Prostitution is licensed and has been legal in Nevada since 1971. This transaction is permitted if the prostitute works in a licensed brothel in one of the 7 counties where it is currently legal. Prostitution is not legal in Las Vegas, because the law only allows counties with populations under 700,000 to operate legal brothels. Probably one of the immediate concerns regarding the safety of sex workers and clients is safety against disease. Prostitutes must undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases before being hired and are tested monthly for HIV and syphilis, and condoms are mandatory. This policy was implemented in the 1980s. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The common misconception in select Nevada counties that have made prostitution legal is that it only causes harm within communities. Anti-brothel activists believe this contributes to sex trafficking and that prostitutes working in these legal brothels are unsafe and that some have "run away" from the brothels they work in due to violence or rape. Campaigns attempting to change these laws share faulty statistics and argue that the mere existence of these brothels has contributed to widespread violence where prostitution is legal. It is argued that it does not benefit the community's economy in any way and diverts any potential income from other businesses. Those who are working to ban these legal brothels have made unfounded claims and believe there is an attack on revenue and security and this is simply not true. When this transaction is carried out by consenting adults, ideally there should be no harm and this is the truth when workers are asked about their experiences of working in these brothels. “The brothel prostitutes we interviewed invoke a sense of protection from violence to justify satisfaction with brothels as opposed to illegal work” (Brents and Hausbeck 271). The women who work in these brothels feel protected due to the rules imposed by politics and the safety regulations that are enforced by the brothels and the involvement of local law enforcement. Thanks to protection against disease, every prostitute must test negative for HIV and syphilis monthly and before obtaining employment. They are also tested weekly for sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia. For physical safety, prostitutes' rooms are equipped with panic buttons which are mostly placed in convenient and reachable places if they are in danger and need immediate intervention. As for the relationship with these customers, “The owners we interviewed ensured this by adopting a policy of calling the police at the slightest hint of trouble to send a message that they do not tolerate bad behavior” (Brents and Hausbeck 281). The claims made by activists about legal prostitution and contributing to widespread violence are false, there was no substantial evidence to support their claims. There are no direct statistics for Nevada counties, but these can be used as a reference: “When Rhode Island accidentally legalized indoor prostitution for several years, reported rapes decreased by 31%” (Alptraum 14). This covers the years in which it was legal and would demonstrate that the decriminalization of prostitution does not cause an increase in widespread violence in such regions.