By Israel Ajenu
Belgium made history on Sunday by becoming the first country in the world to allow sex workers to sign formal employment contracts, granting them access to benefits such as sick leave, maternity pay, and pensions.
The new law also ensures fundamental rights for sex workers, including the ability to refuse clients, set conditions for their work, and halt an act at any time.
Although the legislation was passed in May, it officially came into effect on Sunday.
“I am a very proud Belgium sex worker right now,” said Mel Meliciousss, a member of the Belgian union of sex workers, UTSOPI, in an Instagram post.
“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.”
Belgium had already refrained from criminalizing the act of offering or paying for sexual services, focusing instead on penalizing brothels and third parties involved in supporting sex work—such as landlords, bankers, and drivers—under accusations of “pimping.”
However, in 2022, lawmakers voted to decriminalize sex work and refine the definition of pimping, allowing sex workers greater access to essential services without legal obstacles.
The new law extends these efforts by providing sex workers with labour rights equivalent to those in other professions.
These include access to pensions, health insurance, unemployment benefits, family allowances, annual vacations, and maternity leave.
Employers must now obtain authorization, have no prior convictions for sexual assault, human trafficking, or fraud, and maintain clean and safe premises equipped with panic buttons. They are also prohibited from dismissing workers who refuse a client or specific act.
These changes reflect years of advocacy by Belgium’s sex worker union, UTSOPI, which highlighted the precarious conditions faced by workers before these protections.
Many were forced to continue working well into pregnancy or past retirement age due to a lack of benefits.
“This law is a huge step forward, ending legal discrimination against sex workers by allowing a full-fledged contract,” the union stated in May.
The protections apply only to sex workers with formal employment contracts and do not extend to self-employed workers or those involved in pornography or striptease.
Belgium’s reforms stand out even among other countries where sex work has been decriminalized, such as New Zealand, the Netherlands, and parts of Australia, as they provide a new level of comprehensive labor protections.
In the United States, Nevada remains the only state where brothels are legal, while prostitution outside of these establishments remains prohibited.
Recent legislative efforts in New York and California have aimed at decriminalizing certain aspects of sex work, and Maine has removed penalties for individuals selling sexual services while maintaining restrictions on buyers.
Belgium’s trailblazing approach is expected to influence the global conversation around labor rights and protections for sex workers, setting a new benchmark for comprehensive reform.
