Inquiry to inform sex worker reforms
An inquiry into violence against sex workers in Australia and Thailand held this July will contribute to law reform efforts in both countries, with its findings set to inform Victoria’s upcoming review of sex work decriminalisation.
Held over two days on 21 and 22 July, the Feminist Inquiry into Violence Against Sex Workers in Australia and Thailand brought sex worker organisations, advocates and legal experts together to examine how violence is experienced by sex workers, how different areas of law intersect with their lives, and what legal strategies can better protect their rights and safety.
Former Supreme Court of Victoria judge and experience law reformer, Marcia Neave AO chaired the inquiry panel.
The inquiry was led by Melbourne Law School Research Fellow Dr Debolina Dutta through the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW), in consultation and collaboration with Scarlet Alliance, Empower Foundation and the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers, with support from Thammasat University.
At the heart of the inquiry were testimonies from sex worker organisations and people with lived experience. Across two days, they shared perspectives on what constitutes violence in their communities, the impact of criminalisation and other legal frameworks, barriers to accessing justice, and priorities for legal and policy reform.
The testimonies were heard by a panel chaired by former Supreme Court of Victoria judge and law reformer Marcia Neave AO, alongside former Victorian MP, sex worker and sex worker rights advocate Fiona Patten; Thai feminist lawyer and human rights defender Pranom ‘Bee’ Somwong; Christine Robinson, CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s community legal centre Wirringa Baiya; and Melbourne Law School Professor and CEVAW Chief Investigator Heather Douglas AM.
The inquiry grew partly from the response to a 2024 call for submissions by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women on the relationship between prostitution and violence against women. More than 3,600 sex workers and allies signed a petition challenging the framing of that process, including its use of the term ‘prostitution’ and approaches they argued failed to adequately recognise sex workers’ rights and experiences.
In response, the CEVAW inquiry adopted a sex worker-centred approach, seeking to understand violence through the experiences and expertise of sex workers themselves and to explore how law can contribute both to vulnerability and to greater safety and justice.
The inquiry also has a practical law reform focus. Its findings are expected to contribute the upcoming review of Victoria’s sex work decriminalisation reforms, while supporting sex worker-led advocacy for decriminalisation in South Australia and Thailand, including advocacy concerning Thai migrant sex workers across the Asia Pacific.
Following the hearings, the inquiry panel will develop a report containing recommendations for legal and policy reform and advocacy, drawing on the testimonies and evidence presented during the two-day event.