Sex work

What is sex work?

Sex work is hard to define and can take many forms.

It can include the exchange of the following for payment or reward:

• intimacy and companionship
• sexual activity with another person
• sexually explicit entertainment or content.

Not everyone who engages in these activities for payment or reward identifies as a sex worker.

There are many different types of sex work in Victoria, including:

• bondage and discipline or sadomasochism (BDSM) work
• brothel-based sex work
• escort agency-based sex work
• online content creation
• massage parlour-based sex work
• porn performance
• private or independent sex work
• street-based sex work
• stripping.

Many sex workers do more than one type of sex work at the same time.

People who see sex workers are referred to as clients.

Sex work can include a wide range of consensual sexual activities with a client, such as:

• kissing
• oral sex
• vaginal sex
• anal sex.

These are sometimes called services. Sex workers choose which services they offer and which they don’t.

Sex work that involves in-person sexual activity with a client, such as vaginal or anal sex, is referred to as full-service sex work.

Some forms of sex work, such as porn performance or stripping, may not involve any direct sexual activity with a client.

Sex workers

It’s impossible to tell what someone’s job is just by looking at them. Sex workers are no different. Sex workers in Victoria are incredibly diverse.

There are female, male and non-binary sex workers in Victoria. Some are transgender while others are cisgender. Some sex workers have intersex variations. Sex workers can be of any sexual orientation.

An individual sex worker’s gender presentation or sexuality while working may be different than in their private life.

There are sex workers of all ages, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds in Victoria.

Some sex workers do other jobs as well as sex work, while for others sex work is their main livelihood.

Support for sex workers

The Victorian Government’s Department of Health funds several services to support sex workers in Victoria.

Vixen

Vixen is a peer-only sex worker organisation based in Brunswick. Vixen is a member of Scarlet Alliance, the Australian Sex Workers Association.

Vixen is run 100 per cent by and for sex workers, and offers a range of services and programs, including:

• peer education
• sex worker community events
• sex worker only drop-in spaces
• peer outreach
• peer court support
• training for services and professionals working with sex workers.

Resourcing Health and Education (RhED)

Resourcing Health and Education (RhED) is a community health program of the Better Health Network based in St Kilda.

RhED is staffed by sex worker affirmative professionals including current and former sex workers with diverse lived experience. RhED offers a range of services and programs for sex workers, including:

• peer education
• workshops and events
• outreach
• RED magazine
• case management
• training for services and professionals working with sex workers.

Both organisations offer dedicated support for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and migrant sex workers, including resources in languages other than English.

Decriminalisation of sex work

Sex work is being decriminalised in Victoria in 2 stages in 2022 and 2023.

This means that offences and criminal penalties for adults participating in sex work are being removed in most circumstances. These changes have been most significant for full-service sex workers.

Sex work will continue to be regulated by occupational health and safety law like all other work in Victoria.

More information about decriminalisation can be found on the Sex worker health page of the Department of Health website or by contacting Vixen or RhED.

Sex work stigma

There are many myths and stereotypes about sex work that are harmful to sex workers.

For example, some people assume that sex work is degrading and that sex workers are victims in need of rescue. In reality, sex work is a skilled occupation that people choose for a wide variety of reasons, like all other occupations.

Some people assume that sex workers engage in risky sexual behaviours or have high rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs). In reality, sex workers in Australia consistently practise safer sex and have very low rates of STIs.

Sex workers in Australia have a long history of labour and human rights activism.

Sexual health of sex workers

Most sex workers in Victoria already have a very good understanding of sexual health.

To support the decriminalisation of sex work, the Department of Health has developed guidance for the sex industry that recognises and builds on this knowledge.

The guidance describes important sexual health practices. It is most relevant for full-service sex workers.

Practices that sex workers can engage in to support sexual health include:

• learning about STIs and how they are transmitted
• getting tested regularly for STIs even if they don’t have symptoms
• engaging in safer sex practices such as condom use with a compatible lube
• checking clients for visible signs of an STI before sex
• educating clients about STIs and how they are transmitted.

Free safer sex supplies such as condoms, dental dams, gloves and lube are available from Vixen and RhED.

STI testing is widely available from GPs, sexual health clinics and hubs, family planning clinics and some community health centres. Both Vixen and RhED maintain a list of services that are sex worker friendly.

Clients of sex workers

Clients of sex workers in Victoria are incredibly diverse. Not all clients are men.

Like sex workers, clients can also experience stigma. There is nothing shameful about seeing a sex worker. People choose to see sex workers for a wide variety of reasons.

Clients can also engage in practices to support sexual health, including:

• learning about STIs
• getting tested regularly for STIs
• letting sex workers check for visible signs of an STI before sex
• using condoms, dental dams, and gloves with a compatible lube.

Respect and good communication are essential when seeing a sex worker. Clients should always communicate directly and honestly about their desires and respect the individual boundaries of each sex worker.

Where to get help

• Sex worker health, Department of Health, Victorian Government
• STI and BBV prevention for the sex industry, Department of Health, Victorian Government
• Guidance for sex workers living with HIV, Department of Health, Victorian Government
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre Tel. (03) 9341 6200
• Resourcing Health and Education (RhED) Tel. 1800 458 752
• Scarlet Alliance Tel. (02) 9517 2577
• Scarlet Alliance Redbook
• Touching Base
• Vixen Tel. (03) 9079 9050
• WorkSafe Tel. 1800 136 089