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MEXICO CITY - A proposal to legalize prostitution in Mexico City risks making women more vulnerable to human traffickers forcing them onto the street as sex slaves, a US academic said on Friday.


At a conference on human trafficking, Rhode Island University professor of Women’s Studies Donna Hughes said a plan by Mexico City’s left-wing government to make prostitution legal in the capital could mean more women and children coerced into being sex workers.

Hughes said her research in Europe and elsewhere suggested that legalizing prostitution only aggravates the problem of sexual slavery, rather than relieving it.

“This really legitimises the sex trade and allows it to advertise very publicly, to expand the market of services. It creates a demand for more victims,â€