FICTION:
Prostitutes set themselves up for violence.

FACT:
Nobody asks to be assaulted. The fact that many prostitutes are intimidated by the police prevents them from reporting acts of violence against them, and perpetrators know this. Anti-prostitute laws and social attitudes set prostitutes up for violence.

FICTION:
Prostitutes are victims.

FACT:
Some "recovery" programs and women's groups like to regard prostitutes as victims, despite the fact that many current and former prostitutes believe themselves to be nothing of the kind. This victim mentality is a convenient way of absolving oneself of blame for making ill-conceived or unwise choices. Typically applied to female rather than male prostitutes, it reinforces the archaic notion that women don't know what's good for them and are incapable not only of making their own decisions, but also of taking responsibility for those decisions.

FICTION:
All prostitutes are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

FACT:
Some are and some are not. Even for those who are, that doesn't mean that they are incapable of making decisions for themselves.

FICTION:
Prostitutes need to be saved from themselves.

FACT:
Prostitutes have minds of their own. If you want to patronize prostitutes, visit one with your wallet in hand.

FICTION:
Many prostitutes are drug addicts.

FACT:
So are many accountants. Although voluntary drug rehabilitation programs should be open to prostitutes (and accountants), forced rehabilitation seldom works.

FICTION:
All prostitutes suffer from low self-esteem.

FACT:
Prostitutes are people -- some have better self-images than others, and each one responds differently to his or her circumstances. Being rewarded for being physically attractive or sexually competent is not an obvious barrier to self-esteem.

FICTION:
Prostitution is always a degrading act.

FACT:
There is nothing degrading about earning an honest living the best way you know how. Some would regard janitorial work as degrading, but that's not the case either.

FICTION:
Prostitutes are just lazy; they're trying to avoid "real" work.

FACT:
In many cases, circumstances prevent prostitutes from finding "real" work, no matter how much they would like to. They may have arrest records which ensure that no firm will hire them, they may lack marketable skills, they may be single parents unable to find affordable day care during working hours, or they may be homeless.

FICTION:
Prostitution is an easy way to make lots of money.

FACT:
Prostitution is not always easy, and can be downright dangerous. The monetary rewards are usually exaggerated: if prostitutes made half as much money as some people think, there would be no homeless or impoverished hookers on the street.

FICTION:
Prostitutes want off the street.

FACT:
While many prostitutes would probably move off the street if they could find an alternative way of making a living, many would not. The street offers certain advantages that off-street alternatives don't: the ability to see your clients beforehand, the safety of working in numbers, the social aspect of working among colleagues, the absence of overhead costs, the freedom to choose your own working hours, and the comparatively fast turnover of customers.

FICTION:
Arresting prostitutes will keep them off the street.

FACT:
Giving prostitutes police records reduces their chances of finding a job. Encumbering them with stiff fines despite the fact that in many cases they have no other sources of income means that they will have to go back on the street in order to pay. Arresting prostitutes only gets them off the street when it puts them (temporarily) in jail.

FICTION:
Prostitutes spread HIV and other STDs to the general public.

FACT:
Prostitutes are more likely to use condoms than non-prostitutes, and are also more likely to know how to identify an STD.

FICTION:
Johns are misogynists, and use prostitution as a way to express their hatred of women.

FACT:
While a small proportion of johns do hate women, the vast majority seek out sex workers for much more mundane reasons: adventure, loneliness, sexual insecurity, convenience, stress relief, or plain old horniness.