Why was sex work stigmatized for so long? Maybe traditions aren't wrong!

In the context of prostitution, the bed should be seen as a sacrificial stone. People often 'choose' this work - sacrifice themselves - because they can care for aging, ill family in ways that would otherwise not be possible.

Sex work irreparably destroys one's ability to desire or enjoy intimacy. A core function of what it means to be human is completely erased.

Through first hand experience, I have gone from being completely pro-sex work to now viewing it as an evil industry.

How about one where it is widely promoted?

Imagine government-run employment agency setting you up for a job interview at the brothel. And if you refuse that interview you lose your unemployment benefits, because you turned down perfectly legal job... That's reality for women in Germany, for example.