The government proved during the Civil War that legalizing prostitution promoted safer sex practices, kept the ladies and gents safer, and dropped the level of STDs contracted to near negligible levels. So many people believe that the war was both won and lost because of starvation but the sad truth is that syphilis and gonorrhea claimed many more lives than starvation...and at one point more than bullets!
When the government stepped in and forced bawdy houses to promote condom use and doctor visits for both the prostitutes AND the paying customers the STD rate plummeted. The prostitutes were no longer badly treated by their Madames and the wages they earned were regulated by the government...and medical care came out of their checks (so to speak). The prostitutes were happy with the arrangement, the Madames were happy as were local townsfolk. The Temperance Society, however, was not and after the war forced prostitution to be criminalized regardless of the lessons learned.
Things went back to the way they were before the government stepped in and regulated everything. So yeah I am all for decriminalization and regulation. Let's put the sex trade slavers out of business...make it a real career, and get some sanity. If we can't put the bastards out of business then we can hurt them really badly while protecting the people who wish to sell and those who wish to buy.