Prostitution Reform Act of 2003

Opponents of decriminalisation in New Zealand feared its introduction would lead to an explosion of brothels and human trafficking. In response to these concerns, a review was built into the Prostitution Reform Act of 2003, the new legislation decriminalising sex work. Five years after the act was introduced, the Prostitution Law Review Committee provided a report to the Ministry of Justice that found that the sex industry had not increased in size. The report stated that “the vast majority of people involved in the sex industry are better off under the [Prostitution Reform Act] than they were previously”. This disproportionately impacts women, who can now access health services and report violence experienced at work but could not when sex work was criminalised.