Click here to download previous issues. A slightly modified version of this blog first appeared on Beyond Trafficking and Slavery. As students, activists, asylum seekers, or migrants in the Global North, they had witnessed the struggles of their compatriots with much less privilege than their own. GAATW has always been an ally of the sex worker rights movement. As feminists and human rights activists, our founding mothers thought it natural to support self-organising among this group of women.

This article draws on research with adult sex workers in indoor settings in Great Britain to explore diverse forms of self-employment, employment relationships and small business development, set within the context of changes to the wider economy. It suggests the need for recognition of sex work as legitimate labour, as a prerequisite for policy changes to support sex workers and pave the way for improved working conditions, not only in managed settings but also facilitating collective arrangements and independent lone working. Sex work remains a highly contested topic in policy debates. It has been argued that an ideology equating prostitution with gendered exploitation has influenced twenty-first century policy formation in the USA, the UK and parts of Europe Weitzer, However, this model has been criticised on many grounds, particularly because it appears to have resulted in a more dangerous and stigmatised working environment for sex workers Levy and Jakobsson, The failure of policy discourses to recognise sex work as legitimate work, and to include sex workers in discussions, impedes development of initiatives to improve their labour rights and working conditions. Recognition of sex work as a form of labour, however, does not preclude considerations of exploitation or interrelated issues such as labour market segregation and relative power and disadvantage.

With social distancing rules in place and strip clubs and brothels closed, sex workers around the world have seen their incomes disappear almost overnight as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Fearing for their livelihoods, as well as their health, some are offering services online to keep their business going, while others are turning to charities for help. Estelle Lucas has worked as an escort for the past 10 years in Melbourne, carefully building relationships with her clients. But the spread of Covid and the need for social distancing has prompted a ban on sex work, leaving her worried those efforts will go to waste. That doesn't work in my industry.

If you are looking for the latest legal information relating current Coronavirus laws in New Zealand, check out our new section: Coronavirus and the Law. Prostitution Reform Act An operator of a brothel has to have a special licence, and must do things like making sure the sex workers are over 18 and use safer sex practices.