Australia’s laws regulating prostitution are a tangled knot of inconsistencies, from one end of the country to the other.

As the South Australian parliament continues to examine legislation to decriminalise prostitution in the state, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the South Australian Police could not support the current bill even though police do “not object to the decriminalisation of sex work per se”.

Following the publication of our piece in the Spectator (“It’s time outrage at sexual exploitation extended to prostitution”), former Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm hit back with an article arguing for the decriminalisation of prostitution and taking issue with our argument that women are harmed by prostitution.

By Linda Watson

A story has surfaced about a prostitute in Adelaide who alleged she was raped after a male client removed his condom without consent during sex.

Appearing before a parliamentary committee on the Repeal of Sex Work Offences Bill this week, Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier expressed her support for decriminalising prostitution in South Australia and criticised the current law for not providing adequate protections to those in the industry.

Last week police discovered a sex slave ring in a Brisbane home, where women aged 17-24 were recruited, drugged, branded, prostituted and filmed by Matthew James Markcrow, 35, and his partner Crystal Marie Sawyer, 23.

A support worker from Beyond the Streets has written of their experiences trying to help vulnerable women who sell sex on the streets.

By Rachael Wong

As activists continue to call for the liberalisation of prostitution laws in Australia, Canadian sex trade survivor and abolitionist Andrea Heinz has made some poignant comments that in the words of Australian activist Melinda Tankard Reist, “you don’t see very often”.

By Rachael Wong

Today, Israel will become the 8^th country to institute a “Nordic Model” law combating human trafficking and prostitution (the two being inextricably interlinked). Joining Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Canada, France and Ireland, Israel will make buying or attempting to buy sex illegal. The landmark law will be introduced in conjunction with public education and rehabilitation services for prostituted persons.