After years of pressure by citizens, Rhode Island has finally made indoor prostitution illegal, as it is in every other state (with the exception of some counties in Nevada). This should help police crack down on some of the worst criminals in our midst — violent pimps who brutalize women, entice children to be raped, and traffic in human beings, a kind of modern slavery. It will also let the FBI join in fighting egregious Rhode Island cases involving prostitution.

The General Assembly also passed new laws against human trafficking and children working in sex-related businesses. All are good measures, despite some compromises.

Some people bitterly opposed this effort, arguing that women and young people need to prostitute themselves to earn a living in a state with high unemployment. Such a pathetic concept of economic development defies both compassion and common sense, and any state that embraced it would deserve scorn. Prostitution destroys lives, breeds crime and spreads disease. It turns young women, especially, into objects to be brutally exploited and discarded.

Some argued that prostitution has long been with us and that a law against it is “legislating morality.” The same could be said of rape or murder. Laws against forms of behavior that hurt people are one way to discourage such activity, even if they can never eradicate it.

Much of the credit for this achievement goes to one brave legislator: Joanne Giannini (D.-Providence), who refused to relent, even when her bills were stifled for years and she was vilely smeared and mocked on the Internet. House Speaker William Murphy gave the effort a tremendous boost earlier this year, by putting Representative Giannini’s strong, compassionate bill to a vote; it passed overwhelmingly. The Senate, unfortunately, blocked reform early on, though it finally joined in at the end and did the right thing.

The governor, attorney general, and local church leaders fought for the change. Citizens finally broke the logjam by putting intense pressure on stubborn legislators who seemed indifferent to the suffering in their midst. Donna Hughes, Melanie Shapiro and Margaret Brooks of Rhode Island Citizens Against Trafficking worked long hours (and also endured personal smears) fighting against human trafficking here, while rallying support from national advocates who oppose child abuse and assist runaway children. Rhode Islanders should be grateful for all these efforts.