Sex workers in Vegas are advocating respect for their profession in Sin City. Prostitutes demonstrated on the steps of the courthouse in downtown Las Vegas. Hookers and strippers demanded more legal protection in an effort to decriminalize the "world's oldest profession."

Thirty-six-year-old ex-Army Reservist, Starchild, stood in solidarity with the rallying sex workers in Las Vegas. He emphatically claimed his seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Starchild told AP, "And that ballot is going to say 'escort/exotic dancer."

Men and women in the trade said they came downtown to the courthouse in an attempt to support other individuals like Starchild, who would become representatives for the members of the occupational-group.

On the whole, the gathering called for a higher level of respect for their profession and towards legal as well as illegal workers in the sex industry.

The crowd complained that several antihuman trafficking laws restricted their freedom. Elizabeth Nanas, 33, a former prostitute and sex worker, advocate and organizer of the rally told the AP, "No one here would say prostitution is good for everyone."

"We're saying the attention and money should be spent on areas where there are problems."

A Conference sponsored by the Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA, according to organizers, was the largest meeting of academics, advocates and prostitutes in a decade. The agenda included discussions on police brutality, online organization and lectures in journalism for sex workers.

Kate Hausbeck, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas sociology professor and advocate told the AP, "Overall, the biggest issue was looking at criminalization policies and asking, are they doing anything to stop prostitution? Are they protecting and empowering women? Are they making our communities safer? Are they improving the health, safety and well-being of prostitutes?"

Starchild told AP, "We just want the government off our backs" He added that he is utilizing the conference to network with other sex workers interested in reinstating the "spirituality and dignity" the vocation was credited with during the Elizabethan era in England.

Starchild concluded, "We're like courtesans."