What is the world’s oldest profession? According to one theory, it is prostitution—the act of providing sexual services in exchange for payment. Prostitution has been practiced across many regions and cultures around the world. Even today, the sex industry is large in scale, and there are estimates that revenues from prostitution amount to 186 billion US dollars worldwide. In this article, we look at the sex industry, which continues to take diverse forms across the globe, from the perspectives of its challenges, legal frameworks, and the rights of those engaged in it.

Entertainment district in Thailand (Photo: Patrik Ragnarsson / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED])

What is the sex industry?

What do we mean by the sex industry? The sex industry refers to people and organizations that obtain money or valuables in exchange for sexual goods, services, or performances. Broadly speaking, forms of the industry include pornography, in which sexual images, videos, or texts are distributed or published as products; live shows or clubs that feature sexual performances; and prostitution, which involves sexual acts with people. The boundaries among these can be blurred; for example, there are cases where prostitution occurs after a sexual show. Other forms include adult goods shops that sell sexual products and sex tourism aimed at consuming sexual services in other countries, making it a very diverse industry.

The sex industry continues to evolve, and one factor behind this is the commodification of sex. The commodification of sex has increased and diversified the forms of sexual goods and services, and has encouraged the widespread use of advertising employing sexual imagery. Changes in technology have also reshaped the industry. With the development of the internet, the availability of online pornography has grown, and there are online platforms where individuals distribute sexual videos and more. Such online sexual goods and services are varied, whether legal or illegal.

Among sex-industry activities, prostitution takes particularly diverse forms. Representative forms include street prostitution, brothels, and escort services. Street prostitution involves soliciting clients in public spaces; in many cases, solicitation and price negotiation take place at street prostitution spots where many workers gather, and sexual transactions occur in hotels or parking lots. Street prostitution may also involve intermediaries. Brothels are facilities where sexual services are provided and are managed by third-party intermediaries. Escort services are a form of prostitution in which companionship and sexual services are provided to clients at hotels or private residences.

Brothel in Linz, Austria (Photo: NeoUrfahraner / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED])

This article focuses on prostitution within the sex industry and examines its issues and legal frameworks.

The term “sex worker”

In recent years, people engaged in the sex industry have come to be called sex workers. This term has spread as part of a move to reject the criminal and immoral connotations associated with the word “prostitution” and to recognize sex work as labor. According to the international human rights NGO Amnesty International, the definition of sex work is “the exchange of sexual services (including sexual acts) between consenting adults for some form of remuneration under mutually agreed conditions.” It also defines sex workers as “adults of all genders (aged 18 and over) who, regularly or occasionally, provide consensual sexual services in exchange for money or goods.” Minors are not in a position to consent to transactions involving sexual services and thus are not included in the definition of sex workers.

As the definitions indicate, sex work includes workers of diverse genders—women, men, and transgender people（※1）among others. Clients’ genders are also diverse.

Reasons for engaging in sex work vary by person, but the main motivation is to make a living. Reasons for choosing sex work among many occupations include comparatively high pay, flexible working hours, economic hardship, and limited employment options. In addition, some pursue sex work to explore their own sexuality, it is said.

Pride Parade 2011 in New York (Photo: Jason Pier in DC / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED])

Furthermore, structural issues such as the gender pay gap for equal work and the unequal distribution of wealth, including low incomes among migrants, also lead some people to choose to become sex workers.

Issues surrounding the sex industry

By its nature, the sex industry involves various problems. One is sexually transmitted infections (STIs), notably the spread of HIV（※2）. The HIV infection risk for female sex workers is estimated to be 30 times that of women who are not sex workers. In addition, the HIV prevalence among male sex workers is also a concern. Studies also show that HIV prevalence among transgender sex workers is more than 20 times that of cisgender（※3）sex workers.

In addition to HIV/AIDS, the spread of syphilis and other STIs and viral hepatitis has been observed. While treatment and prevention measures for these infections must be taken urgently, stigma, prejudice, and discrimination against sex workers further complicate the problem. There are cases where sex workers are branded by healthcare workers and others as HIV “spreaders”, making it difficult for them to access healthcare services.

India: opening boxes of condoms distributed to sex workers (Photo: International Women’s Health Coalition / Flickr [CC BY 2.0 DEED])

Violence against sex workers is also a serious issue. Numerous instances of violence against sex workers have been reported. One survey found that about 79% of female sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya, and about 80% of sex workers doing street-based work in Liverpool, UK, reported experiencing work-related violence. Globally, an average of 45–75% of sex workers have experienced sexual violence while working. Perpetrators are not limited to clients; they can also include members of law enforcement agencies. Violence, extortion, and sexual abuse by police against sex workers are widespread in many countries.

