AustLit

'Victoria’s sex industry is about to undergo a major transformation with the state government vowing to introduce legislation to decriminalise sex work by the end of 2021. Sex worker activists have welcomed the move towards decriminalisation – as is the case in New South Wales (since 1995), Aotearoa New Zealand (2003) and the Northern Territory (2019) – as a crucial step in removing the stigma attached to sex work, and ensuring workers have the same human rights as people in other industries. It is a long-awaited departure from the current status of legalisation, which has created a two-tiered system whereby a select few brothels are regulated and licensed, while the majority of workers are forced to operate outside the law and without legal protection.' (Introduction)