Sex+Work+in+New+Zealand

= Sex Work in New Zealand =

**Overview**
Sex work in New Zealand tends to be a very transitional job. Many sex workers are in and out of it a lot and are only in it for a short time. There are three main sectors of sex work which include the managed sector, escort sector, and private sector. The managed sector includes brothels, and massage parlours which are estimated to employ 50-70% of Auckland and Wellington’s sex workers. The second sector is the Escort Sector which include about 20% of Auckland and Wellington’s sex workers. The final sector is the Private Sector which includes about 10% of Auckland and Wellington’s sex workers. 87% of sex workers are estimated to be female. The males tend to work in the private sector and the trans-identified individuals tend to work in the street sector (West & Austin, 2002).

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**NZPC**
The New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective was formed in 1987 to advocate for civil rights. One year later, in 1988, a contractual relationship was formed with the ministry of health, which funded outreach initiatives, drop-in centers, and HIV/AIDS awareness. The NZPC also holds regular meetings with sex work managers to promote operator good practices. Unlike many other collectives, the NZPC had a lot of impact on the wellbeing of sex workers through the organization’s backing from the government. The NZPC focuses on empowering sex workers through self-regulation dignity, self-esteem awareness, and solidarity (West, 2000).

**Government**
In 2003, the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) decriminalised prostitution for those 18 and over. To understand decriminalisation, it is important to review the three legal frameworks, which tend to apply to sex work in westernized cultures. Decriminalisation is the process that normalizes prostitution by making it legal work. Legalisation imposes state regulation on sex work typically through licensing and compulsory health checks. Prohibition states that sex work is illegal. A sub-construct of prohibition is abolition, stating that although the sale of sex is legal, the consequences of it are illegal (Abel, Fitzgerald, & Brunton, 2009). .

Prior to the PRA, sex work was abolished in New Zealand, this meant that the sale of sex was legal, however, running a brothel, living off the earnings of a sex worker, and sex worker solicitation were all illegal activities. The PRA was passed 60:59 votes with one abstention. This shift in policy showed New Zealand’s evolution from a moralistic to a public health and human rights approach. Since decriminalisation, PRA opposers have pushed to recriminalise street work because they claim the visibility of street work damages tourism and family values. Research has shown however, that criminalisation of street sector increases the vulnerability of sex workers by driving them underground where fear of detection and arrest override concerns for health and safety (Abel, Fitzgerald, & Brunton, 2009).

**Health**
Before sex work was decriminalised in 2003, the abolition of sex work created an environment in which sex workers’ medical, legal, and welfare needs were not properly addressed. Current decriminalisation has shown an improvement in these areas (Abel, Fitzgerald, & Brunton, 2009). The two primary physical health issues sex workers face are sexual abuse and sexual violence. Sex workers are also more likely to drink and smoke heavily when they drink. After the PRA, sex workers’ biological sexual health improved. For example, one sex worker from the managed sector demonstrated her knowledge of effective safer sex procedures. “I always use a condom for a blow job and I will always change it before sex, because lip balm or lipstick is oil based, and it does tend to break down the condoms…. I have mouthwash, so I use that throughout the night. I always am a bit careful before I go in and when I come back, not to brush my teeth too hard, so that my gums won’t have any abrasions or anything in them too much" (Abel, 2011). In regard to psychological health, sex workers identified stigma to be the hardest part. Even in the decriminalised environment, sex work is still very stigmatized in New Zealand.

**Media**
After the PRA passed, opponents were afraid there would be huge increase in sex work. Newspapers reported increased of 40%, but the comparison was incorrect. In reality, there has not been an increase (Abel, Fitzgerald, & Brunton, 2009).

**Family**
As found in Potter, Martin, & Romans (1999), sex workers tend to come for families of lower socioeconomic statuses in which the mothers are the family’s main wage earner. These sex workers tend to have a less caring relationship with their parents, leave school early, are less likely to be married, and are more likely to have left home early and become pregnant before the age of 19. This higher rate of early pregnancy is not reflected in greater rates of motherhood, suggesting a loss of pregnancies (Potter, Martin, & Romans, 1999).

**Public vs. Priva****te Life**
According to Abel, most sex workers are able to successfully separate public and private roles through distancing strategies, this is been found to actually an effective protective strategy rather than a harmful one. One New Zealand street sector sex worker stated that “You have to be a particular type of person to be able to manage emotions effectively, and if you are not, it will take you down eventually.” Another managed sector sex worker explained her coping strategies for how to distance her public and private lives. She said “Before I go into work, I have my little routine. So, you know, I set up to go to the personality of the person, and then when I get home, I have my little routine to wind down. I don’t think it’s too dissimilar from a lot of other jobs. You know, people will come home, they’ll put their bag down, they might take off their shoes and change out of their work clothes, have a glass of wine. It’s that sort of shifting from work to home mentally" (Abel, 2011).

**Relationships**
Abel (2011) found that sex workers vary when it comes to their romantic relationships. Some can’t imagine having a relationship while their work is to sell sex, and others choose to live a lesbian lifestyle outside of work in order to distance their public and private lives. One street sector sex worker recounted how she dealt with having male clients and male lovers, “It takes a big toll on the way you are with your partner….. I get paranoid a lot, thinking you know, ‘Are they just like them? All they ever worry about is the sex, or you know, are the in it for this or that. Do they have a hidden agenda’” (Abel, 2011).



Written by Sarah McMurchie 4/29/2014

Abel, G. M. (2011). Different stage, different performance: The protective strategy of role play on emotional health in sex work. //Social Science & Medicine//, 72(7), 1177-1184. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.01.021

Abel, G. M., Fitzgerald, L. J., & Brunton, C. (2009). The impact of decriminalisation on the number of sex workers in new zealand. //Journal of Social Policy//, 38(3), 515-531.

Potter, K., Martin, J., & Romans, S. (1999). Early developmental experiences of female sex workers: a comparative study. //Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry,// 33(6), 935-940. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614.1999.00655.x

Romans, S. E., Potter, K., Martin, J., & Herbison, P. (2001). The mental and physical health of female sex workers: a comparative study. //Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry//, 35(1), 75-80. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1614.2001.00857.x

West, J. (2000). Prostitution: Collectives and the politics of regulation. //Gender, Work & Organization//,7(2), 106-118.

West, J., & Austrin, T. (2002). From work as sex to sex as work: networks, ‘others’ and occupations in the analysis of work. //Gender, Work & Organization//, 9(5), 482-503.