She assumes that risk as part of the job. And if it's a legal job, she can scream, have him arrested when he leaves. She does NOT have to take whatever he dishes out, it's a job. She can just LEAVE, because there is no pimp standing over her, no fuckers dangling her visa in front of her.
Listen, my only fear for the whole prostitution being legal thing is what kind of risk does this put the girl in? Now granted its probably less than illegal prostitutes face, but still the girl would probably be in a small area say a “bedroom” with a stranger who stands a good chance at being much stronger than her.
As you say, legalization lessens that risk.
As to Comrade Tortoise, he's absolutely right that the sex industry needs some major social engineering. How the fuck is said same going to be pulled off WHILE prostitution is illegal, may I ask? Once the police can't harass you for it, legitimate people start getting into it. These people will attract many of the current street girls, since they offer better conditions for their workers.
Street hookers can come to the cops, and there's no way they'll spend time in a cell. Which might(shock) lead to MORE of the abuse in the sex industry being stopped. If the law turns into a refuge rather than a hunter, that's one less pressure on the girl to stay with her pimp. And said pimps CERTAINLY won't be grabbing many NEW bodies into the system when there's a place that treats the ladies like human beings just down the road.
Plus, who visits prostitutes now? People who don't mind breaking the law. While obviously not close to an absolute(as I'm sure quite a few here can attest), the fact is, your customers are breaking the law just by being there. That's not a fun group, on average, to work with. The quality of CUSTOMERS will be improved as well, as people can start treating it as an option, and not some shameful thing a loser runs illegally into alleys to get, right down there with drug-dealing.
Whole thing's a chain reaction, which will INCLUDE the social engineering needed to make the sex industry less seedy.
It's not a matter of magically fixing the current state of affairs. It's having a new system supersede it, one that is NOT morally bankrupt.
Of course, most people selling their bodies ARE low on resources and options. No doubt. Getting pounded all day CAN'T be fun. But it's no different from the guy who's stuck delivering groceries when university just wasn't fun enough to continue.
In short, me-too. Prostitution isn't immoral. The current system of it is.