Nevada brothels facing possible ban

A coalition of women’s advocacy groups in Nevada — the only state in the US where prostitution is legal — is pushing a referendum to ban brothels in Lyon and Nye counties, where about half of the state’s bordellos legally operate.

Lyon County commissioners voted on June 7 to place an advisory question on the general election ballot in November on whether to prohibit prostitution at licensed brothels. They said they would abide by the voters’ decision.

Organizers in Nye County are working to gather enough signatures to get a similar measure on the ballot this fall.

If passed, the measures could lead to a closing of nine bordellos in the two rural counties at opposite ends of the state, near Las Vegas and Reno.

The Silver State has allowed brothels since the mid-19th century. In 1971, the Nevada Legislature adopted a law prohibiting brothels in counties with more than 700,000 residents. Counties with fewer residents could, however, decide whether to permit prostitution in licensed facilities.

Seven of the state’s 16 counties have licensed fewer than two dozen legal brothels, while prostitution remains illegal in populous Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, and Washoe County, where Reno is.

“We are thrilled that the commissioners of Lyon County recognize the importance of this issue and the timeliness of this vote. With the #MeToo movement, it is important to also listen to the voices of survivors within the sex industry who have been hurt by the promises of safety and security of legal prostitution, only to be physically and mentally broken by a system advertised to protect them,” said Kimberly Mull, a survivor of sex trafficking and the co-founder of No Little Girl — a campaign for the referendums, in a press release.

“Legalized prostitution in Nevada has done nothing to stem victimization within the illicit sex trade,” the campaign’s website says.

According to The Wall Street Journal, female activists began seeking the bans last year after hearing about ongoing assaults of prostitutes at the brothels, and they began with Lyon and Nye counties because residents there approached them for help in pursuing a ban.

“The girls deal with terrible treatment in there,” said Rebekah Charleston, 36, who says she worked at Nevada brothels.

However, some brothel employees, operators, experts and industry supporters against the campaign denied that workers were being mistreated or that drug use is tolerated, saying the ban only will drive prostitution underground, which puts the workers more at risk.

“Legalization gives women the option to work in a safe, legal setting rather than risking rape, assault and arrest when working independently in a criminalized system,” Christina Parreira told China Daily. Parreira is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Nevada who worked as a sex worker to collect data and interview other workers for her dissertation.

“Some people claim that legalization will increase trafficking, but that claim cannot be substantiated,” Ronald Weitzer, a sociology professor at George Washington University, told China Daily. “Because trafficking is hidden, the issue is complex, and it is difficult to determine precisely whether sex trafficking is likely to decline when prostitution is legalized, but police figures from Germany show that the number of officially certified victims of sex trafficking has declined since Germany legalized prostitution in 2002.”

Dennis Hof, the owner of six of the nine bordellos that would be banned, estimates his brothels generate $10 million in local economic benefits, including local taxes and consumer spending.

Hof told The Wall Street Journal that while not every prostitute makes a good living, many do, especially at his most famous brothel, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, just outside Carson City. The establishment was the setting for the long-running HBO series Cathouse, which starred Hof.

He is running to represent Nevada’s 36th District in the state Assembly. Hof defeated GOP incumbent James Oscarson in the deep-red district.