Sex work: Belgium is the first country in the world to introduce labor rights

Is sex work work? And if she is, shouldn’t there also be paid vacation? Maternity leave? Health insurance?

If you asked Belgium, you would come to the conclusion: Yes. And now poured all of this into law – for the first time in the world. “Historic,” Mel Meliciousss calls it. She works as an escort and porn actress. When she started working as a sex worker in a brothel around five years ago in her mid-20s, one of her duties was to satisfy her customers orally without a condom. If she refused, she wouldn’t have any customers for the rest of the day. A form of punishment. “There were absolutely no rules,” she says. It is particularly important in sex work that there are clear rules so that exploitation and human trafficking can be prevented.

Such rules have been in place since the beginning of December. Although Belgium formally decriminalized sex work in 2022, similar to Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey, the new law gives sex workers secure legal work status for the first time. They must have employment contracts and receive comprehensive rights. Sex workers are legally treated like normal workers. Additionally, the new law states that sex workers have the right to refuse clients, choose practices, and terminate the act at any time.

When the corona pandemic hit the world four years ago, sex workers suddenly found themselves without income – there was no continued payment of wages, no short-time work allowance, no social security. Belgium’s government then decided to reform the criminal code and work with organizations from the industry to develop the new law, which was passed by parliament in May.

“Consent is the foundation of the new law,” says Quentin Deltour. He works for “Espace P”, a Belgian NGO that advocates for the rights of sex workers and was significantly involved in the legislative process. While there were previously many detailed technical definitions that determined, for example, when rape as such was justiciable, the new law now regulates it clearly and simply: “If you don’t give your consent, then it’s rape. Period,” says Deltour .

“Espace P” estimates that there are around 10,000 to 15,000 sex workers in Belgium. Exact figures are difficult to determine in this profession, which is currently still often in the dark – including from a legal point of view. However, Deltour believes that only around 15 percent of sex workers would benefit from the new law. Namely those who want to work as permanent employees. That may not sound like much, but the law has fundamentally changed the way the government thinks about sex work. And that is a success in itself. “With the law we have opened a door,” says Deltour, “and with this open door we continue to fight for the rights of all sex workers.”

In addition to the rights that sex workers can now assert, an important component is also the conditions under which they can be employed. Before the law changed, there were legally no pimps. Sex workers were not employed as such, but rather as hostesses or waitresses, if at all. Any contract between two parties was therefore largely invalid anyway, because a sex worker could not legally sue her pimp – simply because this employment relationship did not exist in Belgian law.

The new law also regulates the obligations for employers. In the future, you will need a permit to legally offer sex work, which you can only get under certain conditions. The pimps must prove that they have never been to prison and have not come into contact with human trafficking or violence. Employers will have to provide condoms and clean bed linen in the future. In addition, an emergency button must be installed in every room of a brothel for employees in the event that a customer behaves aggressively. Civil society organizations such as “Espace P” must in future be granted access to establishments in order to monitor compliance with the rules.

For Mel Meliciousss and many of her colleagues, the new law is a step towards a new life. And what’s more: “It gives you confidence to stand up for yourself,” says Meliciousss. Employers who do not adhere to the rules could face legal action and be terminated from the industry in the future. “This guarantees us both protection and freedom,” says Meliciousss.

Wherever the rights of women’s bodies are negotiated, there is usually criticism. When the bill was published in 2023, the Council of Francophone Women of Belgium called it “disastrous.” “The assumption that there is prostitution and that we have to protect the workers means accepting this sexist violence and not fighting it,” the head of the feminist organization told the Belgian daily “”.

Both “Espace P” and Mel Meliciousss disagree. Of course, there are also sex workers who are against the law, but the majority with whom the NGO is in contact are happy with the result, says Deltour. “I don’t do the job because I’m forced to do it,” says Meliciousss, “but because I enjoy doing it.”