And last, permit me a little joke, ( with no intentions to offend anyone, especially the girls

)
Who said you that you get it "for free" ? ..... have you never considered how much it cost you, in fact of home bills and fees, new car, dresses and makeups and gifts for the wife, extra expenses when the kids comes, and so on ? ..... "for free" is not exactly the right way for define it, i think :eg: ..... (just kidding

)
It's "the f*cking you get for the f*cking you got" :crackup:
I think the only reason prostitution is bad is because there are no ways to actually enforce the rules.
If the girls got tested consistently (this would require a faster testing process) the spread of diseases would be limited.
If the pimps were imprisoned/punished for threats and physical attacks (as they would be against any other citizen) it would limit the violent aspect of prostitution.
There are always the "what ifs" but I don't agree that much of the population participates in the sex trade.
I knew a prostitute when I was just a kid (she worked a strip near one of my favorite raspberry patches).
It seemed like most of her Johns were basically clones of the same guy.
White, average income (based on the car), kinda unpleasant in appearance, generally 30-45 years old.
She also said that her favorites were the guys over 65 because they were gentlemen, had no problems getting money from them, they were her regulars, and they were never violent.
The young guys (younger than 30) were the only ones she had any real problems with.
Simple solution: These guys that screw around with little kids (knowingly) have been proven to be beyond rehabilitation.
Neuter them!
*edit*
It also depends on the focus group.
If you asked the percentage of people to solicit a prostitute or sex from a minor from the guest stars from "to catch a predator" you would likely run pretty high figures.
If you posed the same question to junior high students you probably wouldn't get very many hits.
If you walked down "the strip" and asked people if they solicited sex, you will get skewed results.
An independent study with no vested interest and a huge survey group would be needed before I personally believe ANY figures.
Journalists have a vested interest in that they have to sensationalize EVERYTHING. These are the same people that said the % of population with aids in Africa is 95%.....All lies...