Laws

Resources about laws and law reforms that affect sex workers in various countries…

Listing last updated: August 5, 2007

Prostitution Law Enforcement Policies

  • Securing and Safeguarding Rights of Stigmatised Through Social and Legal Action [PDF] — By Varsha Kale, April 7, 2007.
    Varshal Kale is the honorary president of the Bhartiya Bar Girls union. She is a petitioner on behalf of the union against the ban imposed on dancing in the bars by the state government of Maharashtra, India. BBU has won the case in High Court but the state government has appealed in the Supreme Court of India. The focus of struggle to secure rights for bargirls obviously has shifted from streets to courts. This paper explores the relationship between law, legal advocacy and social movements to secure the rights of stigmatised sections of society such as bar girls and sex workers.

  • The Swedish Model of Criminalizing the Purchase of Sexual Services — By Dr Helen J. Self, December 12, 2006.
    "... legislation, however well intentioned, is a major part of the problem. In most cases new law work for a limited amount of time, but the sex industry invariably adapts, relocates and expands. This creates a situation which is more difficult to regulate and police and which makes the lives of sex workers more dangerous."

  • UK NSWP response to Being Outside [PDF] — By Dr Linda Cusick and Dr Helen J. Self, March 18, 2005.
    A response on behalf of the UK Network of Sex Work Projects to the Scottish Executive's Being Outside: Constructing a Response to Street Prostitution.

  • A Response to ACPO's Policing Prostitution — By Dr Helen J. Self, August 18, 2004.
    "One is left, therefore, wondering about the motives of the authors, who, despite their knowledge to the contrary, persist in misrepresenting the law. As an ordinary law-abiding citizen, I find this deeply shocking, especially when it comes from such a respected body as the ACPO…"

  • Policing Prostitution: ACPO's Policy, Strategy and Operational Guidelines for Dealing with Exploitation and Abuse Through Prostitution (PDF: UKACPO-PROST-0410.PDF) — By the Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (www.acpo.police.uk), October 2004.
    "This policy and strategy emphatically recognises that prostitution is a victim-centred crime, and that those abused and exploited through it need help to leave it behind and start new lives. It also, however, recognises that communities as well as individuals can be victimised and need help too. At the same time those who abuse and exploit must be rigorously investigated and prosecuted. This strategy, therefore, promotes an holistic approach to the policing of prostitution which keeps in balance the three elements of individual, community, and the investigation and prosecution of those who exploit and abuse…"

  • Paying the Price: A Consultation Paper on Prostitution (PDF: UKHO-PRICE-0407.PDF) — Published by Home Office Communication Directorate (www.homeoffice.gov.uk), July 2004.
    "Prostitution can have devastating consequences for the individuals involved and for the wider community. It involves the abuse of children and the serious exploitation of adults — many of whom are trafficked into and around the UK for this purpose. It has close links with problematic drug use and, increasingly, with transnational and organised crime. This consultation paper is intended as the starting point for the development of a realistic and coherent strategy to deal with prostitution and its serious detrimental consequences for individuals and communities…"

  • Seminar on the Effects of Legalisation of Prostitution Activities: A Critical Analysis (PDF: STOCKHOLM-021105.PDF) — Stockholm, Sweden, November 5Ð6, 2002.
    "In recent years, as you know, a number of countries in Europe have legalised brothels and implemented other measures to enable the acceptance of prostitution and its normalisation as a so-called 'profession'."


Laws that Affect Sex Workers

  • Global Legal Information Network (www.glin.gov) — Courtesy of the Law Library of the United States Congress.
    Official full-text legal documents, including judicial decisions, legislation, and laws. Nations around the world provide access to their own legal documents. Participating countries include Brazil, Costa Rica, Kuwait, Peru, and Romania. You can search by jurisdiction, publication date, subject terms, and language.

  • Purchasing Sexual Services in Sweden and the Netherlands: Legal Regulations and Experiences (PDF: PURCHASINGSEX.PDF) — A Report by a Working Group on the legal regulation of the purchase of sexual services (abbreviated English version), October 8, 2004.

  • Trials of the Sex Trade: A Survival Guide to Canada's Legal Jungle — Originally produced by the Toronto Prostitutes' Community Service Project (Maggie's) in Toronto and published on-line by the Sex Workers Alliance of Vancouver. Coordinated and written in 1994 by Andrew Sorfleet with participation from dozens of sex workers.


Prostitution Law Reforms

  • $WE@&R! Sex Workers' Workbook — 2005 Edition (Canada) By Andrew Sorfleet.
    "$WE@&R! began wth an idea to create a fun and easy-to-use way to gather opinions from workers in the sex industry about laws, policies, regulations and benefits. We wanted to create an alternative to academic research — something that encouraged community development and greater worker involvement in legal reforms that affect work life…"


  • The Challenge of Change: A study of Canada's criminal prostitution laws (PDF: SSLR-REPORT-06E.PDF) — Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Art Hanger, MP (Chair); Report of the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws, John Maloney, MP (Chair). December 2006.
    On June 6, 2006, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights gave our Subcommittee the mandate to continue the work begun by the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws during the 38th Parliament and to report to the Standing Committee by December 8, 2006. The dissolution of Parliament in November 2005 had prevented the Subcommittee from finalizing its report and hence from carrying out the mandate assigned to it by the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, which was "to review the solicitation laws in order to improve the safety of sex-trade workers and communities overall, and to recommend changes that will reduce the exploitation of and violence against sex-trade workers…" 139 pages.

