SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

opened a bar in Chiang Mai that provides sex workers with working conditions that
comply with standards under the Labour Protection Act.
Conclusions
(i) Legal empowerment of sex worker communities underpins effective HIV
responses
Sex worker organizations in India and Thailand have demonstrated the effectiveness of
adopting an empowerment approach, based on community mobilization, peer-based
health promotion, self-regulation, active engagement on law enforcement issues and
participation in dialogue about law and policy reform. Similarly, sex worker organizations
in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, and Indonesia are actively engaged in advocating
for law reform and improvements to law enforcement practices. Although punitive
laws remain on the statute books in these countries, significant progress has been
achieved through sex workers educating their peers about their rights, organizing legal
representation and securing changes to law enforcement practices to reduce police
abuses and facilitate HIV prevention activities. At the local level, this approach has shifted
the power balance in favour of the vulnerable, and has been associated with positive HIV
prevention outcomes such as increased condom use rates and reduced stigma.
(ii) Positive public health and human rights outcomes have been achieved in
jurisdictions that have decriminalized sex work
Evidence from the jurisdictions in the region that have decriminalized sex work (New
Zealand and New South Wales) indicates that the approach of defining sex work as
legitimate labour empowers sex workers, increases their access to HIV and sexual health
services and is associated with very high condom use rates. Very low STI prevalence has
been maintained among sex workers in New Zealand and New South Wales, and HIV
transmission within the context of sex work is understood to be extremely low or nonexistent.
In decriminalized contexts, the sex industry can be subject to the same general
laws regarding workplace health and safety and anti-discrimination protections as other
industries. The legal recognition of sex work as an occupation enables sex workers to claim
benefits, to form or join unions and to access work-related banking, insurance, transport
and pension schemes.
(iii) Licensing and registration models have not been effective
Licensing or registration of the sex industry has been of limited benefit in terms of public
health and human rights outcomes for sex workers. Several jurisdictions have introduced
licensing or registration of brothels, businesses where sex work occurs, or individual sex
workers (e.g., Indonesia, Taiwan and several states and territories of Australia). Licensing
or registration systems are usually accompanied by criminal penalties for sex industry
businesses and individual sex workers who operate outside of the legal framework.
Licensing or registration models may provide some health benefits to the small part of
the sex industry that is regulated, but do not improve health outcomes for the broader
population of sex workers. Some countries operate licensing or registration systems in
contexts where sex work remains technically illegal. Examples include STI and HIV testing
requirements for entertainment establishments in Thailand, Guam and ‘red-light’ areas in
the Philippines and the police supervision system in Singapore. In Bangladesh, registration
by affidavit provides some security benefits and protection from police harassment for
those who register, but without access to health benefits. Typically, in jurisdictions that
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