Sex work, the consensual provision of sexual services for money or goods, is criminalized in most countries. Decriminalization is distinct from legalization (also known as the "regulationist" approach).
Advocates of decriminalization argue that removing the criminal sanctions surrounding sex work creates a safer environment for sex workers, and that it helps fight sex trafficking. Opponents of decriminalization argue that it will not prevent trafficking (or even increase trafficking) and could put sex workers at greater risk. Evidence from New Zealand, Belgium, and several Australian states, which have implemented this legal model) demonstrates that decriminalization is an evidence-based harm reduction approach.
Organizations including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the medical journal The Lancet have called on countries to decriminalize sex work in the global effort to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic and ensure sex workers' access to health services. Almost all organisations run by sex workers themselves around the world favour the decriminalisation of sex work, and it tends to be their main goal. The Global Network of Sex Work Projects works with over 300 sex worker organisations in 110 countries, all of whom are united on the goal of full decriminalisation and workers' rights.
However, a European Parliament resolution adopted on 26 February 2014 regarding sexual exploitation and prostitution and its impact on gender equality states that "decriminalising the sex industry in general and making procuring legal is not a solution to keeping vulnerable women and under-age females safe from violence and exploitation, but has the opposite effect and puts them in danger of a higher level of violence, while at the same time encouraging prostitution markets – and thus the number of women and under-age females suffering abuse – to grow."
Two countries have fully decriminalized sex work, while one decriminalized it partially. In June 2003, New Zealand became the first country to decriminalize sex work, with the passage of the Prostitution Reform Act. The one remaining criminal law surrounding commercial sexual activities in New Zealand is a requirement to adopt safer sex practices, meaning condom usage is a legal standard. Despite decriminalisation, its sex industry is still controversial, with some issues remaining. In June 2022, Belgium became the first country in Europe and the second country in the world to decriminalize sex work. In 2024, Belgium added full workers' rights for sex workers, including access to maternity leave, sick pay, health insurance, pensions, and other benefits. In Australia, Queensland (2024), Victoria (2023), the Northern Territory (2019) and New South Wales (1995) have also decriminalised sex work.
Legal models of sex work
There are a wide variety of legal approaches to regulating prostitution. NGOs, academics, and government agencies typically use five different models to organize the different approaches. Scholars have also used three-fold and four-fold classifications, and terminology may differ between studies. Some may equate the term "criminalisation" with "prohibition(ism)", while others regard all policies except "decriminalisation" as a certain degree of criminalisation.
Prohibitionism Hindle et al. (2008) stated: "Prohibitionism seeks to eliminate prostitution by criminalizing all aspects of the prostitution trade. Under this approach, prostitution is seen as a violation of human dignity. Criminal law and effective law enforcement are viewed as critical tools in reducing the number of individuals involved in prostitution." Kulick (2003) stated that prohibitionist models "criminalise the actual transaction of selling sex." Scoular (2015) noted that those taking a prohibitionist approach believe that the sex trade is a violation of moral (usually religious) beliefs, and seek "to deter parties from engaging in prostitution by punishing one (usually the female sellers) or, increasingly, both parties."
Abolitionism Hindle et al. (2008) stated: "Abolitionism is often described as the middle ground between prohibitionism and legalization. Advocates of this approach maintain that even though prostitutes may choose to enter the trade, it is nevertheless immoral. They believe that governments must take the necessary steps to allow prostitution to take place only as long as it does not infringe on public safety and order. Generally, abolitionists call for the criminalization of public solicitation." Kulick (2003) defined abolitionism as "a legal system that holds that prostitution in itself is not an offence, but the exploitation of the prostitution of others is; thus any third party recruiting, profiting from, or organising prostitutes is penalised."
Neo-abolitionism Neo-abolitionism, also called the Nordic or Swedish model, is used in Sweden, Norway, France and other countries. While selling sex is not criminalized under this approach, the buying of sex is illegal. Neo-abolitionists claim these models do not punish prostitutes, but instead penalize those who purchase sex from sex workers. This model is criticized for causing sex workers to do their business in areas hidden from police and public, which often makes it more dangerous. Sex workers also note the harm that police themselves inflict is a primary concern through evictions, arrests, deportations, and sexual violence.