The relationship between poverty and the sex industry is also deep-rooted. Not infrequently, sex workers are compelled to engage in the industry due to poverty or unemployment. Cases linking poverty to entry into the sex industry include people who become sex workers out of necessity to make a living examples, and those whose economically weak position increases the likelihood of entering the industry or being sexually exploited examples. There are also cases where people engage in sex work in an attempt to escape poverty.

Not only people who are economically disadvantaged, but also those who are socially marginalized, tend to choose to engage in the sex industry. There are also cases of irregular migrants without work permits engaging in the sex industry as one of their few sources of income. Furthermore, the structural problems inherent in the sex industry are not limited to the process of entering sex work. They include cases where men in high-income countries consume the sexual services of women in low-income countries; stereotypes about the skin color of people in the industry; and changes in clients’ economic levels based on skin color—among many other issues.

Sex trafficking

One of the serious crimes associated with the sex industry is sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking and refers to “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person” for the purpose of commercial sex acts. Since consent is essential for sex work as labor, engagement in the sex industry forced through trafficking falls outside the definition of sex work. Common methods of sex trafficking include traffickers luring victims with false job offers outside the sex industry, or creating situations where victims cannot escape and then coercing them into the industry through force. The sex-industry activities victims are forced into include not only prostitution but also forced marriage and coerced participation in pornography.

Celebrating the enactment of human trafficking bill provisions in Northern Ireland (Photo: DUP Photos / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED])

Sex trafficking often crosses borders. The United Arab Emirates is one of the destination (receiving) countries frequently cited, with many reports of victims being women facing economic hardship from Africa. Traffickers saddle victims with large debts for travel and referral fees, then force them to engage in prostitution in the UAE to repay them. Japan（※4）is also a destination for sex trafficking. Victims mainly originate from South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Eastern Europe, Russia, and Colombia, among others.

Legal frameworks around the world

Given the many issues the sex industry entails, how is it treated legally? Laws and actual conditions concerning the sex industry vary by country and region. According to the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) mapping of laws, legal approaches can broadly be classified into three models: criminalization, decriminalization, and legalization.

The criminalization model imposes punitive measures on the purchase, sale, or organization of sexual services. More specifically, it can be divided into six patterns: ① criminalization of sale; ② criminalization of organization; ③ criminalization of purchase and sale; ④ criminalization of sale and organization; ⑤ criminalization of purchase and organization; and ⑥ criminalization of purchase, sale, and organization（※5）. Even where the criminalization model is adopted, definitions of criminalized sexual services may differ by country, and laws may be hollow, resulting in the sex industry effectively flourishing in practice. Therefore, even if the legal classifications are the same, actual conditions can differ significantly.

Countries adopting ① criminalization of sale only include parts of Paraguay. Countries adopting ② criminalization of organization include several in Latin America such as Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile; in Africa such as Chad, Angola, and Mozambique; Kyrgyzstan in Asia; and Estonia in Europe. Countries adopting ③ criminalization of purchase and sale include Afghanistan only（※6）. Countries adopting ④ criminalization of sale and organization include many in Europe; many in South and Southeast Asia; many in Africa; parts of Australia; and, in Latin America, Mexico, Brazil, and Guyana, among others. Countries adopting ⑤ criminalization of purchase and organization include Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. In this model, the purchase and organization of sexual services are criminalized—effectively prohibiting the trade—while not imposing punitive measures on sellers. Countries adopting ⑥ criminalization of purchase, sale, and organization include the United States; in South America, Argentina; in Africa, Egypt, Sudan, and South Africa; countries in the Middle East; in Asia, Nepal, Vietnam, China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea; in Europe, Finland, the United Kingdom, and France; as well as parts of Australia.

HIV testing (Photo: Kyla Marino / Flickr [CC BY 2.0 DEED])

The legalization model is one in which the purchase, sale, and organization of sexual services are legal within the bounds set by law. In this model, the state sets laws regarding sex work, and acts that deviate from them are deemed illegal. Countries adopting this model include the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece, parts of Australia, the U.S. state of Nevada, and in South America, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, and Ecuador. For example, in Germany, local governments can restrict the methods and locations of sex work（※7）, and if sex work is conducted outside those parameters, fines or prison sentences may be imposed. In practice, areas where sex work can be freely conducted are limited to narrow zones.

