Advocates call for reform of SA sex work laws following stripper’s club settlement

Scared for their safety and silenced by law, South Australian strippers have called for long-awaited reforms after secret claims were levelled against an SA club.

South Australian strippers are calling for major reform of the sex work industry in the wake of allegations against a popular city club.

A performer, known as “Luna”, asserted she was dropped by the club after she raised concerns about its alleged lack of measures protecting performers from clients.

But advocates say workers in the industry will remain effectively silenced until sex work is decriminalised in the state.

In SA, any sexual touching between a client and a performer can be prosecuted as a criminal offence and leave a business liable to licencing action.

Counsel for Luna told The Advertiser their client was unable to comment, given the confidential out-of-court settlement in the South Australian Employment Tribunal.

Members of the Sex Industry Network protest outside the South Australian parliament in 2019. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The tribunal‘s registrar, meanwhile, declined The Advertiser’s application to look at the court file, also citing the settlement.

But the case prompted the launch of the South Australian Stripper Hub (SASH), a peer-led support hub which aims to assist workers in exercising their rights.

The website offers resources and industry contacts for strippers concerned about their work environments or safety.

With sex work currently a criminal offence in South Australia, many in the industry feel they cannot speak up to authorities for fear of police prosecution.

Sex work was decriminalised in NSW in 1995 and legalised – which means regulated – in Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and NT.

There have been 13 attempts to decriminalise the industry in SA since the 1980s, the most recent of which – supported by then Attorney-General Vickie Chapman – was knocked down in 2019.

Greens MLC Tammy Franks. Picture: Mike Burton

Greens MP Tammy Franks, whose Repeal of Sex Work Offences Bill was the topic of a parliamentary inquiry in 2021, said workers would not find their voice until current “archaic” laws were amended.

Ms Franks said South Australia was currently the only state or territory in which workers could not publicly organise as a collective to protect their rights.

“Usually, we would advise anyone who is a worker, if they face exploitation or adverse environments, to join their union and exercise their legal rights … sex workers cannot,” Ms Franks told The Advertiser.

A joint investigation between The Messenger and Ms Franks’ office found evidence of more than 62 brothels in Adelaide but that number was believed to be much higher.

Franks said a simple Bill presented to a select committee to remove specific crimes from the Summary Offences Act and Criminal Law Consolidation Act had received support from those who had reservations in the past, including mainstream religious organisations.

Under current law, the act of soliciting prostitution attracts a maximum penalty of $750, but those found to be living on the earnings from prostitution can be fined up to $2,500 or jailed for six months.

“Sex work is, by nature, still illegal. Until we move on from that position, we won’t see those who are exploited able to find justice and able to speak out,” Ms Franks said.

She told The Advertiser she hoped to come to a resolution on the decriminalisation of sex work early in this parliament.

In 2021, Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said decriminalising sex work would mean better health outcomes – and not just for sex workers.