Abstract
Sex work laws have long been subject to debate, especially among feminists. Different feminist perspectives inform these debates, with some seeing prostitution as a form of labour, while others consider it to be a form of violence against women that symbolises gender inequality. As such, feminists are divided on sex work laws, with some supporting full decriminalisation, while others campaign for the criminalisation of clients, commonly referred to as the Nordic model. Sex workers globally have long been calling for the decriminalisation of sex work and oppose the Nordic model. However, despite their activism, decriminalisation remains exceptional, and the Nordic model has been adopted in several countries. As of 2019, New Zealand and New South Wales in Australia were the only places in the world to have decriminalised sex work. This chapter introduces feminist perspectives on sex work and how they influence legislative debates, with a focus on New Zealand as the only full country to have decriminalised sex work. In doing so, this chapter sheds more light on New Zealand’s policy of decriminalisation and how it is conceptualised from a range of feminist perspectives.
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