Decriminalise Sex Work | Respect QLD

Decriminalise Sex Work

Many Queensland laws are not workable and criminalise basic sex worker safety strategies. It is the position of Respect Inc that full decriminalisation is the best legal framework for sex workers in Queensland. Find out more about the campaign to decriminalise sex work in Queensland:

Laws in Queensland

Sex work and the sex industry in Queensland are regulated by laws in: the Prostitution Act (Qld) 1999; the Criminal Code 1899, Section 22A and sections of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000.

The Prostitution Act 1999 came into effect in July 2000 and introduced a brothel licensing system, established the Prostitution Licensing Authority and allowed for the development of Regulations. At the same time as allowing boutique brothels the laws criminalise all other sex industry businesses models (escort agencies, erotic massage parlours, co-ops and sex workers working in pairs or from the same premise as another worker). The Act allows the Prostitution Licensing Authority to determine the ‘approved form’ of advertising and this has resulted in confusing and heavily restrictive guidelines that make it illegal for sex workers to describe their services in an advertisement, even using acronyms or coded industry references.

The Criminal Code, in section 22A, makes many sex worker safety strategies illegal (letting another sex worker know where you are on a booking, checking-in at the end of a booking, driving another sex worker to a outcall, hiring a receptionist to screen bookings, working in pairs etc).

Under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 police can entrap sex workers while posing as clients and have immunity to request (and undertake) illegal activities. A sex worker does not have to undertake the illegal activity to be charged, agreeing to the activity is enough. In many cases sex workers phones and earnings are seized as ‘tainted goods’ and money can be confiscated.

If you are a sex worker seeking more detailed information on the laws in Queensland there is  a Respect Inc. resource available in English, Simplified Chinese, Korean. 

Queensland laws have failed

The laws in Queensland have failed on a number of counts. They have:

  • failed to provide safe working environments for sex workers, with many aspects of the laws endangering sex workers’ safety.
  • failed to effectively regulate the industry, with only 20 legal brothels in the state and the majority of the industry forced to operate outside the arduous, expensive system.
  • failed to deliver a cost-effective system of regulation, costing taxpayers at least $20 million and showing no likelihood of becoming sustainable through licensing fees.
  • failed to protect against police corruption, as police are now, once again, the regulators of the majority of the sex industry.

The Solution

Decriminalisation is the repeal of sex work specific laws. In Queensland that includes repeal of Criminal Code Section 22A, the Prostitution Act and sections of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act. Decriminalisation is not ‘no regulation’. When sex work is no longer criminalised, the laws and regulations that apply to other businesses apply to the sex industry.

Importantly, police would no longer have a role in the regulation of the sex industry. In line with the Fitzgerald Inquiry recommendation there would not be a police unit specific to the sex industry. Of course, the criminal laws that apply to other industries and the general community will still apply to sex workers and the sex industry.  For more information about decriminalisation read this Scarlet Alliance briefing paper.

Who we are  我們是誰  소개  พวกเราคือใคร

#DecrimQLD is a committee of sex workers who have joined with Respect Inc., to progress the removal of harmful and discriminatory sex work laws and achieve decriminalisation in Queensland.

Our campaign aims to: 

  • raise awareness of the problems with the laws in Queensland 
  • demonstrate the importance of removing harmful laws  
  • provide information on decriminalisation and other models of sex work regulation 
  • ensure policy discussions are informed by evidence, and  
  • make sure sex workers inform any and all changes to the sex industry laws in Queensland.

#DecrimQLD 是一群性工作者主持的性服務除罪化委員會,並與Respect Inc.性工作者協會,一起努力以推進消除有害和歧視性服務業相關的惡法,並在昆士蘭實現性服務業除罪化。

我們推動法律改革運動的宗旨是:

  • 讓社會大眾與性工作者們意識到對目前昆士蘭州針對性產業的惡法問題
  • 證明廢除針對性產業的惡法的重要性  
  • 提供有關性產業除罪化和其他性產業政策模式的信息  
  • 確保任何與性產業相關的政策討論是有科學證據為依據,以及 
  • 隨時告知性產業工作者關於昆士蘭性行業法律相關的任何變更和調整。

#DecrimQLD는 퀸즐랜드에서 행해지고 있는 유해하고 차별적인 성노동법을 철폐하고 성노동의 비범죄화를 추진하는 성노동자들로 이루어진 Respect Inc에 소속된 위원회 입니다.

활동목표:

  • 퀸즐랜드 법률의 부조리함을 널리 알립니다
  • 유해한 법률 철폐의 중요성을 설명합니다
  • 비범죄화 혹은 다른 성노동법 모델에 관한 정보를 제공합니다
  • 정책에 관한 논의가 증거를 바탕으로 하는지 확인합니다
  • 퀸즐랜드 성노동법의 부분적 혹은 전체적인 변경이 있을시 성노동자에게 정보를 전달합니다

#DecrimQLD เป็นคณะกรรมการของผู้ให้บริการทางเพศที่ได้ร่วมกับ Respect Inc. เพื่อดำเนินการขจัดกฎหมายเกี่ยวกับบริการทางเพศที่มีอันตรายและการเลือกปฏิบัติ และดำเนินการลดทอนความเป็นอาชญากรรมในรัฐควีนส์แลนด์

แคมเปญของเรามีจุดมุ่งหมายเพื่อ: 

  • ปลุกจิตสำนึกปัญหากฎหมายในรัฐควีนส์แลนด์ 
  • แสดงให้เห็นถึงความสำคัญของการแก้ไขลบกฎหมายที่เป็นอันตราย 
  • แสดงให้เห็นถึงความสำคัญของการแก้ไขกฎหมายที่เป็นอันตราย 
  • ตรวจสอบให้แน่ใจว่าการอภิปรายนโยบายได้รับแจ้งด้วยหลักฐานและ 
  • ตรวจสอบให้แน่ใจว่าผู้ให้บริการทางเพศได้รับแจ้งการเปลี่ยนแปลงกฎหมายทั้งหมดของอุตสาหกรรมบริการทางเพศในรัฐควีนส์แลนด์ 

Contact us

e: DecrimQLD@respectqld.org.au         m: 0491 228 509       t: twitter.com/DecrimQLD 
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/decrimqld/