I don’t actually agree that 18 should be the minimum age for sex work.
What do you think that age should be? 21? 30? And would you also apply it to things like porn and stripping?
I’ve raised kids and spent enough timey with adolescents to believe that they are not old enough to make such a willing choice, just as I don’t think 18 year olds should be allowed to consume alcohol.
Drinking age of 21 is fairly uniquZe to US and another instance of infantilization of not just teenage minors, but also of young adults.
FFS, at 18, you cannot rent cars or hotel rooms—for good reason.
Are you sure about that? I think it's mostly 18 for hotels, and mostly 21 for cars, albeit it's 18 in some states.
Frankly I care much more about the potential damage to 18 year old sex workers than I do about a trashed hotel room.
They are still adults and should be allowed to make their own choices with their bodies.
As I’ve said before, the part about sex work that concerns me is the potential for coercion.
And that potential is higher when the business is driven underground through prohibitionist policies you keep advocating.
Most of the stats I’ve read have stated that most sex workers begin this line of work when they are 14 or 15—way too young to be able to advocate for themselves. And vulnerable enough to believe that is all that they are good for.
Frankly, most stuff you read on that topic comes from prohibitionist sources that have an agenda.
That said, I think that is what law enforcement should be doing - focus on underage and involuntary sex work, and leave consenting adults alone. Instead, a lot of law enforcement resources are wasted on persecuting adult, consensual sex work because that's an easier target.