Belgium pushes to make sex work safer but abuses still persist

Belgium's green light for red light workers

A police station in the historic sailors' quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers' neon-lit red-light windows.

Belgium pushes to make sex work safer but abuses still persist

A law that was adopted in December last year allows sex workers in Belgium to sign employment contracts, granting them more labour rights like health insurance and paid leave. But even if Belgium has some of the most liberal sex work laws in Europe, abuses and exploitation still persist.

Belgium has decided to reform its sex work legislation, including relaxing the rules on advertising prostitution for people over 18. “We, as sex workers, are now considered by the state to be employed in a real job, and people's opinions also change thanks to the law,” said a sex worker and Antwerp resident known as “Meliciousss”. It is believed that there are around 9,000 to 26,000 sex workers in Belgium. Today, Belgian law says that an adult c…

This site symbolizes the safe and assumed side of "sex work" in Belgium, a country that claims some of the most progressive legislation in Europe, even if the cases of abuse and exploitation remain. "I am not a victim, I chose to be there and I love what I do," Kiana says, "I am not a victim, I have chosen to be there and I love what I do.

Belgium's Green Light For Red Light Workers

A police station in the historic sailors' quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers' neon-lit red-light windows.