‘I’ve been called a whore by a GP’: Calls to repeal mandatory sex worker health testing

When Eva* sat in her GP’s office, the last thing she expected to feel was unsafe and uncomfortable.

“I’ve personally been called a whore by a GP,” the Brisbane-based sex worker said.

Queensland is set to join three other Australian jurisdictions in decriminalising sex work.Credit: Anthony Johnson

“Stigma and discrimination is a major barrier to healthcare for sex workers.”

Queensland is set to join three other Australian jurisdictions in decriminalising sex work, with proposed amendments to improve the health, safety, rights and legal protections for sex workers.

Queensland laws require sex workers in licensed brothels to undergo mandatory testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses such as HIV at regular intervals, and section 77A of the Prostitution Act makes it an offence to perform sex work without using a condom.

But a parliamentary inquiry into the proposed law changes this week heard from health professionals, industry advocates and academics who all supported repealing mandatory testing.

They argued that mandatory testing failed to acknowledge that many sex workers already practised safe sex, that it could lead to insensitive or inhumane treatment of individuals, and could result in poor-quality medical examinations.

“Doctors can be patronising and really offensive ... they can refuse someone healthcare because they don’t agree with the work on moral or religious grounds, insist on invasive exams and [perpetuate the stigma] that sex workers spread disease,” Eva said.

Eva has been a registered nurse for the past five years and works at a sexual health clinic. She said mandatory tests became “null and void” the moment a worker engaged in sexual activity again and the tests themselves reinforced outdated perceptions of sexual health.

“There’s this assumption that sex work can somehow pose a risk to the general population in terms of public health, and it’s simply not the case,” Eva said.

“Sex workers in Australia have lower rates of STIs than the general population, higher rates of condom use and higher rates of voluntary testing for STIs and blood-borne viruses ... this has been studied extensively, especially by the Kirby Institute.”

Dr Elena Jeffreys, from advocacy body Scarlet Alliance, said the mandatory testing regime of sex workers tied up health resources that could be better utilised.

“There are groups in the community that would benefit from increased access to sexual health education and sexual testing,” Jeffreys said.

“Instead, resources are spent on a section of the population who already have better sexual health and knowledge than the general population.”

Professor Basil Donovan, head of the Kirby Institute’s Sexual Health Program, described regulated testing environments as “wasting millions of dollars a year because of the low prevalence of infections”.

He pointed to a study of mandatory STI testing of Victorian female sex workers that found the regime was not cost effective.

“Essentially, these regulated environments are just a big money pit,” he said.

Advocates and health professionals state decriminalisation will not reduce current high rates of testing and safe-sex practices.

The Scarlet Alliance said the repeal of mandatory testing for sex workers would make Queensland regimes compatible with national HIV-testing guidelines and the state’s own STI Action Plan.

“This is a big step forward for health delivery in Queensland,” Jeffreys said.

A landmark review into sex work by the Queensland Law Reform Commission last year made 47 recommendations to decriminalise sex work.

The commission recommended removing Queensland’s brothel licensing system, changing planning laws to allow brothels to operate away from industrial areas, and adding protections for sex workers in the Anti-Discrimination Act.

Major reforms are expected to pass parliament by mid-year, ahead of the October state election.

*Eva is not her real name.