When sex work became legal in Victoria, Juanita* decided to quit her job at a brothel and begin working privately from her home in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
“It was a big relief,” she says. “I could set my hours, choose my clients and, most importantly, feel safe.”
But within weeks, a flyer from a “concerned resident” began to appear in the letterboxes of her neighbours, falsely claiming she was running an “illegal brothel” out of her home.
Juanita suspects the flyer was written by her former boss in retaliation for starting her own business. But regardless of who sent it, the damage was done – her local council received a complaint, launched an investigation and alerted her landlord.
She was then served with a formal breach of her rental agreement. Two more followed before she received a notice to vacate in October.
But Juanita won’t leave.
“I have done nothing wrong,” she says. “This is my home and I am following the rules.”
Sex work has been fully decriminalised in Victoria since 1 December 2023, meaning it is legally treated like any other business, including those operating from home, such as hairdressing salons or personal training studios.
Legal protections, which came into effect in 2022, also make it illegal to discriminate against a person based on their involvement in the sex industry.
But advocates say these changes aren’t widely known or understood in the community. Combined with cuts in funding to support services for sex workers, they say it could put those in the industry at risk.
“The decriminalisation legislation may have come into legal effect overnight, but it is only as effective as it’s known by everyone and enforced,” says Juanita’s lawyer, Emily Smith.
“If it isn’t known by councils and lawyers and real estate agents, then it’s certainly not going to be effective to reduce harm to sex workers, or the stigma and discrimination against them, which was the stated purpose of the legislation.
“The government can’t wipe their hands of this and say it’s job done.”
‘A common experience’
Smith works at Southside Justice, which was given $156,000 by the Victorian government in 2022 to establish a dedicated legal program for sex workers before decriminalisation.
The program is one of only two dedicated legal services for sex workers across Australia and Smith is the only lawyer in Victoria who solely represents clients in the industry.
She describes her role as that of a “shepherd,” guiding clients through the often overwhelming and complex legal system. In two years Smith has represented 90 clients in 334 separate incidents, including tenancy disputes and workplace issues.
She is preparing to file a case for Juanita with the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal if her landlord acts on the unlawful eviction notice. But, for many of her other clients, this is not an option.
“Many see the eviction notice, panic and comply. So unfortunately, by the time I connect with these clients, it is too late and they’ve been evicted into homelessness,” she says.
For these clients, she advises filing a complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
The VEOHRC commissioner, Ro Allen, told Guardian Australia since new protections for sex workers came into effect in 2022, they have received 26 complaints about the protected attribute “profession, trade and occupation” connected to sex work.
Allen said the four most raised complaints relate to being refused access to rental properties or accommodation, financial or advertising services or employment due to history as a sex worker.
“Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and to participate fully in society, regardless of the work they do,” Allen said. “Unfortunately, for people who work in the sex industry, discrimination has been a common experience.”
‘Police just aren’t interested’
Southside Justice’s work also extends to criminal matters, with Smith helping her clients report sexual assault, stalking, theft and breaches of intervention orders to police.
She says despite decriminalisation, sex workers still struggle to have their cases taken seriously by police.
“They aren’t getting an open door and welcoming arms,” Smith says, as she admits to often writing statements up for police in the hope it will force them to act.
“All they have to do is add their letterhead.”
As part of the reforms, Victoria police closed its specialised sex industry coordination unit, which Smith describes as highly specialised team that understood the challenges faced by the industry.
“It is a loss,” Smith says. “I feel like I can’t guarantee to workers the safety of some of our public services at this point.”
Fiona Patten, the former upper house MP whose 2019 parliamentary review into sex work led to the legislative overhaul, said despite the new laws being among the “most progressive in Australia” they were “yet to be implemented in a meaningful way”.
She points to key recommendations from her review, including the establishment of police liaison officers to help manage the transition to decriminalisation, which never materialised.
“Police just aren’t interested in protecting sex workers and I don’t know if the public is either,” Patten says, pointing to the nine-year prison term for a man who killed two migrant sex workers within 24 hours in Melbourne last year.
“There was no great outrage. There was no moment of silence in our parliaments. There were no people going out in the streets demanding better safety for sex workers.
“If that had been two other women with different backgrounds, I think there may have been a different response.”
Victoria police confirmed that its specialised unit had closed on 1 December 2023 due to “responsibility ceasing as an industry regulator”. It said due to its “changing role in the industry”, sex work liaison officers had not eventuated.
A spokesperson said police “undertook a range of measures to ensure a smooth transition for the final stage of sex work decriminalisation”, including an introduction of mandatory training for all officiers.
“While Victoria police’s role in the sex work industry has changed, our obligation and commitment to ensuring community safety remains the same,” they said.
Meanwhile, Vixen, a prominent advocacy organisation for sex workers, had its funding halved, and the government’s funding for Southside Justice dried up in June.
The Victorian Legal Services Board stepped up to provide $350,000 of further funding to prevent their immediate and imminent closure but the community legal centre is seeking $2.5m from the government over four years to expand the team.
In parliament, the Animal Justice party MP Georgie Purcell has taken up Patten’s mantle, advocating for Southside Justice and Vixen to receive more funding.
“As a former stripper, I know all too well the stigma attached to sex work and the discrimination that comes with it too,” she says. “I saw it as an obligation and a duty to continue this vital work.”
Purcell says the decriminalisation of sex work followed a “pattern of behaviour” by the government, where it makes “bold, progressive announcement” but fails to follow through.
A spokesperson for the Victorian government said it had not cut funding for Southside Justice, describing the grant as “specific and limited” to help with the transition to decriminalisation.
They said the government continued to “support sex workers through funding for advocacy organisations, as well as developing resources and guidance for the industry”.
* Name has been changed
