough, yet have money. If it is illegal, then prices are high, there is no transparency, dangerous conditions are not corrected, and workers are more often exploited. If it is legal, efforts to convince natives to not enter the industry are irrelevant, as this will simply force the suppliers to search elsewhere for workers (immigrants, black market)
Jam it back in, in the dark.
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