The making of prostitution a criminal offence does little or nothing to protect women from becoming prostitutes and exposing them to considerably increased risks once they have done so. They have no recourse to the law to protect them from violence or extortion by pimps or customers. Legalization of prostitution under controlled conditions is little better, as prostitutes have then little control over the conditions in which they work and the only person truly protected is the customer. The answer would seem to be decriminalization of prostitution altogether, with the onus for reform being put on the system which causes the abuse rather than the prostitutes who are abused.