Something I've been thinking on the last few days:

There is no point dissuading people from entering sex work unless a better alternative exists. This better alternative is not "just any other, more socially acceptable form of work".

Sex work is not uniquely exploitative; the only difference in exploitation lies in the issues of legality, stigma and marginalisation that *are* unique to sex work, and absolutely must be dealt with.

However, if the alternative to sex work is a min-wage retail job, or being yelled at in a call centre, or cleaning a rich person's house, or working for an abusive boss, or in a workplace that won't accommodate their disabilities or care needs - there's exploitation there too.

I sure as hell have been more exploited in more conventional jobs than I have been as a sex worker, and that's not to say that's the case for everyone (on either side of that "divide"), but I also know I'm not the only one who's had that experience.

If you want to stop exploitation, you cannot just stop people from entering sex work. You have to recognise that exploitation exists everywhere within the labour market, and tackle *all* of that.

Workers need to be paid fairly. They need to be given adequate safety and protections - both physically and mentally. They need time off and holidays. They need their needs accommodated for. They need the ability to seek recourse in abusive workplaces.

If you want to take it a step further, I think it would be pretty damn good if we lived in a society where for most people, the options weren't 1) work or 2) not be able to afford basic necessities. The *necessity* of work can be exploitative in and of itself. Maybe end that.

TL;DR: Preventing people from entering sex work cannot be a goal unless the totality of labour exploitation is ended, or else people will otherwise likely just be forced into yet another form of "socially acceptable" exploitation.