Under the decriminalization model, no punitive measures are taken against the consensual purchase, sale, or organization of sexual services between adults. The aim of decriminalizing sex work is to integrate it into the labor market and to improve sex workers’ working conditions, which are often worsened by regulations under criminalization and certain legalization regimes. Currently, it is adopted in New Zealand and some Australian states and territories.

Debates over decriminalizing the sex industry

As seen, legal frameworks for the sex industry vary by country, and opinions differ on what is optimal. Views are particularly divided regarding the decriminalization model.

Arguments in favor of decriminalization hold that regulation under criminalization and some legalization models threatens sex workers’ rights in terms of safety and health, among others. Regarding safety, under criminalization, it can be difficult for sex workers to seek protection from the police when they experience violence related to sex work, making it harder to ensure their safety. When the purchase of sexual services is criminalized, clients choose transaction locations that are safe for them, making it harder for sex workers to secure their own safety. When organization is criminalized, it becomes difficult for sex workers to cooperate and work in shared, safer spaces or to hire security, resulting in inadequate protection for their safety at work. There are also criticisms of legal regulations under legalization models that do not respect sex workers’ rights.

International AIDS Conference, 2018 (Photo: juno mac / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED])

Criminalization is also reported to affect health, making it harder for sex workers to access health services including HIV prevention and treatment. In fact, a study focusing on sub-Saharan Africa found that in countries where sex work was criminalized, sex workers’ HIV infection rates were 7 times higher than in countries where it was partially legalized.

Those advocating decriminalization include international human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). According to Amnesty International, the decriminalization to be pursued is not the removal of all regulations on sex work, but the establishment of laws that protect sex workers from exploitation and abuse.

In contrast to decriminalization advocates who seek to recognize sex work as work and to protect sex workers’ right to work safely, some argue that prostitution is inherently violent and that decriminalization facilitates exploitation. Among those supporting these claims are religious leaders, former sex workers, and some feminists. For example, the Catholic Church maintains a stance of opposition to prostitution, and in Islam, prostitution is forbidden（※8）. Feminist perspectives on the sex industry also vary, and some criticize it as an act that objectifies women’s sexuality.

Protecting the rights of sex workers

In recent years, movements to defend the human rights of sex workers have gained momentum. Many organizations around the world work to protect sex workers’ rights to work safely, and since 1992 the membership organization Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) has been connecting these groups. NSWP operates based on three principles: recognizing sex work as labor; opposing the criminalization and legal oppression of sex workers; and supporting sex workers’ cooperation and self-determination. There is also the Red Umbrella Fund, a global fund supporting sex workers’ rights that NSWP helped establish. The red umbrella has become an international symbol of sex workers’ rights.

Sex workers calling for the decriminalization of sex work at the 2018 International AIDS Conference (Photo: juno mac / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED])

At present, full decriminalization of sex work has been enacted only in New Zealand and some parts of Australia. In New Zealand, sex work has been decriminalized since 2003, and in Australia’s Northern Territory, a law concerning the sex industry that took effect in 2020 fully decriminalized it.

Some countries are considering moving toward decriminalization. In South Africa, the cabinet introduced a bill to decriminalize sex work in 2022 and sought public comments. However, passage of the bill has since been postponed.

We will continue to watch how laws concerning the rights of sex workers develop around the world.

※1 A person whose sex assigned at birth and gender identity do not align.

※2 Human immunodeficiency virus. A virus that attacks the body’s immune system; without treatment, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

※3 A person whose sex assigned at birth and gender identity align.

※4 In Japan, there are many cases of minors engaged in sex-industry activities that constitute sex trafficking. Various methods exist, including “JK business,” in which high school girls walk and talk with adult men and go to love hotels; “enjo-kōsai” (compensated dating), in which adults have sexual acts, etc., with minors for money; and coercing minors to appear in pornography by posing as talent agencies. In these ways, minors are sexually exploited.

※5 In addition to the classifications covered here, the NSWP also identifies a model in which the sale of sexual services is legalized but organization is criminalized, which a small number of countries adopt.

※6 Information as of 2012, prior to the Taliban’s return to power.

※7　In Germany, laws designate the cities, areas, and districts where sex work is legal. Local regulations also vary; for example, in Munich and Frankfurt, sex workers are prohibited from doing sex work at clients’ homes or in their own homes.

※8 In the Islamic world there is a system of temporary marriage, and there are provisions that can temporarily permit prostitution.

Writer: MIKI Yuna