Most recent attempts to deal with prostitution have consisted of attempts to suppress it altogether by forcing the closure of brothels. These efforts have only helped prostitutes carry on their trade in a clandestine manner. On the other hand, proponents of the legalization of prostitution fail to realize that a licensing system encourages the exploitation of women and does not eliminate it. Correctional institutions for prostitutes have failed to rehabilitate them because they provide the poorest possible preparation for a successful reentry into society and often merely reinforce patterns for further deviance. Among these institutions' problems which were identified in the 1956 Report of the Committee on Social and Moral Hygiene were the cramped accommodations, lack of trained personnel, and absence of meaningful activities for the inmates. The traditional rehabiltitative philosophy is based on numerous faulty assumptions, including confusion over goals, the dominance of punitive considerations over reformative considerations, and the belief that the public will actively support efforts to rehabilitate prostitutes. However, contemporary rehabilitation workers are becoming more selective in their approaches and prefer to focus on the prostitutes who dislike the profession and want to leave it. They also advocate a replacement of the traditional approaches with a balanced rehabilitation program which includes such components as behavior therapy, education, vocational training, and aftercare. Twelve references are listed.