There are growing expectations that governments will respond harshly and swiftly to the latest allegations of human trafficking and sex slavery.
As lawmakers however, we need to ensure that pressure to address these injustices does not lead to us creating a more dangerous working environment for the vast majority of Australia’s sex workers who perform their work safely and legitimately.
Placing tough restrictions on, or criminalising, the industry is not the answer.
The model for sex industry regulation that is increasingly being recognised as world’s best practice for both the human rights and health outcomes for sex workers and their clients is decriminalisation. Both New South Wales and New Zealand’s sex industries are decriminalised.
The current NSW framework was the result of many drivers for change, not least of which was the Wood Royal Commission and the recognition that in a criminalised environment, brothel operators and sex workers had strong motivation to seek out the protection of organised crime and corrupt law enforcement.
Even more importantly, decriminalisation removed the fear of being reported to police and allowed sex workers better access to the kind of health and information services other workers take for granted.
NSW is now a respected world leader with outstanding health achievements such as a 99 per cent rate of condom use amongst sex workers and lower rates of sexually transmitted infections amongst sex workers than in comparable groups in the general community.[1]
These health outcomes are thanks to the work of organisations such as the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP). SWOP run a variety of health promotion programs and provide outreach to sex workers. They also work with owners to encourage the acceptance and maintenance of safe sex practices, and other forms of workplace health and safety.
SWOP, Scarlet Alliance and other sex industry health experts are alarmed at new speculation the NSW Government will legislate for a ‘Brothel Licensing Authority’. [2] The evidence against licensing is overwhelming, and we need to slow down and carefully consider what outcomes we want to achieve and how to achieve them.
Licensing schemes create a two-tiered system of legal and illegal brothels, increase illegal sex work, drive workers underground and reduce access to health services and law enforcement. In many cases, licensing will make monitoring of brothels and support for sex workers more difficult, not less.
Currently, brothels are a legitimate commercial land use, and regulated by local government through environmental planning laws. This means organisations like SWOP and the police can easily gain access to most sex workers.
Consider the impact on community health and organised crime if NSW went the way of Queensland where 90% of the sex industry is unlicensed and therefore unregulated, illegal and driven underground.[3]
Globally, the UN is advocating decriminalisation to remove obstacles to effective HIV prevention.[4] In NSW the 2001 ‘Brothels Task Force’ said “… care must be taken to ensure that planning controls do not create barriers to the implementation of effective public health policies and services directed at sex workers in all facets of the sex industry.”
One recent study from 2010, a collaboration between sexual health experts at the Sydney Sexual Health Centre, the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and others, assessed the impact of the law on the delivery of health promotion and found that brothel licensing results in the unlicensed sector being isolated from peer education and support.[5]
NSW must avoid a knee-jerk and poorly considered reaction to the appalling crime of sexual slavery, which exists globally regardless of licensing schemes.
Police efforts are better placed investigating and prosecuting sexual slavery and human trafficking, which are already serious crimes, than enforcing new laws which make new criminals. Sexual slavery is a crime – sex work is not.
Similarly, the government should be looking at ways to address the sometimes arbitrary and inconsistent implementation of existing sex industry guidelines across local government, rather than making criminals out of currently law abiding citizens.
The evidence shows that brothel licensing in NSW could have the opposite effect of what is intended. The bottom line is that a licensing scheme is likely to reduce community health, put sex workers in more danger of violence and fail to reduce human trafficking.
[1] Donovan, B., Harcourt, C., Egger, S., & Fairley, C. K. (2010). Improving the health of sex workers in NSW: maintaining success. NSW Public Health Bulletin, 21, 74–77.
[2] Sex Workers Outreach Project, Media Release http://www.swop.org.au/sites/default/files/Brothel_Licencing.pdf
[3] A Schloenhardt & Human Trafficking Working Group, Happy Birthday Brothels: Ten Years of Prostitution Regulation in Queensland, (2009).
[4] UNAIDS, Guidance Note on HIV and Sex Work, (2009).
& UNAIDS, Report on the global AIDS epidemic 2010, Chapter 5, p137.
[5] C Harcourt, J O’Connor, S Egger, et. al., ‘The decriminalisation of prostitution is associated with better coverage of health promotion programs for sex workers’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol 35 (5), (2010).
