Decrim now world news digest for October 2025

Capital Territory of Australia considers policy changes to sex work

Australia, Canberra

October 5, 2025

Attorney-General Tara Cheyne considers policy changes after push to decriminalise Canberra sex work in ACT by Hilary Caldwell (on photo), Mish Pony and Scarlet Alliance.

The ACT Attorney-General is considering changes to sex work laws, with advocates pushing for the decriminalization of the industry. This approach would remove specific laws targeting sex work and treat it like any other industry, aiming to reduce stigma and improve safety and rights for sex workers. The ACT government is currently reviewing these laws, with proposals including repealing specific offences related to working alone, public solicitation, and advertising. 

Key aspects of proposed changes:

• Decriminalization: 

The main goal is to treat sex work as a form of labor, not a crime, thereby removing specific laws that single out sex workers. 

• Reduced Stigma: 

Removing criminal penalties is intended to reduce the stigma and discrimination sex workers face. 

• Improved Safety and Rights: 

Advocates argue that decriminalization would give sex workers the same rights and legal protections as other workers, potentially improving their health and safety. 

• Focus on General Laws: 

Instead of specific sex work laws, the proposal suggests applying general laws for all businesses, such as those related to public health, advertising, and public safety, to the sex work industry. 

• Current Offences: 

Specific offenses under review include those related to working alone, public solicitation, and advertising, as well as health-related offenses. 

Source portal canberratimes.com.au

Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill Launched in Ireland

Ireland, Dublin

October 20, 2025

On Monday, October 20th, 2025 TD Ruth Coppinger launched a decriminalisation of sex work bill. The bill removes criminal sanctions for sex workers working together or hiring people to assist their work (e.g., security or a driver). In a press release from Red Umbrella Éireann, they made sure to underscore that the bill does not decriminalise violence against sex workers, including rape, exploitation, or trafficking. They wrote “the current client criminalisation and brothel-keeping laws have failed and have actively made the lives of current sex workers worse”.

The bill was co-created by Red Umbrella Éireann, the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland and the Street Workers Collective. Red Umbrella Éireann said they were “drawing on lived experience and mountains of evidence to bring forward a piece of legislation to fully decriminalise sex work and introduce regulations that centre the safety of sex workers”.

Coppinger said, criticising the 2017 Sexual Offences Act, that “Violence against sex workers, either by clients or by members of the Gardaí, remains widespread” and that the current legislation has made “[sex workers] more vulnerable to this violence”. Coppinger will be bringing the bill into the Dáil and pursuing support from TDs and Senators to progress the bill.

Red Umbrella Éireann claims that since the introduction of the 2017 bill under the “Nordic Model”, violence against sex workers has increased by 92%. UglyMugs.ie, a report service for sex workers in Ireland, showed that in the first year after the law, there was a 54% increase in crime and a 77% increase in violent crime.

The Street Workers Collective said the bill “is a direct response to this policy failure”, adding “You cannot criminalise people out of poverty”, and that the bill is “focused on protecting sex workers in work and removing barriers for those who want to do something else rather than trapping people in a punitive system”.

Linda Kavanagh, a spokesperson for Sex Workers Ireland, said, “Anyone who cares about violence against sex workers, violence against women, the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, migrants, undocumented people, people in poverty and insecure housing or homelessness, people in addiction and people with disabilities MUST support this bill.”

The bill is influenced by existing decriminalisation laws in New Zealand and parts of Australia, and Belgium.

Source portal universitytimes.ie

Over 80,000 sex workers in Sri Lanka: call for legal framework and rights protection

Sri Lanka, Colombo

October 25, 2025

A recent survey has revealed that over 80,000 sex workers are currently active in Sri Lanka.

Addressing a media briefing organized by the Praja Shakthi Development Foundation at the Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo yesterday (24), Professor Prathibha Mahanamahewa, Attorney-at-Law, stressed the importance of registering and regulating sex workers under a proper legal framework.

He pointed out that individuals engaged in sex work — both women and men — should be granted basic human rights and social recognition, emphasizing that marginalization only worsens their vulnerability.

Professor Mahanamahewa also highlighted the urgent need to expand comprehensive sex education within the school system, noting it as a sustainable solution to social and health-related challenges connected to the issue.

At the same event, Dr. Harischandra Yakandawala stated that around 95% of sex workers currently practice safe methods, including condom use, which has contributed to a significant decline in sexually transmitted diseases.

He further stressed that age-appropriate sex education should be introduced from pre-school through higher grades, as many students still lack awareness of basic sexual health.

Meanwhile, H. A. Lakshman, Executive Director of the Praja Shakthi Development Foundation, emphasized the need for a shift in public attitudes to integrate female sex workers into society without discrimination.

He noted that the foundation is currently implementing awareness and support programs for more than 10,000 sex workers in the Colombo, Kurunegala, and Hambantota districts.

Source portal dailynews.lk

New legislation criminalizing sex work in Kazakhstan is cause for concern

Kazakhstan

October 25, 2025

Statement of the European AIDS Treatment Group

In recent years, global trends in sex work legislation have been mixed, with many countries maintaining or expanding punitive approaches despite growing advocacy for decriminalization. Some governments, particularly in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Africa, have intensified crackdowns on sex work under the guise of public health or anti-trafficking efforts, often increasing surveillance, fines, and police harassment. At the same time, there has been a notable rise in grassroots and international human rights advocacy pushing for the decriminalization of sex work, citing its potential to reduce violence, improve health outcomes, and uphold the rights of sex workers. However, progress has been uneven, and the global policy environment remains largely hostile, with only a few countries, such as New Zealand and parts of Australia, adopting fully decriminalized models.

Like many countries in the region, Kazakhstan has intensified enforcement measures under the banner of public order and anti-trafficking. Last year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed Law No. 110-VIII on Countering Human Trafficking. Upon taking effect in September 2024, this law redefined the parameters of sexual services in the context of anti-trafficking efforts, which has raised concern among public health and human rights experts due to its potential consequences for those engaged in sex work. By broadly defining potential victims of human trafficking to include individuals in vulnerable positions due to socioeconomic factors, such as homelessness or unemployment, this legislation conflates sex work with trafficking and assumes that all individuals engaged in sex work are coerced. While the stated objectives—protecting women and children from exploitation—may be well-intentioned, the practical implications of this legislation may disproportionately harm women who engage in sex work, violating their fundamental human rights and undermining their health and safety.

Read the full perspective, published in Health and Human Rights, here.

Source portal eatg.org