Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association and Te Waka Kaimahi Kairau o Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers’ Collective submission to the call for input to the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls to the UN Human Rights Council 56th Session, June 2024

with introduction by the Australian Council of Trade Unions:

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is Australia’s sole peak body of trade unions, consisting of affiliated unions and State and regional trades and labour councils. There are currently 43 ACTU affiliates who together have over 1.7 million members engaged across a broad spectrum of industries and occupations in the public and private sector.

The ACTU supports the submission of Scarlet Alliance, the national body representing Australian sex workers, in response to the pending report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, to be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council 56th session in June 2024.

Sex workers deserve the same and equal rights as other workers including conditions of employment and work health and safety laws. The adoption of respectful language that is inclusive to sex workers is critical to preserving and promoting sex workers’ human rights and dignity. The use of correct terminology is necessary to remove the stigma that has pervaded the industry.

The criminalisation of sex work enables the continued acceptance of gender-based violence towards sex workers. Decriminalisation and equal treatment of workers in the industry is crucial to preserve the human rights of sex workers.