Sex work in New Zealand was decriminalised through the enactment of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003 which provided sex workers with the same legal, employment and health and safety rights as people in other occupations. Five years on, a review of the Act has concluded that it has been effective in achieving its purpose, which was to minimise the harm experienced by sex workers.
This presentation will give an overview of the experience of decriminalisation in New Zealand and will draw on the findings of a survey of 772 sex workers and in-depth interviews with 58 sex workers. Findings There have been notable changes, specifically in management practices and in the ability of sex workers to negotiate safe sex. Despite dire predictions that there would be an explosion in numbers of people electing to work in the sex industry, this has not eventuated. However, in other areas, little change has occurred and this is largely due to the continuing stigmatisation of sex work.
It would be unrealistic to expect that social perceptions of sex work would change with the passing of legislation. It may be a number of years before any perceptible shift may be detected, where sex workers may enjoy less stigmatisation. Nevertheless, the findings lend support to the conclusion that there have been many positive outcomes from decriminalisation of the sex industry with no evidence of any negative consequences for the health and safety of sex workers.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: Health Research Council of New Zealand Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Government
Recorded at the the 19th WAS World Congress for Sexual Health - Sexual Health & Rights: A Global Challenge Göteborg (Sweden) - June 21 – 25, 2009
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