BBC
Mel is one of the women who told us the new law would improve their lives
Warning – contains sexual descriptions
“I had to work when I was nine months pregnant,” says Sophie, a sex worker in Belgium. “I was having sex with clients a week before giving birth.”
She juggles her job with being a mother of five, which is “really difficult”.
When Sophie had her fifth child by caesarean section, she was told she would have to stay in bed for six weeks. But she said that wasn't an option and she immediately returned to work.
“I couldn’t afford to stop because I needed the money.”
Her life would have been much easier if she had had paid maternity leave from her employer.
Under a new law in Belgium – the first of its kind in the world – this will now be the case. Sex workers will be entitled to formal employment contracts, health insurance, pensions, maternity leave and sick leave. Essentially, it will be treated like any other job.
“It’s an opportunity for us to exist as people,” says Sophie.
There are tens of millions of sex workers around the world. Sex work was decriminalized in Belgium in 2022 and is legal in several countries, including Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey. But the establishment of employment rights and contracts is a world first.
“This is radical, and it is the best measure we have seen so far in the world,” said Erin Kilbride, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “We need all countries to move in this direction. »
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Protests for labor rights for sex workers followed the Covid pandemic
Critics say the trade causes trafficking, exploitation and abuse, which this law will not prevent.
“It’s dangerous because it normalizes a profession that is still violent in its essence,” explains Julia Crumière, a volunteer at Isala, an NGO that helps sex workers on the streets in Belgium.
For many sex workers, this work is a necessity and the law cannot be delayed.
Mel was horrified when she was forced to perform oral sex on a customer without a condom, despite knowing a sexually transmitted infection (STI) was circulating in the brothel. But she felt she had no choice.
“My choice was either to spread the disease or not make money. »
She became an escort at the age of 23. She needed money and soon began earning beyond her expectations. She thought she had struck gold, but the experience with the IST brought her abruptly back to earth.
Mel will now be able to refuse any client or sexual act she feels uncomfortable with, meaning she could have handled this situation differently.
“I could have pointed my finger at my madam (employer) and said, 'You are violating these conditions and this is how you should treat me.' I would have been legally protected.
Victoria sees sex work as a social service
Belgium's decision to change the law is the result of months of protests in 2022, driven by a lack of state support during the Covid pandemic.
Among them, Victoria, president of the Belgian Union of Sex Workers (UTSOPI) and previously an escort for 12 years.
For her, it was a personal struggle. Victoria views prostitution as a social service, with sex only making up about 10 percent of what she does.
“It's about paying attention to people, listening to their stories, eating cake with them, dancing to a waltz,” she explains. “At the end of the day, it’s about loneliness.”
But the illegality of its work before 2022 has raised significant challenges. She worked in dangerous conditions, with no choice over her clients and her agency which took a significant portion of her income.
In fact, Victoria says she was raped by a client who became obsessed with her.
She went to a police station, where she claims that the police officer was “very harsh” with her.
“She told me that sex workers couldn't be raped. She made me feel like it was my fault, because I had done this work.” Victoria left the station crying.
Every sex worker we spoke to told us that at some point they had been pressured to do something against their will.
It is for this reason that Victoria strongly believes that this new law will improve their lives.
“If there is no law and your work is illegal, there is no protocol to help you. This law gives people the tools to improve our safety.
Alexandra and Kris say they treat their employees well
Pimps who control sex work will be allowed to operate legally under the new law – provided they follow strict rules. Anyone convicted of a serious crime will not be allowed to employ sex workers.
“I think many companies will have to close their doors, because many employers have criminal records,” says Kris Reekmans. He and his wife Alexandra run a massage parlor on Love Street in the small town of Bekkevoort.
The massages they offer to clients include “tantra” and “double pleasure”.
It was fully booked when we visited – not what we expected for a Monday morning. We are shown meticulously furnished rooms with massage beds, clean towels and robes, hot tubs, and a swimming pool.
Kris and his wife employ 15 sex workers and pride themselves on treating them with respect, protecting them and paying them good wages.
“I hope that bad employers will be excluded and that good people, who want to do this job honestly, will stay – and the more of them, the better,” he says.
Erin Kilbride of Human Rights Watch agrees – and says that by placing restrictions on employers, the new law will “significantly reduce the power they have over sex workers.”
Mel believes bringing sex work out of the shadows can only help women
But Julia Crumière says the majority of the women she helps just want help to leave the profession and get “normal employment” – not employment rights.
“It’s about not being outside in freezing weather and having sex with strangers who pay to access your body.”
According to the new Belgian law, each room where sexual services take place must be equipped with an alarm button which will put a sex worker in contact with her “reference person”.
But Julia believes there is no way to make sex work safe.
“What other job would you need a panic button in?” It is not the oldest profession in the world, it is the oldest exploitation in the world.
How to regulate the sex industry remains a controversial issue globally. But for Mel, bringing him out of the shadows can only help women.
“I am very proud that Belgium is so far away,” she says. “I have a future now.”
Some names have been changed to protect personal safety.
