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OAN Staff James Meyers
11:47 AM – Monday, December 2, 2024
Sex workers in Belgium will now receive a pension, maternity pay, health insurance and other employment benefits in a first-ever law that went into effect on Sunday.
The country’s lawmakers voted in May to give sex workers the same employment protections as any other employee, in an attempt to stop abuse and exploitation.
The law, which went into force on Sunday, ensures that sex workers have employment contracts and legal protection.
Meanwhile, the legislation, which is the first of its kind, comes two years after the European nation decriminalized sex work.
“It’s an opportunity for us to exist as people,” Sophie, a sex worker in Belgium, told the outlet BBC.
“I had to work while I was nine months pregnant. I was having sex with clients one week before giving birth. I couldn’t afford to stop because I needed the money,” she said.
Under Belgium’s new law, the country’s sex workers will have access to employment contracts and legal protections that provide health insurance, paid leave, maternity benefits, unemployment support and pensions. The legislation also provides for rules on working hours and pay.
Additionally, employers are required to adhere to strict safety and cleaning standards, with all brothels equipped with clean condoms, linens and hygiene products, along with an emergency button, according to the new law.
However, no employer is allowed to operate if they have been convicted of sexual assault and human trafficking, the law states.
Isabelle Jaramillo, who is a coordinator Espace P, an advocacy group that helped come up with the legislation, stated that the new law will be revolutionary and offer clear protocols to employers.
“This is an incredible step forward. It means their profession can finally be recognized as legitimate by the Belgian state” she told The Associated Press.
“Under the previous legislation, hiring someone for sex work automatically made you a pimp, even if the arrangement was consensual. Now, they’ll have to apply for state authorization to hire employees,” she said of brothel operators.
Other nations such as Turkey, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands have also legalized sex work, but none of them have established labor protections for employees.
Critics slammed the new law, stating it normalizes a “violent” profession that leads to human trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse.
“In what other job would you need a panic button?” said Julia Crumière, a volunteer with Isala, an organization that helps sex workers on the streets in Belgium.
“It’s not the oldest profession in the world, it’s the oldest exploitation in the world.”
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