It took me long enough to find, but Prostitution is still illegal in San Francisco; Proposition K failed.  I have stated my feelings on prostitution in the past, and I do agree it is a workers' rights issue in theory, but as long as people are forced into this work then it should be illegal.  The people doing the forcing should be punished not the victims.  

Prostitution and San Francisco

Proposition K is on the San Francisco ballot. This would decriminalize prostitution, however it would still remain illegal because state law prohibits it, but it would strip local law enforcement of the power to go after prostitutes.

I have strong feelings on this issue: I know you can argue prostitution as a labor/human rights issue, but because of trafficking and child prostitution you cannot decriminalize it. I don’t believe the women/girls/boys/men working, as prostitutes should be penalized for it. We need to remove the demand or at least lessen it. But as Mark Benjamin’s article, Fall Girls, in Ms Magazine pointed out those purchasing people don’t get jail time; they get fines. This doesn’t mean remove the penalties for everyone, but enact tougher penalties on those creating the problem.

Every aspect of the sex industry is connected: prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. To deny this is naive and pushing one’s own agenda; legitimizing one’s own actions. It is mine own personal belief that though women may choose to work in prostitution it is not a choice made because they want to. This is a choice made because of abuse, necessity, economic pressure, or a number of other reasons. With the exception of the “peek-a-boo poles,” marketed to children and pulled from stores but not online, what little girl wants to grow up to sell sex? Again, I don’t think there is anything wrong with sex, or even selling sex if you have the agency to consent. We have the mindset in the world that once you turn 18 you have the agency to consent, but people don’t always have the choice. By decriminalizing or legalizing prostitution those who lack the agency will only suffer.