Belgium takes another step the regulation of prostitution and becomes the first country to grant labor rights to sex workers.
Through a law that regulates prostitution as another professional activity, Belgium bcute women’s rights who carry out this activity and provides them with protection, security and economic stability.
Although in other European countries such as Holland, Germany or Greece prostitution is legal, with this new law Belgium goes one step further equating prostitution to any other profession in traditional sectorswhich has generated an intense debate between those who see the regulations as an advance in rights and those who believe that the exploitation of women is normalized.
Until now, prostitution in Belgium was in a legal limbo. It was not a crime, but there was no explicit consent to exercise it either. The majority of women were hired as waitresses or masseuses and those who worked as employees did not have any type of labor rights.
The rights included in Belgian regulation
Starting this week, women who work in prostitution in Belgium will have the same rights as workers in any other sector:
- Paid vacations, sick or maternity leave, unemployment benefits and pensions.
- Reinforced security: mandatory installation of ‘panic buttons’ in rooms to alert authorities in dangerous situations.
- More decision-making power: the right to reject clients, define the practices to be carried out and stop the sexual act if its conditions are not met.
Belgian regulations also tightens rules for premises and its administrators. They must strictly comply with adequate hygiene conditions, provide condoms and undergo periodic medical check-ups.
