Last year WA came close to having some of the best sex work laws in the world, championed by a coalition of sex workers, key members of the Labor Party, WA Greens and independent Shelley Archer. Campaigning against the registration of individual sex workers and the licensing of brothels, it was a long road that hit a dead end when Labor lost government prior to implementing the new laws.
Sex work continues in a legally grey area; individual sex workers are not illegal, organised sex work is. Sharing a flat or apartment with another worker is not allowed, and street based sex work is criminalised. Brothels are still technically illegal in Western Australia. Regardless, the old laws have not been prosecuted for decades due to unspoken “containment†policies and unofficial sex worker registration processes, both of which were ditched in the early 00’s by WA Police.
Why is law reform so important? Criminalisation means that sex workers are denied basic human rights that others take for granted. Opening a business without fear, investing in one’s future without regret, being protected by anti-discrimination laws, being proud of ones work, being treated as a citizen, raising one’s family in a supportive environment. The gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex and trans communities of WA have fought for access to these human rights and enjoy a standard of legal protections comparable to other states and territories. Sex workers in WA are behind the rest of Australia in legal protections, our rights are yet to be realised.
One of the barriers to sex workers rights is the extent of stigma sex workers face when coming out about sex work. Whorephobia effects every part of our lives; from rejection by family, to disapproving looks when buying masses of condoms from the supermarket. It is not ok for street based sex workers to be blamed for every car that drives through the inner-city, or private sex workers to be blamed for the spread of STI’s. All forms of sex work can (and do) co-exist within a diverse community. Accepting and celebrating sex work is part of what we are aiming for with law reform.
These are the philosophies Scarlet Alliance advocate for; in Australia and around the region. Sex workers in Australia, Fiji, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia and beyond are involved in Scarlet Alliance project work. It is wrong to judge people for their choice of work – and within our lifetimes WA law will reflect this!
Scarlet Alliance
You can join Scarlet Alliance for some drinks and networking at Connections Nightclub on the 5th of August. All welcome!
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