A new law – the first of its kind in Europe and across the rest of the world – is giving sex workers in Belgium basic employment rights. Prostitution in Belgium is legal, after it was decriminalised in the summer of 2022, with around 30,000 people working in the industry since then.

Warning - contains descriptions of a sexual nature“I had to work while I was nine months pregnant,” says Sophie, a sex worker in Belgium. “I was having sex with clients one week before giving birth.”She juggles her job with being a mother of five - which is “really hard”.

Belgium has become the first country to officially recognize sex workers’ rights, providing benefits like maternity leave and health insurance. This follows the decriminalization of sex work in 2022,

Belgium has become the first country in the world to offer the same employment benefits to sex workers as any other profession. The landmark law, passed after sex work was decriminalized in 2022, allows for maternity leave,

Belgium becomes the first country to extend sex worker rights, granting full employment benefits including maternity leave, pensions, and healthcare.

Belgium has come up with a new law, the first of its kind in the world, recognising the rights of sex workers and offering them treatment like any other job.