Decrim now world news digest for May 2026

Sex Workers in the Paris Senate Proposing an Alternative After 10 Years of the End-Demand Model in France

France, Paris

May 12, 2026

Legal frameworks for remunerated sexual services often reveal a weakness in our democracies: how to protect sex workers as a marginalized group without patronizing them. A bill recently introduced in the French Senate proposes to replace the current End-Demand legislation with full decriminalization. Drafted by a mixed group of interdisciplinary researchers and sex workers of different backgrounds, the bill tackles this weakness head-on.

Sex workers’ active participation of in drafting the bill led to a nuanced and detailed text. It not only eliminates incoherencies in the existing legal framework, but also emphasises the protection of sex workers’ rights – and therefore, crucially, has the support of those affected.

the research project “Droit(s) et Politique(s) du Travail Sexuel 2026” ,created at the Centre de Recherches Critiques sur le Droit (CERCRID) at the University of St. Étienne, France, aimed at a new approach. It brought together a multidisciplinary team of academic researchers, sex workers, sex worker-led organizations (e.g. Fédération du Parapluie Rouge, Tullia) and allies (Médecins du Monde) to work out a legislative proposal that considers the needs of sex workers from the outset. The project culminated in a bill that Paris senator Anne Souyris introduced in the French Senate. A two-day conference accompanied the introduction, taking stock of a decade of End-Demand legislation and setting out the circumstances of the new project.

The heart of the project was a community consultation involving around 70 people who participated in workshops supported by translators and, where needed, cultural mediation. The research group collectively developed criteria for workshop participation to ensure a representation of the broad range of sex workers as well as third parties, differing in migration background, age and situation. Participating organizations across France received these criteria and either reached out to individuals within their clientele who matched the relevant profile or circulated the information in their network. These workshops mapped out sex workers’ concerns, which the team later used to draft the bill.

What are the proposed changes?

The bill takes a broad approach. Rather than creating special legislation for sex workers, it integrates them into existing legal frameworks like criminal law and employment law that already contain protective mechanisms suited to securing sex workers’ human rights. Unlike the 2016 legislation, which leaned heavily on values like equality and human dignity, this text focuses strikingly on whether its regulations will concretely improve sex workers’ living and working conditions. It therefore contains hardly any provisions open to accusations of moral policymaking. This also means fewer incoherencies – to name only the most glaring: criminalizing payment for a service whose provision is not itself illegal.

In criminal law, this translates into abolishing all pimping offenses, which currently extend to almost all third party-related activity, as well as the criminalization of demand for sexual services. Instead, the bill proposes to focus explicitly on harmful and exploitative conduct which existing criminal offenses such as slavery, forced labour, human trafficking and extortion already cover.

The bill also recognizes sex work not exercised under exploitative conditions as a legal economic activity (activité économique licite) under the French employment code. It proposes tax breaks as incentives to create businesses where sex workers hold effective control, an option considered less susceptible to exploitation. To combat stigma, the bill proposes adding discrimination on the grounds of a legal economic activity to art. 225-1 of the Criminal Code.

The bill centers sex workers as experts on their own situation. Community organizations therefore play a key role: they are the ones who oversee safe working conditions and coordinate the exit programs that are to be reshaped more broadly into programs offering access to rights, social integration, and career transitions.

The bill addresses the diversity of sex workers’ situations by including an article restricting abusive business strategies for online platforms. Lastly, it addresses the protection of minors, which the evaluation of the 2016 legislation identified as an overlooked problem.

This is only the beginning, and the bill still has a long way to go. Its prospects remain uncertain in a French political climate increasingly marked by conservative shifts and anti-immigration sentiment. Outside the sex worker community, the abolitionist End-Demand model continues to enjoy support. Yet the project is already breaking new ground.

Source portal verfassungsblog.de

Dutch Cabinet wants to tighten ban on pimps, and raise legal sex work age to 21

Netherlands, Den Haag

May 13, 2026

The Dutch government is exploring the possibility of introducing a “pimp ban” to tackle abusive facilitators in the sex industry who take advantage of vulnerable sex workers. It is also moving ahead with plans to raise the minimum age for sex work from 18 to 21.

