Important Takeaways:
- The law is the first in Europe — and the world — to provide sex workers with social security provisions such as pensions and maternity leave, as well as an official employment contract.
- What does the new law mean in practice?
- The legislation, which was approved with 93 votes in favor, 33 abstentions and 0 votes against earlier this month, allows procurers to provide Belgian sex workers with an employment contract for the first time.
- The change gives sex workers access to social security provisions such as pensions, health insurance and annual vacation. It also gives sex workers protection from work-related risks, including implementing standards on who can become an employer.
- Daan Bauwens of the Belgian Union for Sex Workers UTSOPI explained that the new law places restrictions on who can hand out contracts to sex workers — limiting the possibility of exploitation.
- People who have previous convictions such as human trafficking and theft will not be able to become employers
- Belgium keeps being an outlier in the European context when it comes to answering the demands of sex workers’ unions.
- Just two years ago, it became the first country in Europe to decriminalize sex work in Europe.
- [Wine Press reported] Andrea Heinz, a prostitution abolition advocate, criticized the law on X, saying: “There is little chance this will (actually) favor women. Under legalization/full decrim, pimps become ‘managers’ with the backing of the state to further entrench and maintain their power. Pimps see women they sell as products, not people deserving of full dignity & respect.”
- One social media user replied, “So the govt helps pimps to coerce sex what a disgusting idea.”
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