The Inner City Legal Service provides free legal advice to sex workers across NSW.
One legal issue that we constantly see in our practice is discrimination against sex workers.
Some examples we have seen are:
- A bank refusing to give a loan to a sex worker due to a “morals clause” in their standard contract;
- A landlord evicting a sex worker tenant when he found out her profession;
- A police officer who told a sex worker that it was impossible for her to be sexually assaulted at work.
According to research by Scarlet Alliance and CSRH, 96% of sex workers surveyed reported experiencing stigma or discrimination related to their sex work in the last 12 months.
Currently NSW and Federal laws offer no specific protections for sex workers against discrimination.
We support the Sex Workers Outreach Project and Scarlet Alliance in calling for protected attributes of “sex work” and “sex worker” in discrimination legislation. We need laws that recognise the unique stigma that past and present sex workers and their families and associates experience.
If you are a sex worker experiencing discrimination, you can contact us for legal advice on 0466 724 979 or by email to iclc@iclc.org.au
If you’re interested in reading more about this issue, we recommend the Scarlet Alliance briefing paper HERE.
You can also sign a petition to support discrimination law protections HERE.