New Zealand
In 2003 New Zealand introduced the Prostitution Reform Act which decriminalised prostitution.
In February 2004 the New Zealand Prostitution Reform Act Sub-Committee met to discuss the problems that had persisted since the change in legislation. The health and safety of the individuals in street prostitution was still at a low level and had not been improved by the Act’s implementation. Perceived threats to passers by, hazardous litter left in public places and alleged undertaking of sexual activities in public places and adjacent property were still an unresolved issue.
Streetreach, an Auckland based project that helps individuals involved in the sex industry, stated that before decriminalization they would make contact with 30 clients a night, and are now coming into regular contact with 90 clients a night. Streetreach has also noticed that there has been a rise in drug use and an increase in gang involvement in “minding” the sex workers. Debbie Baker, Director of Streetreach, recently disclosed that the women they are in contact with have experienced an increase in physical and sexual violence, such as rape, since 2003.
Why is New Zealand's approach not working?
Whilst “empowered” sex workers may have benefited from the ability to work on the streets or at home without criminalisation, there have also been significant negative effects. Recent information from New Zealand reports a rise in the number of children exploited through commercial sex and dramatic increases in the number of paedophiles being arrested (New Zealand Herald, 2008; Radio New Zealand, 2008) Migrant women with irregular status from Asia form a significant portion of people in prostitution in New Zealand, who are not accorded rights under the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) 2003 since they are not recognised citizens. The increase in demand for prostitution has affected them adversely with no recourse for protection, justice or means to exit.
The Prostitutes Collective was instrumental in the production of a recent review of the PRA, which favours maintaining a political climate conducive to continued legalisation (Prostitution Law Reform Act 2008). However, the review does recognise the need for far greater focus on exit strategies, once again contradicting the movement towards labour normalisation of prostitution. The PRA contains clauses which rightly state that sex workers can refuse to service any client, at any time, for any reason. No other labour provisions in existence contain such caveats.
New Zealand has a population of only 4.2 million, over a million of whom live in Auckland. The other 3 million live in a region similar in size to Britain (population 60 million), hence the home market for prostitution is limited and thinly spread over large distances. Coupled with New Zealand’s isolated geographical position, the risk of attracting an influx of foreign sex tourists is negligible compared to that of Britain. Much of the UK pro-sex work lobbying is focused on the situation in New Zealand, which is interpreted as a success story, while countries much closer to home – where legalisation has led to aggravated social problems – are routinely ignored.
The Netherlands is easily accessible, both geographically and financially, from a plethora of nearby countries, and accordingly, is a magnet for sex tourists, unlike New Zealand. Since prostitution was legalised in 2000, there has been an exponential rise in organised crime – particularly money laundering. In response to the emerging failure of legalisation, many of Amsterdam’s window brothels have been closed down since December 2006, and the financial industry has been courted, without success, as potential backers of the sex industry to replace organised crime magnates (Dutch News, 2007)
In November 2007, Amsterdam’s most famous brothel, Yab Yum, was ordered to close on suspicion of “criminal transactions” (AFP, 2007). The Dutch government is currently reviewing legislation and implementing major policy reversals, including proposals to criminalise men who buy sex from unlicensed people in prostitution – about 95% of people selling sex in the Netherlands (Reuters, 2008) and to raise the minimum age of prostitution to 21, up from 18 years old (Newsweek, 2008).
(A Response to the Summit on Prostitution held by the Conservative Women’s Organisation, Westminster, 17 June 2008)
