It also argues they should not be arrested for prostitution - and that they should be allowed to work together in legal brothels. Under current law it is not illegal for consenting adults to buy and sell sex - but soliciting for sex is a crime.
The report for MPs on an influential Home Affairs Select Committee calls for both prostitution and soliciting to be decriminalised. One in four of those selling their bodies for cash work on the streets - while the rest operate out of brothels and massage parlours.
While brothels are illegal in the UK there is widespread evidence from abroad that they protect sex workers' welfare - whereas the current law is believed to encourage prostitutes to work alone which compromises their safety.
MPs argue that the current legislation leads to sex workers - often vulnerable women - are being unfairly stigmatised and penalised. The report also calls for all convictions to be wiped from criminal records - to make it easier for sex workers to leave prostitution for a clean start in other work. The committee believes decriminalising it would make the industry safer for those who operate within it.
But the report fell short of recommending the introduction of a so-called 'sex-buyer law' that makes it illegal for the customer to pay for sex - but not for the prostitute to sell sex. Many countries have made it illegal to buy sex - but the committee is still considering how the law should treat customers who pay for sex as there are doubts it would affect demand or improve conditions for worker. An increasing number of single parents are opting to sell their bodies in order to provide for their families.
