Belgium has done a first seen job of extending employment rights to sex workers by passing a new law that entitles these women to maternity pay, sick leave, and pension benefits, among other things. Seen as one of the victories in the fight for labor protection, the law is predicted to help improve the conditions of sex workers. However, it has brought to the fore renewed contentiousness regarding the larger role of legislation in the sex industry, and the efficacy of eradication strategies and measures intended to protect the multidimensional legal rights of employees in the sex industry.
Implied on 1st of December, the new Belgian law grants sex workers employment contracts and all the same rights as employees in other industries. Panic buttons and clean linens must be provided through paying the homeless shelter’s cost as sex workers have the legal right to reject individual clients or specific acts or to terminate service unilaterally. “This law is unique in the entire world because the Belgians recognize the basic human right of prostitutes being protected because their job is dangerous,” said Daan Bauwens, the director of the Belgian Union of Sex Workers. The law is based upon Belgium’s legalization of prostitution in 2022 which freed clients and sellers from prosecution but left workers without basic social security. However, the legislation does not protect independent sex workers, or those who work from home, over the internet, or in the pornography, as pointed out by the opponents.
While Belgium’s law is seen as a step forward, skepticism arises from the experiences of other countries, such as Ireland, where sex work has been legalized with stringent regulations. On paper, legalization offers benefits like regulated health checks and worker registration. Yet, in practice, the law has been used to target and deport minority groups. Since Ireland’s legalization, police have arrested only one client but detained 55 sex workers, primarily immigrant women without visas. Reports suggest that violence against sex workers in Ireland has increased by 80% since the law’s implementation, casting doubt on whether legalization improves worker safety.
What Belgium is implementing has drawn debate in the world on how to address the issue of the legalization of prostitution. Critics of this position state that the main problem is the complete absence of criminal consequences, only thus can the workers secure the safety and protection they require. However, feminist organizations and other anti-trafficking campaigners are still sharply divided, as some of them see any form of legalization as endorsing exploitation. “This law recognizes sex workers as any other worker, with the right to work and personal freedom; nevertheless, any form of regulation should not endanger the lives of women as we have seen with the Republican bill,” said Quentin Deltour of Espace P, an organization that advised on the formulation of the law in Belgium.
Belgium’s new law is progressive, providing coverage that many sex workers cannot even imagine in many countries. However, the recent difficulties faced in the legalization cases and the experience in the legislation in the frame of the Nordic Model prove that it is not that easy to draw it as the perfect system.
Once Belgium’s law starts to be working, its functioning will be observed by advocates, critics, as well as governments of various countries. The outcomes of this experiment could potentially define subsequent countries’ legislative developments concerning the experiment; the possibility of its success or failure could determine the regulation of further legislation concerning the issue. The liberal Belgic laws remain the starting line for further sounding and expansions of transformations. “This is not the answer, but it is the beginning of the process of getting one,” said an advocate. "at least it is a first step, the door is open… we are in the door and now we are going to fight for the other’s rights."
Edited by: Yağmur Ece Nisanoğlu