 These feminists see prostitution as a form of slavery, and say that, far from decreasing rape rates, prostitution leads to a sharp "increase" in sexual violence against women, by sending the message that it is acceptable for a man to treat a woman as a sexual instrument over which he has total control.Melissa Farley argues that Nevada's high rape rate is connected to legal prostitution because Nevada is the only US state which allows legal brothels and is ranked 4th out of the 50 U.S. states for sexual assault crimes, saying, "Nevada's rape rate is higher than the U.S. average and way higher than the rape rate in California, New York and New Jersey.Why is this?