In the first world, Belgian sex workers now have access to contracts, benefits and pensions

Many sex workers in Belgium will now be treated like any other worker in the country, with access to employment contracts, maternity leave, health benefits, pensions and more.

That’s thanks to a groundbreaking new law, which came into force on Sunday, and is being hailed as the first of its kind worldwide.

“Sex work is work, and that’s something people need to understand,” said Mel Meliciousss, a sex worker based in Antwerp, Belgium. As it happens the host Nil Köksal.

“When someone works in another industry or something like that, they have those rights too, so why not for sex workers?

CBC is identifying Meliciousss by her professional pseudonym in light of the dangers and stigma often faced by sex workers.

Sex worker rights advocates are hailing the new law as a victory that will make the industry significantly safer and more equitable.

But some feminist organizations argue that it formalizes an industry they see as inherently violent, while failing to protect those most likely to be exploited.

how does it work

The new law was passed last year, following the country’s decision in 2022 to decriminalize sex work. It applies to sex workers who have employers, such as those who work in brothels.

Under the legislation, anyone seeking to hire sex workers must obtain state authorization, adhere to safety protocols and meet background requirements, including prior convictions for sexual assault or human trafficking.

“From the employer’s point of view, this will also be a revolution”, Isabelle Jaramillo, coordinator of Espace P, a defense group involved in the drafting of the legislation.

“Under the previous legislation, hiring someone for sex work automatically made you a pimp, even if the arrangement was consensual.”

Workers in these establishments will have access to health insurance, paid leave, maternity benefits, unemployment support and pensions.

Employers must provide clean sheets, condoms and hygiene products, and install emergency buttons in work spaces.

The legislation also sets rules on working hours, pay and safety measures, ensuring sex workers can refuse clients, choose their practice and stop an act at any time.

What does this mean for sex workers?

Meliciousss, a member of the Belgian sex workers’ union UTSOPI, says she is not directly affected by the law as she is currently self-employed.

But he hopes it means his younger colleagues will never have to go through what he did.

“I know for the younger Mel it would have made a huge difference. Because the first time I went to work in a brothel, the things going on there weren’t quite right, and I felt that,” she said.

She says she had no choice but to take on clients she wasn’t comfortable with. It was also brothel policy to have oral sex without a condom.

“If I had the rights at the time that are happening now for sex workers, I would have made a change about it, and I would have spoken up and stood up for myself in this job,” she said.

Meliciousss says she knows other sex workers who got pregnant and had to keep working until the last minute, then go back to work immediately after having their children.

“It’s not healthy. It’s not right that this happened,” he said.

She hopes other countries will follow suit, including Canada, where it is legal to sell sexual services but illegal to buy them.

It is also illegal in Canada for third parties to advertise, facilitate or profit from sex work. The Supreme Court of Canada is currently hear arguments about the constitutionality of these laws.

What is recoil?

But not everyone sees the law as a victory for sex workers, and several feminist organizations have denounced it.

Isala, a non-profit organization that works with sex workers on the streets of Belgium, argues that prostitution is inherently violent, and this law “amounts to normalizing the exploitation of women’s bodies and sexuality.”

This exploitation, Isala argues, disproportionately affects undocumented women and girls, who will be far less likely to benefit from employment contacts.

“On the contrary, the new legislation reinforces the social and psychological isolation in which they already live, and above all it does not respond to the desire expressed by the majority of them: to abandon prostitution and leave it with dignity,” said the collective in a press releasetranslated from French.

Jaramillo says the law alone won’t be enough to protect everyone, and calls for better police and judicial training to protect marginalized workers.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he said.

Meliciousss says he understands this law is not a magic bullet.

“I’m not naive,” he said. “Bad people who don’t mean well, they don’t care about this law. I understand that.”

However, he says it is a positive first step that consolidates rights and legal remedies for those who previously did not have them.

As far as Meliciousss is concerned, sex work has always existed, and always will.

“It’s better to have it regulated than to leave people to their fate,” he said.