Belgium made history on Sunday as the first country in the world to allow sex workers to sign formal employment contracts — granting them access to sick days, maternity pay and pension.
The new law also guarantees fundamental rights for sex workers, including the ability to refuse clients, set the conditions of an act, and stop an act at any moment.
Lawmakers passed the law in May but it officially took effect on Sunday.
"I am a very proud Belgium sex worker right now," Mel Meliciousss, who is part of the Belgian union of sex workers, UTSOPI, said on her Instagram. "People who are already working in the industry will be much more protect[ed], and also people who are going to work in the industry also know what their rights are."