Legalization
Legalization is also referred to as "regulationism." In countries that legalize prostitution, some forms of prostitution are no longer prohibited, and there is legislation to control and regulate it. The legalization model has been adopted across the world, ranging from countries in Europe, parts of Australia, Latin America, and some areas of the United States. The extent and type of legislation varies from country to country and may be regulated by work permits, licensing or tolerance zones.However, there remain problematic aspects of the legalization model: while it can provide employment standards and protections, it also creates hierarchies between licensed and unlicensed workers. The legalization model has barriers of entry, making those who are marginalized, due to a variety of intersectional reasons, unable to obtain permits. This reflects a historical pattern where colonial governments restricted entry to immigrant women they believed were sex workers; colonial control and exclusion of various groups continue in this model. Today, under the legalization model, those who are not able to legally work in some countries, such as migrants, continue to be criminalized for sex work; they remain unprotected. Due to these shortcomings, the model is widely opposed by the sex workers' movement, instead advocating for the adoption of the decriminalization model.
Decriminalization
Decriminalization is the removal of criminal penalties for sex work. In countries that decriminalize sex work, sex workers receive the same protection and recognition as workers in other industries. The very first line of the World Charter for Prostitutes' Rights, written and adopted by the International Committee for Prostitutes' Rights on 15 February 1985 at the first World Whores Congress in Amsterdam, states: "Decriminalize all aspects of adult prostitution resulting from individual decision."
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that "modelling studies indicate that decriminalizing sex work could lead to a 46% reduction in new HIV infections in sex workers over 10 years".
Effects of criminalization
Health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sex workers are considered one of the key populations at risk for HIV infection, and sex workers who inject drugs are at even more risk due to unprotected sex, syringe sharing, alcohol or drug dependence, and violence. Stigma, poverty, and exclusion from legal social services have increased their vulnerability to HIV infection. Health risks and transmission of HIV as well as other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increased in incidences where condom usage and accessibility is limited or used to identify and criminalize sex workers. Many sex workers are managed by 'gatekeepers' who may be brothel owners, clients, or law enforcement figures, who often dictate condom usage. In Cambodia, a survey showed that 30% of sex workers who refused to put on condoms were sexually coerced. Fear of law enforcement and incarceration also discourages possession of condoms since they provide evidence for officers to prosecute and arrest.World Health Organization (1 February 2024) Violence against sex workers: What does the evidence say and what are the international human rights standards that inform WHO normative standards.Retrieved 5 August 2026. Evidence suggests that HIV risk can be sharply reduced when sex workers are able to negotiate safer sex. Decriminalization of sex work decreases the risk of HIV infection by breaking down stigma and increasing access to health services, reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS and STIs.
According to a 2020 study, criminalisation of sex work in one district in East Java, compared to neighbouring districts where sex work was not criminalised, increased the rate of sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers by 58%, made their income after leaving sex work lower on average, and their children more likely to begin working to supplement household income rather than go to school (as school expenses were harder to meet). A 2018 study found that the 2003–2009 decriminalization of indoor prostitution in Rhode Island led to reduced sexually transmitted infections (female gonorrhoea incidence declined by over 40%) and fewer rapes (reported rape offences fell by 30%). A 2017 study found that the introduction of legal prostitution zones in the Netherlands substantially reduced drug-related crime, sexual abuse and rape (the latter two by 30–40% in the first two years).
Violence According to a 2021 study, the openings of strip clubs and escort services in New York City were associated with a 13% decrease in sex crime one week after the opening, while having no impact on other forms of crime. The evidence suggests that potential sex offenders frequent such establishments rather than commit sex crimes.
Discrimination and stigma
Sex workers experience significant stigma and discrimination as a result of criminalization. Though they consider sex work a legitimate income-generating activity, sex workers are viewed as immoral, deserving of punishment, and thus excluded from healthcare, education, and housing. Criminalization laws exclude sex workers from health systems that provide access to preventative care such as condoms and regular HIV or STI testing.
Human rights abuses