November 1st, 2011 at 4:17 pm
a very sensible approach. Well done Cate
November 3rd, 2011 at 12:08 am
Australian politicians and law makers should look into the Swedish model (following this model are Norway,Iceland and North Korea), where the men are criminalised for purchasing sex, but the women aren’t for being sex workers. They have extensive programs to send women to study and obtain other types of jobs, help them financially, and get them out of a very addictive job, feeding men’s everlasting and out of control addiction to sex, which, similar to porn, has proven to be detrimental to family unity and satisfaction. Just google porn addiction and you will see! Sweden is recognised for advanced human rights for women, equal opportunity and better pay. For equality, women should be educated. Prostitution keeps women enslaved in a world of easy money and lack of opportunities. When they try to leave after 10-20-30 years in the industry, and having hardly been able to maintain a normal couple relationship, they have NO options. Policitians, please study the swedish model. Save Australian women from repeated abuse of their precious time and abilities! If you want to discuss this topic, I am really happy to enter the discussion. I have suffered the consequences of being a sex worker for eight years, and it is only now that I am out of it all that I can reflect back and see the real destruction is has caused in my life. Of course, when you are currently a worker, you have this amazing health protection and pro-sex support. Yet, we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of the effects of this work on the overall quality of life of a woman. Please name me one sex worker who is not an alcohol, prescribed drugs or illegal drugs consumer. Please name me one sex worker who, as a young girl, dreamt of ‘being a prostitute’ or ‘sex worker one day’. Thanks to Scarlet Alliance and SWOP who have made my journey through sex work ‘easier’.
November 26th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Thank you Cate. People forget that we are human beings and that we have the right to be free from discrimination and stigma and to have laws and policies that reflect our industries needs and protect our basic human rights. As a professional sex worker, I pay my tax but I have minimal rights, if any, in industry standards, in accommodation, in occupational health & safety, and in every other area compared to other industries. I am stigmatised and I am forced to work in isolation which puts me in risk of being exploited and abused. Because I am marginalised in and by society, my status as a lawful sex worker in Queensland feels negligent because I am not protected well. This impacts on and affects every area of my life. Jx
January 5th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Where were my human rights when I was working at a brothel that encourages unsafe sex & when I refused was intimidated, humiliated and threatened…. Where were my co-workers human rights when the brothel didn’t help ensure that she knew safe sex practises & instead took advantage of her vulnerabilities & lack of knowledge? Where are our human rights when we work all night and receptionists rob us of our hard earned pays? Where are our human rights when we are stalked, harassed & constantly coerced to come to work, interfering in our personal lives. Where are our human rights when receptionists/bosses attempt to bribe us, or expose our lifestyle to others? Where is our human rights when clients that are friends with management are called in, to roughen us up for speaking out against abuse & unsafe sex practises forced on many workers. Where were those two girls human rights that were killed by the doctor, when management knew that he was a client that destroyed workers in the past (even had previous charges)? Where are our human rights when cults get involved in the brothel industry and we can’t get away? Mmmmh. It appears more like the Bosses don’t want the brothels licensed, or they may actually have to treat Sex Workers with respect, and ensure that they know how to protect their health. Oh, but wouldn’t that be implimenting human rights?
January 5th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Oh, why wouldn’t lawmakers want to get involved – incase they want to protect Sex Workers from Abusive Bosses !!! Ensure that they are paid !!! Let them know that they are entitled to have rules, for their safety & health. Rules are not about restricting workers, they are about protecting workers & restricting the dodgy people who have entered this industry, who don’t care for workers and think that they are just a dollar for their gravy trains. Sex Workers DON’T just get on their backs and earn a quick dollar, this industry is a lot more complex than that and involves alot more than that. Don’t the bosses/management want it licensed or they may have to send drunks home, or they may not be able to force people beyond their boundaries, and oops, wow, they can’t encourage/bully people into unsafe sex practises. Germ Warfare may actually be put to an end or at least lessened, especially if brothels have to ensure that sex workers are learning what is expected of them – providing a safe service to stop the spread of DEADLY Diseases.
March 17th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
I have been a sex worker since i was 21 i am now 35.I am a drug free, healthy and vibrant individual who has a good attitude and healthy outlook on the Adult sex industry.I have faced many challenges both good and bad while being a sex provider.My dream of the future for the adult sex industry would see it move forward in a positive and healthy way, for women to prosper in there roles as sex workers gain confidence and be able to work effectively because the government take the right steps to make the right choices regarding both womens and mens health and general wellbeing. Why should any gender suffer? when sex is a natural and healthy part of life. If there was more emphasis on workplace safety and sexual education there would be no reason not to list our service as that of a health services and have it medicare funded and the provider recieves a fortnightly pay cheque. I could truly be a competent member of the community and feel appreciated then for my professionalism. The government can then regulate many of the issues they face with the sex industry currently.I may be ahead of my time… you may see this and laugh astonished at my thoughts on this topic but i assure you my opinion comes from a heartfelt place and loads of experience.