Municipalities will also be given stronger enforcement powers. A Municipal Supervision of Sex Businesses Act (Wgts) will be introduced, allowing municipalities to “process sex workers’ data for the supervision and enforcement of the sex industry,” according to the Ministry of Justice and Security. The bill will be sent to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, “very soon.”

The government says the measures are intended to improve safety in the sex work industry and strengthen the legal position of sex workers. It will continue consultations with relevant stakeholders in the sector.

Justice Minister David van Weel of the VVD described the sex work sector as a “very difficult industry.” He said he wants to address abuses without making sex work impossible or further stigmatising it. According to him, 21-year-olds are generally more resilient than 18-year-olds and therefore less vulnerable to exploitation in the sector.

He says banning pimps or so-called “loverboys” is legally complex. A study due later this year is expected to explore how such a prohibition could be properly supported under the law.

Source portal nltimes.nl

Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Scenes Trigger Backlash and Industry Criticism

USA

May 2026

Sydney Sweeney’s latest “Euphoria” scenes sparked widespread online backlash after HBO aired explicit fantasy and OnlyFans-related sequences involving her character Cassie Howard.

The episode featured a surreal dream sequence in which Cassie grew to giant size while wearing a cheetah-print bodysuit and later filmed explicit subscription content.

Critics on social media described the scenes as excessive, while real-life OnlyFans creators accused the show of misrepresenting the platform and sex work industry.

“Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson defended the controversial storyline, describing the scenes as intentionally absurd and emotionally “depressing.”

Real-Life OnlyFans Creators Accused ‘Euphoria’ of Misrepresentation

The backlash expanded beyond television audiences after several OnlyFans creators publicly criticized the series for what they described as inaccurate and harmful portrayals of online sex work.

Former actress and OnlyFans creator Maitland Ward said the show treated sex work as a fantasy rather than a real profession.

She criticized the show’s use of baby-themed and animal-themed content involving Cassie, arguing that it reflected stereotypes created by writers disconnected from the industry. Ward also condemned scenes portraying “age play,” stating that such material violates OnlyFans policies.

OnlyFans creator Sydney Leathers echoed those concerns, explaining that many of the activities depicted on-screen would not be permitted under the platform’s Acceptable Use Policy. She pointed specifically to the baby-themed scenes as examples of content that would trigger moderation issues or account removal in reality.

Adult creator Alix Lynx acknowledged that parts of Cassie’s marketing strategy reflected real influencer culture but argued the series oversimplified how creators actually build sustainable businesses online. She said successful creators spend years building loyal audiences rather than instantly earning large sums through shocking content alone.

Former “Skins” actress Megan Prescott also criticized Hollywood’s portrayal of sex workers, arguing that productions frequently discuss the industry without consulting people who actually work within it.

Source portal mabumbe.com

Montreal sex workers chose F1’s Canadian GP to strike: ‘We don’t want to pay to work anymore’

Canada, Montreal

May 23, 2026

Sex workers of Canada protested for better conditions and decriminalization in Montreal during the 2026 F1 Grand Prix weekend.

As Canadian Grand Prix qualifying took place at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Saturday, a different kind of rally took place in Montreal’s downtown core.

Sex workers announced they’d be going on strike during one of Montreal’s busiest weekends of the year. Over one hundred sex workers and allies walked the streets and protested in the name of improved wages and working conditions.

“Grand Prix was a good opportunity because our employers make a lot of money,” said Adore Goldman, co-founder of the Sex Work Autonomous Committee (SWAC), established in 2019. “But…often we don’t make that much money because they overbook. They book a lot of girls, and they raise the bar (fees). So, in the end, it’s just a normal night. Sometimes even worse.”

The protest comes against a complex legal backdrop. In Canada, selling sexual services is legal, but purchasing them is a criminal offense under Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, passed in 2014. This means sex workers themselves operate legally, while their clients do not. That leaves workers in a precarious position, unable to fully access labor protections or report workplace incidents without exposing their clients to prosecution.

Protesters are calling for the abolition of bar fees, which sex workers have to pay before working shifts in clubs. Through speaking with numerous workers, The Athletic learned bar fees could range from $15 to $140.

“We don’t want to have to pay to work anymore,” said Goldman.

Some protesters gave speeches at the city’s Parc de la Paix, located in Montreal’s former Red Light District, before walking and chanting along the pedestrian portion of Sainte-Catherine Street and onto Boulevard René Levesque, then assembling in the city’s Dorchester Square park.

