Sex workers in Belgium have been given the right to health insurance, maternity leave, sick pay and other employment benefits under a new world-first law. The new legislation will allow sex workers to enter into employment contracts and benefit from the same rights and legal protections as any other employee, which also includes pension, unemployment benefits and annual vacation. Consensual prostitution was already decriminalized in the European country but until now it existed under a legal gray area.
The new law does not apply to self-employed sex workers but will prevent employers with a previous history of crimes, such as trafficking or abuse, from working in the field. By law, they will also have to provide a safe working environment equipped with alarm buttons. Sex workers will also be able to refuse any client or sexual act without the fear of being fired or punished for doing so.
Deltour is part of Espace P, an advocacy group involved in drafting the legislation. For them, this law is a small victory in their fight to protect sex workers from abuse. His advocacy group considers this law to be an important shift in perspective toward this type of work. Now we can stop this moral thinking. Sex work is work for some people," he told CBS News.
For them, giving sex workers the same rights as other employees does not mean their work is like everyone else's. Daan Bauwens, a policy and advocacy officer at UTSOPI, told CBS News many of those who choose to pursue sex work do so out of economic hardship, discrimination, inequality or lack of better opportunities.
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