This Country Brings World’s First Law Granting Maternity Leave, Pensions To Sex Workers

Belgium has introduced the world’s first law granting official employment contracts.

Health insurance, sick leaves, pensions and maternity leaves for sex workers in the country, essentially treating it like any other job. This law, which goes into effect on Sunday (December 1), was hailed by thousands of sex workers in Belgium.

Belgium had decriminalised sex work in 2022 following months of protests, and it is legal in other countries like France and Germany. However, granting them the same employment protections as any other employee has been a global first approach in an attempt to clamp down on abuse and exploitation.

“This is radical, and it’s the best step we have seen anywhere in the world so far,” BBC quoted Erin Kilbride, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “We need every country to be moving in that direction.”

‘Huge Step Forward’
The Belgian Union of Sex Workers described the law as “a huge step forward, ending legal discrimination against sex workers”. At the forefront of this battle was Victoria, the president of this union, who was previously an escort for 12 days. She highlighted the dangers of the job, with no choice of clients and her agency taking a big cut of her savings.

Victoria told BBC that she was once raped by a client and when she went to a police station, a female officer told her that “sex workers can’t be raped”. “She made me feel it was my fault, because I did that job,” she said, adding that she left the station crying.

She further said that every sex worker who has been in touch with the union described doing something against their will at one point, and the law will improve their lives. “If there is no law and your job is illegal, there are no protocols to help you. This law gives people the tools to make us safer,” Victoria said.

This sentiment was shared by Sophie, a sex worker in Belgium, who was forced to continue working while being pregnant due to financial pressures. “I couldn’t afford to stop because I needed the money,” she said. Sophie said the law was “an opportunity for us to exist as people”.

However, critics said the law will not prevent trafficking, exploitation and abuse of sex workers. “It is dangerous because it normalises a profession that is always violent at its core,” says Julia Crumière, a volunteer with Isala – an NGO that helps sex workers on the streets in Belgium.

New Terms Under The Law
Under the law, sex workers will have employment contracts and legal protection. Agencies controlling sex work would be allowed to operate legally under the new law, provided they follow strict rules. No person who has been convicted of a serious crime will be allowed to employ sex workers.

Sex workers will also have the right to refuse sexual partners, and perform specific acts without the risk of dismissal. It also states that employers must be of “good” character with a business residence in Belgium and must ensure that their premises are equipped with panic buttons, clean linen, showers and condoms, according to The Guardian.

Kilbride said the restrictions on employers will significantly “cut away at the power they have over sex workers”. However, Crumière says the majority of the women she helps just want help to leave the profession and get a “normal job” – not labour rights. “It’s about not being outside in the freezing weather and having sex with strangers who pay to access your body,” she added.