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Do Prostitution Laws Affect Rape Rates? Evidence from Europe

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  • Huasheng Gao
  • Vanya Petrova

Abstract

We identify a causal effect of the liberalization and prohibition of commercial sex on rape rates, using staggered legislative changes in European countries. Liberalizing prostitution leads to a significant decrease in rape rates, while prohibiting it leads to a significant increase. The results are stronger when rape is less severely underreported and when it is more difficult for men to obtain sex via marriage or partnership. We also provide the first evidence for the asymmetric effect of prostitution regulation on rape rates: the magnitude of prostitution prohibition is much larger than that of prostitution liberalization. Placebo tests show that prostitution laws have no impact on nonsexual crimes. Overall, our results indicate that prostitution is a substitute for sexual violence and that the recent global trend of prohibiting commercial sex (especially the Nordic model) could have the unforeseen consequence of proliferating sexual violence.

Suggested Citation

  • Huasheng Gao & Vanya Petrova, 2022. "Do Prostitution Laws Affect Rape Rates? Evidence from Europe," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(4), pages 753-789.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlawec:doi:10.1086/720583
    DOI: 10.1086/720583
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    Cited by:

    1. Lingfu Kong & Emrah Sofuoğlu & Balogun Daud Ishola & Shujaat Abbas & Qingran Guo & Khurshid Khudoykulov, 2024. "Sustainable development through structural transformation: a pathway to economic, social, and environmental progress," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-34, April.
    2. Jun Shen & Xiaoting Song, 2024. "Anticompetitive effect of drug name trademark registration: lessons from China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.

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