This seems another law to make it easier to enforce what is a fundamentally bad law in the first place, by slicing away from punishment the most pitiful victim in the scenario originally held out as the reason for making all sex work illegal. That being the underage prostitute. This is mostly a way to take the pressure off the enforcers of the fundamentally bad law.

Yes, …here and there, …now and then, …an underage prostitute who otherwise would stay quiet, will out the pimp pushing them to “produce” money, because they know they won’t get put in jail for going to the police. In addition, corrupt cops won’t be able to pressure them for “freebies” nearly as easily. This still doesn’t get rid of a basically bad law. It does not admit the basic motivation behind political support for the basically bad law.

That motivation is from married mothers with children, who want all the money of the family earned by the husband to go to support them and their children. It is an anti-competition measure, in that husbands will spend less on prostitutes when there are fewer around, because they are scared away. That way the wives need compete with no one for their husbands’ paychecks.

We really need to admit basic motivations here, but that isn’t what sounds nearly as high-minded and competent as “rescuing” underage prostitutes, while only prosecuting prostitutes who’ve reached their legal majority.