Prostitution Laws in Australia

Foreword

The battle between sex workers and the Australian Government has been, and continues to be a never ending struggle. This is primarily due to the fact that each State and Territory Government has its own unique set of regulations regarding prostitution.

Below are just a few examples of the restrictions placed upon sex workers in Australia.

Ludicrous laws that try to control what can or can't be said to clients in adverts, text messages and phone calls; to
Strict advertising rules preventing sex workers from displaying full body photos; to
Secret code words that mask sexual related services behind a wall of mentally-challenged friendliness; to
Sex workers migrating and facilitating apps such as Tinder and Instagram to seek new clients.

Sex is everywhere; whether you like it or not. All you have to do is download Instagram on your phone and you can obtain sexual satisfaction from the endless variaties of soft-to-medium core porn on demand. Why else do you think those "fitness models" constantly post suggestive photos of themselves online? Most of them can be booked directly through Instagram.

This is where reality hits social media like a brick to the face. Smashing all expectations and pushing boundaries of prostitution laws. Welcome to the internet.

Complexity of Prostitution

While the necessary laws that exist are designed to protect and safeguard illegal activities from taking place - the complexity behind these laws is quite nonsensical. Browsing through the endless array of escort advertising directories is evidence that authorities certainly have a challenge in regards to disciplining the sex industry.

When State Governments do try to take control of the law, then the protestors crawl out from beneath the floorboards and denounce them for doing their job. The main point of argument being: my body = my choice, or sex work is real work. Even with the strict quantity of laws in place, sex work is becoming increasingly common because:

it is easy money,
doesnt require any skill or qualifications,
it ignores the regulation of visa types for foreigners,
and the income doesn't have to be declared.

Fighting for the rights of sex workers is at a point where the expectation is it should be completely legalised; or for a more standard, localised and unified framework for prostitution be implemented across the country.

Activists don't understand that it is not as easy as it sounds. May this serve as a bitter-sweet reminder that the sex and prostitution industries are, and always will be a controversial topic in Australia.