Source: Family First
MEDIA RELEASE – 21 June 2025
PROSTITUTION LAW REVIEW: BENEFITS EXAGGERATED, SHORTCOMINGS IGNORED, DENIED OR HIDDEN
Family First says that a TVNZ report on child prostitution is no surprise, given the lack of oversight of the law and a failure to formally review its many failings.
An indepth review in 2021 of the effects of the 2003 prostitution law change revealed a huge gap between the reputation of the law and its actual impact. The detailed analysis challenged the assumption that the decriminalisation of prostitution has been a success, finding the benefits of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 (PRA) have been exaggerated and its shortcomings ignored, denied or hidden.
“IS IT WORKING? An evidenced-based review of the decriminalisation of prostitution in New Zealand” highlighted several significant concerns:
Increased numbers of prostitutes. The New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective has failed to collect accurate data on the numbers of people involved in prostitution, despite being contracted by the Government to do so.
Health and safety violations – and the reality of violence. Continuing health and safety violations include coercion into unwanted sex acts, high levels of violence, physical injury, unsafe sex, and exploitative practices such as long working hours. Violence is a risk every prostitute takes on a daily basis. Assault, rape and strangulation are not uncommon.
What other business or sector of society in New Zealand would tolerate this – and yet the sex industry is sold as a success story. Where is the Occupational Safety and Health? No other work employment sector has a risk factor where rape is considered an inherent part of the work, and why would we want a family member to be in a type of work where there is a 35% chance of being sexually molested i.e forced to accept sex from a man they did not want to.
Fuelled by increasingly violent pornography and a notorious drinking culture, punters frequently enjoy hurting women; overseas studies show that some men think raping a prostitute is not even possible. As a result, studies continue to document depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, dissociative disorders and bipolar disorder in women involved in prostitution.
Yet New Zealand’s official Health and Safety Manual for prostitution normalises violence and coercion by advising prostitutes to ‘identify potentially dangerous situations,’ and to devise strategies ‘to protect themselves.’ The prostitutes’ collective stated openly in 2016 that it was impossible to wipe out violence in the industry.
Low rates of reporting and prosecuting violations. Fewer than 20% of those who had been physically assaulted reported it to the police. Since 2003 there have been only two prosecutions for coercion – committed usually by women’s managers (pimps) – despite repeated reports that it happens frequently.
Street workers experience 2 to 3 times more violence than other workers, and actual serious violence (rape, holding against will, and physical violence) are significantly underreported to the Police. Even the Prostitute Collective’s reports to the Ministry of Health make frequent mention of violence and coercion, often by brothel ‘managers’ (pimps).
The black market. The industry realities of gang involvement, child exploitation and internal trafficking are largely denied or ignored by the NZPC. The Ministry for Children confirmed that under-age prostitution was not a target area and that no funding had been made available to tackle it.
Lack of support for exiting the industry. No resources have been provided to support women who wish to exit the industry. When the law reform was being debated, it was promoted as helping to prevent entry and facilitate exiting, however the NZPC does not support that approach.
Failure to implement recommended changes: A review of the law reform in 2008 made 28 recommendations, however, only 11 have been followed through in any way.
Despite dangerous conditions continuing, New Zealand’s prostitution law reform has been widely lauded – particularly overseas – as beneficial for the women involved. The report identifies the main reason for this misinformation: the conversation is dominated by the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC), a lobby group whom the Government relies on overwhelmingly for information regarding any issue related to prostitution.
TVNZ also fell into this same trap.
The report found that the NZPC does not provide support for those wishing to exit, has no official contact with the black market of prostitution, and plays down the industry-wide realities of violence and exploitation – denying the existence of under-age abuse and internal trafficking, rejecting the voices of exited women, and amplifying the voices of pimps.
When implementing the law reform in 2003, Parliament was clear that its impact should be fully scrutinised. Five years later, in 2008, the Prostitution Law Reform Committee’s review of the new law recommended assessing it again in 2018. Such an assessment never happened, and the Ministry of Justice says there are no plans to review the law again – in spite of the fact only 11 of the 28 recommendations made by the 2008 review have been implemented.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including a focus on child sexual exploitation and trafficking; funding and resourcing exiting & prevention (including awareness of the impacts of pornography); and ultimately, the recriminalisation of brothels and pimping.
READ THE FULL REPORT