> a third, uncomfortable hypothesis: it's possible that violent males consider prostitution and rape as "substitutes". With prostitution legally acceptable and cheaper than when it was a criminal offense, would-be rapists might shift away from violence toward women, opting to purchase sex instead.

I'm really not sure how one could consider "uncomfortable" the idea that some people who would otherwise commit a crime, would instead opt to pay for a legal service?

When prostitution is legal, isn't this situation just the same as someone buying a car instead of stealing it, or streaming a movie on Netflix instead of torrenting it? The only difference I see is that the rape prevented would have been worse than stealing or copying, so it's even more important to prevent it.

edit: I can see people saying that I'm comparing a crime against people with crimes against objects. So here's another situation: someone paying an employee instead of enslaving him.