Belgium: prostitution contracts and pimps' rights

[WagnersFourthSymphony]

Couldn't find a thread on this.

Finding it hard to credit this new law for prostitution contracts. Even allowing for the premise that there should ever be such a thing (and I don't - the parties are not equal) it enables a registered pimp to secure a government mediator if a prostitute refuses sex more than ten times in one year.

UTSOPI, the Belgium Union of Sex Workers ... lobbied extensively for the legislation. The law outlines that prostitutes will receive health insurance, a pension, maternity and holiday leave, and unemployment benefits. Their pimps will be forced to provide them with a “safety button” to use for emergencies.
Their website claims that the law “is a historic step in the battle for sex workers’ rights” and will create a “respectful, fair relationship” between prostitutes and their pimps, with UTSOPI spokesperson Daan Bauwens telling media that he believes “Belgium is really demonstrating that it aims to protect sex workers, regardless of any moral judgements about the profession people may have.”

https://www.thepublica.com/belgian-government-will-intervene-in-cases-where-prostitutes-refuse-sexual-acts-too-often/

Anyone here know any more about this?

It is my understanding that “sex workers”
unions are run by and for the pimps.

Christ on a bike! This is beyond repugnant. This is state sanctioned men living from "immoral earnings", I know pimps here are rarely prosecuted, but to actually specify the rights of pimps is beyond all imagination.
This is the ultimate comodification of female bodies.

This. Surely anyone campaigning for actual sex workers rights would be focusing on not having pimps and the sex workers having autonomy?

I'm just dumbfounded at the whole thing. It seems as if it's been dressed up as "look, we're giving 'sex workers' (that Orwellian term!) all these rights they so desperately need and in return we're asking for some commitment from the women to whom we're making all these concessions. Aren't we kind and unprejudiced? And if you oppose this you're just a prude who wants working girls to continue to suffer."

Yuk. Who was it who said that the oldest profession isn't prostitution, it's pimping?

We get so liberal that it then becomes quite the opposite.

Abhorrent, women can shout that sex work is work and they are feminists. Nope and nope.

And pimp rights? Talk about handmaiden's tale.

If I wasn't on this planet it would be hilarious to see pimps treated as if they were employers and prostitutes their labour force.

I'm fed up with the odd angle the progressive left takes on these issues. Of course women working in the male-sexual-relief-industry should be treated properly, should have proper pay and benefits etc.

But it's still the male-sexual-relief industry, and those who support sex-work-is-work also really support us not seeing that, or the fact that most toiling away in this industry are female people and that almost all the customers are male people.

In my view we won't get anywhere without acknowledging the basic nature of the industry or without asking who it is who really controls it, who gets most profit out of it, and whose life expectancy might be drastically reduced by working in it.

As an aside, some years ago I was traveling through Belgium, got lost in Brussels, and ended up on one of those streets where nearly-nude women were displayed in the windows, for prospective buyers to judge. The image of that is seared into my brain, even now. (They were not advertising their skills in creating sexual relief in men which we might expect as sex work is work; they were advertised as bodies for consumption.)

It's abhorrent. I have no other words for it. If a woman refuses to have sex despite it being her "job" the government should step in to offer her an actual means of escaping prostitution, not support her pimp.

I have some familiarity with decriminalisation but wasn't aware they would be penalised for refusing sex acts. I emailed UTSOPI for their views and will post them if they reply.

Belgium decriminalised sexwork/prostitution in 2022. More recently (this month) Victoria, Australia passed decriminalisation too:
https://twitter.com/respectqld/status/1785929633978007629

I can't imagine this leading anywhere good. I'm sure initially there will be lots of fanfare about rights and benefits. Ultimately though if a woman is forced to have sex she doesn't want - there's a word for that!

Thanks for this, @WagnersFourthSymphony.
In Germany it's possible for prostituted women and men to sign up for employment protections and benefits, but fewer that 10% do. It's never occurred to me that these are the sorts of reasons why they don't - it would place obligations on them not to refuse work &c.
It's very grim.

I have no words. The entitlement of men and the delusions of some women.

UTSOPI have replied to my email:

"Thanks for letting us know. This is a clear case of disinformation, coming from unreliable sources. A swift look at the other publications by The Publica should make that clear. This biased way of reading the law first surfaced on the pro-Trump, anti-trans and anti-gender The Daily Caller website, founded by Fox News's Tucker Carlson. Nevertheless it is being spread by neo-abolitionists all around the world.

The point in the new law that says that, if the worker refuses to perform a practice more than ten times in six months, both she and the employer shall have the right to mediation. As the law specifies, "this service examines provisions relating to welfare at work". It is about examining if there is something wrong with the working conditions or if there is a problem in the relationship between employer and employee. In no case is it a matter of forcing the worker to perform practices she does not want, since her consent is at the heart of the law. This law provides her with external support in the event of a labor dispute.

In no case the government will be able to force a sex worker to have sexual relations against her own will. Such a reading of the law is willfully ignorant and wrong.

A pimp is a person who exploits or forces a sex worker to enact sexual acts against her well. An employer is someone who respects the labour law. If not, the employer ceases to be an employer and is punishable by law under the provisions against pimping in the criminal law.

If you have any more questions, please do let us know. We are more than happy to provide you with more information.

Kind regards,

The Utsopi team"

Thanks for this. I apologise for raising concerns - I should have checked out The Publica before posting.

Still wondering, though, what remedies the 'employer' would be seeking when 'the worker refuses to perform a practice more than ten times in six months'. A rescission of the contract would be the only tolerable outcome.

I live in Belgium. I would prefer that people did not need sex workers. The fact is that many are exploited, and are trafficked women. Belgium is an international hub for arms, drugs, and human trafficking.

However, this law is excellent news for legally working sex workers.

They are better protected from pimps and clients by the law. Better, they can quit and still keep their entitlements to unemployment benefits, which is a minimum €1,336.14 per month for single person.

"What additional protections will a sex worker have?

1. Sex workers have five freedoms:

• Every sex worker has the right to refuse a client.
• Every sex worker has the right to refuse a sexual act.
• Every sex worker has the right to interrupt a sexual act at any time.
• Any sex worker has the right to perform a sexual act in the manner they wish.
• If there are dangers to the sex worker's safety, the sex worker may refuse to sit behind a window or advertise.

When a sex worker invokes any of these rights, the sex worker is protected from dismissal or other adverse action by the employer. If a sex worker exercises the right to refuse more than ten times in a six-month period, the sex worker or the employer may seek the intervention of a governmental mediation service. That service will assess if there is anything wrong with the working conditions, if there is a problem in the employer-employee relationship. The service can also offer professional reorientation possibilities.

1. Sex workers may decide to end their contract at any time, without compensation or without the sex worker being required to perform a notice period.
2. When sex workers voluntarily end their contracts, they do not lose their right to unemployment."

People don't 'need' sex workers.

They want them.

Very, very different.

Please let's not allude to sex work as a necessity.