Alexa Albert, a Harvard medical student who conducted a public health study in one of Nevada`s brothels and wrote Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women,[68] wrote in her book that brothel owners demanded that prostitutes have pimps from outside because pimps forced women to work harder: “The involvement of pimps has allowed brothel owners to leave discipline to men who would not hesitate to keep their wives in line. [69] Since 1986, new laws in Nevada have required sex workers in these brothels to be tested for HIV monthly and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) every week. All forms of prostitution, including brothels, are illegal in the following counties and our capital: Brothels in rural Nevada counties have been criticized by law enforcement experts, journalists, sex activists, feminists, social and religious conservatives, and politicians. Of Nevada`s 17 counties, prostitution is technically legal in 10 of them. Of these 10, only six allow the practice in a municipality, city or city. This is a historical list of legal brothels in Nevada. They are sorted by name in the location (nearest town or town) in each county that allows these facilities. Farms that no longer exist are retained for completeness. Note, however, that so far, this list only covers the modern era of brothel prostitution in Nevada from about 1950, after the red-light districts of Reno and Las Vegas closed. Churchill County`s last licensed brothel closed in 2014, with no new licenses in 2021. Esmeralda County is another county where legal prostitution is allowed, but as of 2021 there is no active brothel. If a sex worker tests positive for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, the prostitute and brothel will be held liable if a client falls ill with the disease.
A sex worker in a legal brothel can be convicted of a crime if she tests positive for HIV. Prostitution is illegal in Clark, Washoe, Carson City, Pershing, Douglas, Eureka, and Lincoln counties. These include Las Vegas and Reno, as well as the state capital. State law allows Nevada counties to decide whether or not to allow prostitution in licensed brothels. To protect public health and safety, the Nevada legislature heavily regulates the brothel industry. For example, brothel owners in Nevada must ensure that the following rules are followed: Nevada politicians can (and usually do) play both sides of the prostitution conflict by stating that they are personally opposed to prostitution, but feel that it should be up to the counties to decide. With nearly three-quarters of Nevada`s population living in a single county (Clark County, where prostitution is illegal), county control over local affairs is a hot topic. Northern county lawmakers often reflexively oppose what is seen as “meddling” by the majority in the south, and southern lawmakers have been too divided on this issue to enforce a national ban.
In 2009, then-Democratic Senator Bob Coffin introduced a bill that would impose a $5-a-day tax on clients who purchase prostitution services. With about 400,000 customer days in legal brothels in Nevada per year, the measure is expected to bring in $2 million. While licensed brothels can offer legal prostitution in counties, there are some restrictions. One is the location of the brothel. They must be located in places at least 400 metres from a school or place of worship. A grotesque exercise to dehumanize women is regularly performed at Sheri`s Ranch, a legal brothel about an hour`s drive from Vegas. There, women must react like Pavlov`s dog to an electronic bell that can ring at any time of the day or night. At the sound of the bell, prostitutes have five minutes to get to a meeting area, where they line up virtually naked and undergo humiliating inspection by any potential client who passes by.
[56] Bob Herbert also explained that many brothel prostitutes are controlled by outside pimps: “Despite the fiction that they are `independent contractors,` most so-called legal prostitutes have pimps – the state-sanctioned pimps who run brothels and, in many cases, a second pimp who controls every other aspect of their lives (and takes most of their legal income).” [70] Prostitution is illegal in all cities, counties, and unincorporated areas of Colorado. State law criminalizes the purchase or sale of sexual favors or the offer or solicitation of the sale or purchase of sexual services. The definition of sex includes sexual intercourse as well as fellatio, cunnilingus, masturbation or anal copulation. Some people mistakenly believe that prostitution is legal. The legalization of prostitution does not reduce the physical and emotional safety of women in prostitution.
