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https://www.npr.org/2024/12/01/nx-s1-5212435/belgium-sex-workers-labor-protections-rights-first>
'Belgium made history on Sunday as the first country in the world to allow sex
workers to sign formal employment contracts — granting them access to sick
days, maternity pay and pension.
The new law also guarantees fundamental rights for sex workers, including the
ability to refuse clients, set the conditions of an act, and stop an act at any
moment.
Lawmakers passed the law in May but it officially took effect on Sunday.
"I am a very proud Belgium sex worker right now," Mel Meliciousss, who is part
of the Belgian union of sex workers, UTSOPI, said on her Instagram. "People who
are already working in the industry will be much more protect[ed], and also
people who are going to work in the industry also know what their rights are."
Offering or paying for sexual services was already not illegal in Belgium.
Instead, laws targeted brothels and third parties supporting sex work — such
landlords, bankers, drivers — often accusing them of "pimping."
In 2022, Belgian lawmakers voted to decriminalize sex work and narrow the
definition of pimping to ensure that sex workers do not have trouble finding a
banker, insurer, driver or accountant, according to UTSOPI.
The new law goes farther, and gives sex workers labor rights and protections on
par with those in other professions. That includes access to pensions,
unemployment, health insurance, family benefits, annual vacation and maternity
leave.
Employers are now required to obtain authorization and meet background
requirements, such as having no prior convictions for sexual assault, human
trafficking or fraud. They are also required to ensure their premises are
clean, sanitary and equipped with a panic button, and are prohibited from
dismissing an employee who refuses a client or a specific act.
These changes were years in the making in Belgium. The sex worker union, which
has been leading the effort, said that before sex workers had access to these
benefits, workers felt they had to keep working several months into their
pregnancy or past retirement age.
"This law is a huge step forward, ending legal discrimination against sex
workers by allowing a full-fledged contract," the group said back in May.'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
