The impact of decriminalization of the sex industry on New Zealand sex workers: some early observations on health and safety within work environments.

Public health workers have recently been challenged to take a more holistic approach to health promotion for sex workers. As well as HIV and other STIs, occupational health and safety issues, which include sexual and physical violence and coercion, are major health and safety concerns for sex workers and thus the protection of sex workers’ human rights needs to also be addressed for successful harm minimisation.

 

There is a paucity of research on decriminalisation and the relationship between laws and the social setting in which these laws emerge, are interpreted and take form, and the effects of the New Zealand reforms on the working lives of sex workers remains to be seen. New Zealand is now in a unique position to assess whether decriminalisation is indeed an effective harm minimisation strategy. This presentation will provide some early observations of the impact of law reform on the health and safety of sex workers in their workplaces.

 

A community-based participatory study is being carried out by researchers at the University of Otago, in partnership with the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective. This involves a survey of up to 1,000 sex workers in New Zealand and in-depth interviews with 60 sex workers. The findings of the study will inform a formal evaluation of the Act.