“We’re done watching our community fall further into the margins and further into precarity,” said one protester, Kit, in a speech before their march began. “We’re done with the status quo.

“We have numbers in this fight. We are your neighbors, friends and family. We’re here to show the sex workers of the world that we deserve rights and we must fight for them.”

Many protesters held signs advocating for their cause, with some using broken hockey sticks as shafts. The signs ranged from clever, like ‘F— the patriarchy, but not for free,’ to revealing, like ‘I am a client, I am a criminal’.

Sex workers also want to be protected by labor laws so they can have access to unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation in case they’re injured on the job. Sex workers and escorts are typically self-employed contractors and not salaried, meaning they rely heavily on tips from patrons.

“I think it’s a moment to show our strength,” sex worker May said. “I think striking is a good way of showing how threatening it is. We’ve had rumors of clubs threatening their workers not to go on strike, otherwise they’ll be fired. So, they’re stressed. It shows that it has an impact on them.”

And performers want to use events like Saturday’s strike as an example that they can fend for themselves.

“We also want to show that sex workers are able to organize and make sure that we are (safe) by ourselves,” Goldman said. “We don’t need the police to come in our workplace to save us, because usually that doesn’t really work.

“I think we want to highlight that it’s from the labor laws that we’re going to get better working conditions. It’s not from criminalization.”

Source portal nytimes.com

Draft bill on decriminalising sex work submitted to Parliament of Thailand, urging standard labour protections to industry workers

Thailand, Bangkok

May 28, 2026

"Draft Bill Seeks Labour Rights for Sex Workers in Thailand", 28 May 2026

A foundation advocating for sex workers submitted a draft bill to parliament … that would decriminalise sex work and extend labour protections to those in the industry.

The Empower Foundation presented the proposed Sex Service Provider Protection Act to the House of Representatives …, where it was received by an adviser to House Speaker Sophon Zarum on his behalf…

A foundation representative said the existing Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1996 is outdated, as it criminalises voluntary sex workers, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and discrimination.

The proposed law would repeal the 1996 act and recognise sex work as legitimate labour, entitling workers to the same basic protections as those in other professions.

“This bill is not an endorsement of sex work,” the representative said. “It is about respecting the decisions of those who do this work and ensuring they receive the same basic rights as anyone else — nothing more, nothing less.”

The foundation said the legislation would also address safety concerns for clients and business operators, arguing that a legal framework is needed to protect all parties involved.

Source portal business-humanrights.org

’Will Remain Very Close To Our Hearts...’: SC of India Issues Directions To Curb Sex Trafficking Of Children, Women

India, New Dehli

May 29, 2026

The Supreme Court of India laid down a comprehensive legal framework to combat human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and ensure dignified rehabilitation of survivors nationwide.

The judgment was delivered by a bench led by Justice J B Pardiwala. The bench issued binding directions to establish a nationwide “victim protection plan” covering rescue, identification, rehabilitation, prosecution, and institutional coordination. The bench called trafficking a "direct assault on constitutional dignity."

Justice Pardiwala, pronouncing the judgment, said, “This will remain very close to our hearts because it will go a long way in protecting vulnerable young girls and women.”

The bench underscored that consent remains the decisive factor in distinguishing trafficking from voluntary adult sex work. To guard against misuse of anti-trafficking laws, it directed police and rescue authorities to conduct an immediate threshold inquiry before resorting to coercive action.

The bench said that consent becomes legally irrelevant when trafficking is established through force, coercion, deception, or exploitation.

The bench observed that rescue operations under Sections 15 and 16 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 must focus on identifying exploitation, coercion, trafficking, abuse, or force, not indiscriminately criminalising vulnerable individuals involved in sex work based on their consent.

The apex court held that the right to rehabilitation flows directly from Article 21 and is integral to the right to live with dignity. The victim protection plan mandates minimum standards for shelter homes, mental health care, vocational training, compensation, legal aid, witness protection, and reintegration measures.

The bench integrated the Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO Act into the anti-trafficking framework, directing closer coordination among Child Welfare Committees, Anti-Human Trafficking Units, one stop centres, legal aid authorities, and state protection homes.

The apex court said the matter will be listed again after three months for monitoring compliance by the Centre and all states and Union Territories.

Source portal etvbharat.com