Sex staff to get maternity depart and sick days similar to some other regular job

Belgium has introduced a groundbreaking law, the first of its kind globally, that will provide sex workers with official employment contracts, granting them benefits such as maternity leave and pensions.

The legislation treats sex work like any other job, offering health insurance, maternity leave, pensions, and sick days to those in the industry. This significant move comes after sex work was decriminalised in 2022 and it is estimated that around 30,000 sex workers will now receive basic employment rights.

Sophie, a sex worker and mother of five, shared her struggles with the BBC, saying: “I had to work while I was nine months pregnant. I was having sex with clients one week before giving birth.”

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She also revealed she had to return to work almost immediately after her fifth child’s Caesarean birth because she “couldn’t afford to stop” and “needed the money”.

However, under the new law, Sophie and others facing similar challenges will no longer have to worry about these issues, as employers will be required to pay for maternity leave just like any other job. “It’s an opportunity for us to exist as people,” Sophie added.

Chatting with BBC news, Erin Kilbride, from Human Rights Watch, hailed the new legislation as “radical”. She remarked: “It is the best step we have seen anywhere in the world so far. We need every country to be moving in that direction,” reports the Express.

As part of this trailblazing Belgian law, rooms where sexual services are offered will come fitted with an emergency alarm button, linking sex workers directly to their “reference person”, which aims to ramp up safety.

Victoria, head of the Belgian Union of Sex Workers (UTSOPI), with a past stretching 12 years as an escort, also shares her belief that this could shift negative perceptions about the sex work community.

“It’s giving people attention, listening to their stories, eating cake with them, dancing to waltz music,” she says. She underscored: “Ultimately, it’s about loneliness.”

To keep individuals safe, some names were changed.

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