Sex workers in Belgium to receive maternity leave and pensions under world-first law

Sex workers in Belgium will be entitled to maternity leave and pensions under a new world-first law.

Worldwide, laws vary regarding the legality of sex work. In Belgium, it was decriminalised in 2022 after a wave of protests during the Covid pandemic. It is legal in countries such as Greece, Germany, Turkey and the Netherlands.

Despite this, there have never been any official employment rights and contracts established, until now.

Under a new law in Belgium, sex workers will be entitled to official employment contracts, health insurance, pensions, maternity leave and sick days. Sex workers will be treated just like employees in any other professional industry.

But, while sex workers and advocates say the law will make them safer, critics argue that it normalises an industry that faces issues such as trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

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

Those working in the industry have explained the law will make them feel safer and more in control.

“I had to work while I was nine months pregnant,” explained Sophie, a sex worker in Belgium. “I was having sex with clients one week before giving birth.”

Had the labour rights law been in place then, she would have been entitled to maternity leave like workers in other industries.

She added: “I couldn’t afford to stop because I needed the money.”

Victoria, the president of the Belgian Union of Sex Workers (UTSOPI) and formerly an escort for 12 years, explained: “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.”

However, others suggest the new law is “dangerous”.

Julia Crumière, a volunteer with Isala – a Belgian NGO that supports sex workers on the streets – argued: “It is dangerous because it normalises a profession that is always violent at its core.”

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