  • Not Up to the Challenge of Change: An analysis of the report of the Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws (PDF: AIDSLAW-SSLR-E.PDF) — Briefing Paper by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca) in partnership with Maggie's and Stella. February 2007.
    "…the Subcommittee failed to meet the challenge of recommending legislative changes that are urgently needed to protect and fulfill the health, safety and human rights of adult sex workers in Canada… This paper critiques the Subcommittee's report in detail. It also summarizes the Legal Network's analysis of the criminal law's impact on sex workers and calls on federal politicians to show real leadership by standing up for the human rights of sex workers in Canada.…"

  • Le défi (raté) du changement : Analyse du rapport du Sous-comité de l'examen des lois sur le racolage (PDF: AIDSLAW-SSLR-F.PDF) — Document d'information par Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida (www.aidslaw.ca) en partenariat avec Maggie's et Stella. Février 2007.
    « …le Sous-comité n'a pas relevé le défi, qui consistait à recommander des changements législatifs qui sont urgemment requis, au Canada, pour protéger et réaliser les droits des travailleuses et travailleurs sexuels adultes, à la santé et à la sécurité, ainsi que leurs droits humains… Le présent document procède à une critique détaillée du rapport du Sous-comité. Il présente aussi un résumé de l'analyse effectuée par le Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida en ce qui a trait aux répercussions du droit pénal, pour les travailleuses et travailleurs sexuels, et il exhorte les politiciens et politiciennes du palier fédéral à faire preuve d'un réel leadership et à défendre les droits humains des travailleuses et travailleurs sexuels au Canada.… »

  • Beyond Decriminalization: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law Reform (Full Report) (PDF: PIVOT-BEYOND.PDF) — By Pivot Legal Society, Vancouver, June 2006.
    Funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia, The Law Commission of Canada, and Law for the Future Fund. 229 pages…

  • Sex, Work, Rights: Reforming Canadian Criminal Laws on Prostitution (PDF: AIDSLAW-SWREFORM-2005.PDF) — By Glenn Betteridge, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca), July 2005.
    Report on a two-year project on criminal law, prostitution and the health and safety of sex workers in Canada, which included a literature review; interviews with key informants; and a two-day consultation…

  • Sex, Work, Rights: Changing Canada's Criminal Laws to Protect Sex Workers' Health and Human Rights (PDF: AIDSLAW-SWRIGHTS-2005.PDF) — Published by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca), 2005.
    Booklet about Canada's criminal laws related to prostitution and how they affect the health and the human rights of sex workers. Recommends law reforms.

  • The Nature and Extent of the Sex Industry in New Zealand: An Estimation (PDF: NZPLRC-0405.PDF) — A report by the Prostitution Law Review Committee, Ministry of Justice, New Zealand, April 2005.
    The report provides a picture of the sex industry after the prostitution laws in New Zealand changed.

  • Comments on "A Critical Examination of Responses to Prostitution in Four Countries: Victoria, Australia: Ireland; the Netherlands; and Sweden," by Julie Bindel and Liz Kelly (2003) — By Helen J. Self (2004)
    "…those of us who are familiar with the history and/or the current literature, will recognise the shortcomings of the truncated historical account and will have already come across the intractable views of writers such as Sheila Jeffreys, Donna Hughes and Janice Raymond. However, there will be others readers, for example journalists, the general public and students, who are likely to accept errors and repeat them uncritically. This is highly regrettable as Professor Kelly and Julie Bindel are respected for their work and have a high public profile…"

  • Some comments on "A critical examination of responses to prostitution in four countries: Victoria, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden," by Julie Bindel and Liz Kelly for the Routes Out Partnership Board — By Marieke van Doorninck, Mr A. de Graaf Foundation, Dutch Institute for Prostitution Issues (2004)
    "In these comments I will mainly focus on the chapter about the Netherlands. There are some major inaccuracies in the report about prostitution policies in the Netherlands…"

  • A Critical Examination of Responses to Prostitution in Four Countries: Victoria, Australia; Ireland; the Netherlands; and Sweden (PDF: BINDEL-CRITICAL.PDF) — For the Routes Out Partnership Board. By Julie Bindel and Liz Kelly, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University, 2003
    "Prostitution has proved a vexatious issue for politicians and policy makers. From the mid-19th Century to the late 20th Century there were two broad positions: the "abolitionist" and the "regulatory." More recently a third possibility has been explored — legalisation…"

  • Prostitution Reform Act — New Zealand, 2003.
    The Prostitution Law Review Committee will report on the law's effectiveness in 2008. Statutes of New Zealand can be found at: www.legislation.govt.nz.


News Reports About Law Reform

United Nations

Australia

  • The world's first prostitutes union: Australia has become the first country to unionise the world's oldest profession, promising prostitutes the same rights afforded any other worker
    Marie Claire, January 1996

Czech Republic

Finland

France

Germany

Italy

Japan

Mexico

The Netherlands

New Zealand

Russia

Senegal

South Korea

Thailand

United Kingdom

Vietnam
Created: June 29, 2005
Last modified: February 2, 2007		 NSWP Network of Sex Work Projects
Email: secretariat@nswp.org