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The values and issues shaping either the debates or the regulation of prostitution seem to be recurrent. If new topics, such as irregular migration, smuggling or trafficking in human beings have met others which are more focused on purely moral questions, they are still based on old oppositions: an egalitarian perception (aiming an universalistic treatment) versus a pluralistic perception of society (aiming a particularistic treatment); perception of prostitution as a paradigmatic form of exploitation of women and therefore unacceptable versus a perception considering prostitution as a simple mirror of inequalities; a representation of the prostitute as an innocent victim opposed to the idea of a guilty and deviant woman; finally the question of the possibility to sell one’s own body opposed to the idea that prostitution is only the sale of services and of a portion of oneself. This article deals with the issues underlying the debate on prostitution and on the following forms of regulation according to an historical perspective.