Italian poll shows heavy support for legalized prostitution

Rome, Jun. 5, 2008

(CWNews.com) - Italy's Donna Moderna magazine has published a survey showing that a substantial majority of Italians support the legalization of prostitution.

The survey respondents accepted the argument that legalizing brothels would protect prostitutes and move them off the streets.

The survey found substantial support for two different arguments in favor of legalization: 47% of those polled supported the legalization of prostitution as a means to “clean up the streets” while 38% said the measure would be useful to protect prostitutes from exploitation and violence. Just 11% of respondents opposed legalized prostitution on the grounds that it would encourage the practice, and a mere 4% opposed the the idea on moral grounds. the rest