Decriminalisation is different from legalisation. Decriminalisation (New Zealand) involves the removal of all prostitution-specific laws; sex workers and sex work businesses operate within the laws of the land as other businesses. Under legalisation (Germany, Netherlands, etc.) the sex industry is controlled by the government and sex work is legal only under certain state-specified conditions, creating a two-tier system where the most vulnerable sex workers remain illegal and outside of the protection of the law.
For more information please see our statement here
The calls for legalised brothels reflect increasing public concern with prostitute women’s safety and civil rights. It may also reflect the Government’s drive to cut the unemployment figures.Legalised brothels usually go hand-in-hand with police crackdowns against street workers – the most vulnerable women whose protection the police have rarely prioritised. As with other workers, women […]
In the past few years toleration zones have been put forward as a form of legalisation which can be introduced without changing the law. Although such a proposal may be a reflection of growing public concern for prostitute women’s legal and civil rights, toleration zones would do little to protect these rights.Where toleration zones exist, […]