The study was conducted to consider the position of sex workers from country to country and state to state in Europe, the UK, Canada, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand in an effort to understand how the legal and social situation of sex workers differs across the world.

The following 25 countries of the western world were considered as part of the study and scored against five different well-being criteria which take into account the regulatory and social approaches to the sex industry and the support and working conditions available to sex workers.

• Germany

• Austria

• Netherlands

• New Zealand

• Luxembourg

• Canada

• Spain

• UK

• Finland

• Denmark

• Belgium

• Latvia

• United States

• Hungary

• Australia

• Greece

• Italy

• Slovenia

• Estonia

• Poland

• Slovakia

• Czech Republic

• Portugal

• Sweden

• France
 

 

The Legal situation: To what extent are sex workers legally protected and recognised?

 

Representation of interests: Do sex workers have support groups and organisations that represent their interests politically and socially?

Social cohesion: How many sex workers can rely on their network in an emergency?

Red light district: Are there designated red light districts where sex workers can carry out their work under controlled and therefore safe conditions?

Street prostitution: What is the proportion of street or car prostitution?

 

It has long been known that attitudes towards the sex industry and sex workers in particular vary across the western world. By comparing the data available on a country specific basis, Lust is keen to highlight countries where the sex industry works well and in support of sex workers, their safety and well-being. By doing so, the hope is that these countries and the regulatory frameworks they employ could be used as a model for other countries to follow. 

In contrast, by shining a light on the countries which are still a work in progress when it comes to championing the rights of sex workers and best practice within the sex industry as a whole, the hope is that changes can be made for the benefit of voluntary sex workers and their service users. With criminality then reserved for the abhorrent act of trafficking men and women against their will for the purposes of prostitution, more effort can be made to tackle this extremely negative consequence of an unregulated sex industry.

 

 

The study undertaken by Lust shows that the best working conditions for sex workers can be found in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands where prostitution is both legalised and regulated by the state. In these countries, sex workers are treated much like any self-employed worker with the same rights and benefits. 

Unlike countries which appeared further down the list in terms of well-being, street prostitution – which is known to be the most high-risk form of prostitution for sex workers – is much less common in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, accounting for 15% or less of the total amount of sex work undertaken. The same is true of New Zealand, where the industry is decriminalised, and levels of street prostitution are similarly low.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, the countries which did not score so highly in terms of support and well-being for sex workers and a cohesive approach to the sex industry (including Hungary, Greece and Slovakia) were also places where the levels of street prostitution were particularly high and sex workers are largely ignored by the state with a real lack of protection.

Despite its significant influence and position in the western world and its reputation as the land of love and eroticism, France’s position at the bottom of the rankings is probably less of a shock once the statutory prostitution ban, its legal implications and the high level of street prostitution (61% - the highest in Europe) are taken into account. The same can be said of Italy, another Catholic country which also has a ban on prostitution and a level of street prostitution which is nearly as high.

The overarching theme of the study’s research and findings though, was that wherever countries appeared in the ranking there is still work to do in terms of improving the well-being and working conditions of sex workers across the world and removing the stigma

associated with the sex industry.

 

For a more detailed breakdown of the dramatic difference in sex worker well-being and working conditions across the western world, head to lustmag.com/sex-worker-wellbeing-index/
Bron: www.lustmag.com/wohlbefinden-von-sexarbeiterinnen/





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