1: Accounting for and Counting Commercial Sex

The numbers surrounding prostitution have long been more about shock and awe than careful measurement. David Spiegelhalter (2015) recounts an enlightening story in this regard. In 1796, a police magistrate estimated that London had 50,000 sex workers, which would have represented one-fifth of the women aged 15–40. This neat, round figure was repeated so often that it finally became accepted as fact. At least, that was the case until 1850, when the Bishop of Exeter apparently considered it inadequate and increased the estimate to 80,000. There is much to learn from this little story, if not from the figures themselves, then from the numbers game.