Prostitutes in Belgium have been given the right to maternity leave, sick days and pensions under the first law of its kind in the world.
They are also given the right to refuse customers and say no to specific actions, and according to the rules cannot be fired for these refusals.
The legislation, which was approved by the Belgian parliament in May and came into force yesterday, also sets rules on working hours, wages and safety measures.
Sex work was decriminalized in Belgium in 2022 and is legal in several countries, including Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey.
But the law, which stipulates that prostitutes can now sign formal employment contracts and acquire employment rights comparable to those in other professions, is a global first.
The Belgian Union of Sex Workers described the law as “a huge step forward, putting an end to legal discrimination against sex workers” and said it will help combat abuse and exploitation.
However, feminist organizations have criticized the legislation, describing it as “catastrophic” for young girls and victims of human trafficking.
The new law also requires employers of prostitutes to provide clean linen, condoms and hygiene products – and install emergency buttons in work areas to keep women safe.
Sex work was decriminalized in Belgium in 2022. Pictured: the Red Light District, ‘Glass Alley’, in Ghent, Belgium
Erin Kilbride, researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the law as ‘radical’
It also mandates that pimps must now obtain a license to operate brothels and meet background requirements, including no prior convictions for sexual assault or human trafficking.
Prostitutes or their pimps will also be able to ask a government-backed mediator to come in and settle any employment-related disputes.
Erin Kilbride, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the law as “radical”, telling the BBC: “It is the best step we have seen anywhere in the world so far. We need every country to move in that direction.”
However, Julia Crumiere, a volunteer at the charity Isala which helps Belgian sex workers, said the majority of women involved in prostitution want help to leave the profession and get a ‘normal’ job, not employment rights.
“It’s dangerous because it normalizes a profession that has always been violent at its core,” she said.
Isabelle Jaramillo, coordinator of Espace P, an advocacy group involved in drafting the legislation, described it as “an incredible step forward.”
She said: ‘It means that their profession can finally be recognized as legitimate by the Belgian state.
‘This will also be a revolution from an employer’s perspective. They will have to apply for a government permit to employ sex workers.
‘Under previous legislation, hiring someone for sex work automatically made you a pimp, even if the arrangement was consensual. Now they will have to apply for government permission to hire workers.”