Belgium decriminalized sex work in 2022, removing criminal penalties for sex workers. In May 2024, parliament approved a labor framework allowing sex workers to be legally employed. When the law came into force in December, Belgium became the first country in the world to grant sex workers access to full labor rights under general employment law.
For Daan Bauwens, policy coordinator at UTSOPI, the moment was less a surprise than a culmination. “We were there from the beginning,” - he says.
UTSOPI is a Belgian organization by and for sex workers, that had spent years advocating for change, slowly moving from community support to direct involvement in policy making.The organization has grown into a national collective defending sex workers’ rights.
Daan has a background in sexual anthropology and he joined UTSOPI as the organization began working directly with government ministries. Sex workers and their advocates were given a seat at the table, which is a rare occurrence in debates that often exclude those most affected.
The turning point came during the COVID-19 pandemic. While most Belgian workers received emergency financial support during lockdowns, sex workers were excluded. “In the eyes of the law, the sector didn’t even exist,”- Daan explains. A few weeks later, thousands were left without income or any protection.
Speech at the Decriminalisation Celebration night. Credits: UTSOPI.
Under Belgium’s old legal regime, sex work itself was tolerated, but almost all third parties were criminalized. This made access to unemployment benefits, health insurance, and social security impossible. In response, UTSOPI organized emergency aid and created an informal safety net. The scale of the crisis — and the organization’s response — forced politicians to confront the consequences of legal invisibility.
Daan tells us, that the 2024 labor law was not a sudden breakthrough but the fulfillment of a promise made during decriminalization. In 2022 the government committed to allowing sex workers to work under formal contracts. Two years later, that commitment was translated into law, giving sex workers access to the same social security system that protects other workers against sickness, unemployment and other risks.
As Daan explains, the impact of this legal recognition is already visible. A growing number of sex workers are registering as independent workers or entering formal arrangements, gaining access to insurance and legal protection for the first time. He points to changes in online advertising as a concrete indicator: following decriminalization, there was a noticeable decrease in the promotion of unsafe sexual practices. For Daan, this reflects a broader shift — when sex workers are recognized as rights-holders, they are more able and more willing to assert boundaries.
President of the Parliament Éliane Tillieux at the moment of the vote. Credits: UTSOPI.
Looking at the first year of implementation, Daan emphasizes that the labor law should not be measured only by headline numbers.
While four employers have so far received official permits to employ sex workers under the new legal regime, with more applications pending, he frames this as part of an inevitable transition period. “Administrative uncertainty and delays,” he notes, “were to be expected in a sector that had long operated in legal ambiguity”.
More significant, in Daan’s view, is what is happening beneath the surface. He describes a steady increase in calls from sex workers - more often women, with direct experience in the industry, seeking guidance on how to create escort agencies or platforms that comply with the new law. Rather than simply adapting old structures, these new actors are attempting to build workplaces that respect labor standards from the outset, offering sex workers real choices about where and how they work.
As Daan says, the reform’s success cannot be judged by legislation alone. While Belgium now has all the legal tools it needs, sex workers continue to face discrimination from institutions and society. In his view, decriminalization and labor rights push back against stigma, but changing social attitudes will take longer. One year on, Belgium’s reform stands as both an achievement and an ongoing process, that places sex workers’ voices at its center and offers a model that few other countries have yet been willing to follow.