Way back in 1995 New South Wales became the first jurisdiction in the world to decriminalise sex work. I’m proud that my home state was so advanced – even if it was done in response to the dire police corruption that the criminalisation of commercial sex caused.

More states and territories in Australia have followed suit and our New Zealand cousins as well.

I have been able to work in this industry without legal risk for my entire fourteen years as a male sex worker for women – and my clients have been able to enjoy my services with the same confidence. A fact that I am eternally grateful for.

The rest of the world though, is not so lucky. Sex work and sex workers, thanks to religious fundamentalism, social conservatism, and a generous dose of hypocrisy still makes workers and clients pariahs.

So I was delighted to stumble across this article today:

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/01/nx-s1-5212435/belgium-sex-workers-labor-protections-rights-first

I wasn’t aware of this, but back in 2022 Belgium also decriminalised sex work. Shout out to the Belgians! That’s great work.

But it gets better. They have now enshrined laws that give sex workers (employed by brothels for instance) the protections and benefits that any other worker enjoys – things like sick leave, paid maternity leave and pensions. They also enshrine a workers right to say “no” and to set the conditions of their service with a client.

We don’t have the same level of protection here in Australia, but this is part of the nature of social change. It takes time and the steps tend to be modest. So NSW as the first jurisdiction to decriminalise sex work could only go “so far”. But this in turn sets a bar for every jurisdiction that follows New South Wales down the decriminalisation path – and more importantly, it gives them permission to go just as far, and a little bit further! Which is what Belgium has done.

In time New South Wales will look at Belgium and see an oportunity to improve our own laws. And I would fully expect that they will take a step further than Belgium. Perhaps more robust anti-discrimination protection for sex workers could make it onto the books.

Anyway, it may not effect us here in Australia, but I am deeply glad to see that sex workers – and clients – in Belgium now have the protections and rights that all workers deserve.

John