Dr Inga Thiemann published an article titled ‘Sex Work Regulation, Anti-trafficking Policy, and Their Effects on the Labour Rights of Sex Workers in Germany‘ in the International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations.
The article focuses on Germany as a case study of regulatory approaches to sex work, the status of sex workers’ labour rights, and the conflation of sex work and human trafficking. In particular, Dr Thiemann evaluates the Prostitution Act 2002 and the Act for the Regulation of the Sex Industry and the Protection of Persons engaged in Prostitution 2017 and its influence on those working in the sex industry, especially migrant women and those at risk of exploitation. It is argued that even though Germany was ready to accept sex work as work, it has failed to adopt a labour-rights approach to the regulation of sex work and the prevention of trafficking. According to Dr Thiemann, the Prostitute Protection Act 2017 had negative impact on the working conditions of sex workers and increased the level of stigma and insecurity of working conditions, especially for the most vulnerable groups of sex workers. The article argues that such situation had been caused by paternalistic approach based on prohibition and control, rather than a labour-rights approach viewing sex workers as right-holders who should be protected.
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