ANTWERP – A police station in the historic sailors’ quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers’ neon-lit red-light windows.
The station in the Villa Tinto complex is a symbol of the push to make sex work safer in Belgium, which boasts some of Europe’s most liberal laws — although there are still widespread abuses and exploitation.
Since December, Belgium’s sex workers can access legal protections and labor rights, such as paid leave, like any other profession. They welcome the changes.
“I’m not a victim, I chose to work here and I like what I’m doing,” said Kiana, 32, as she allowed AFP behind her window to see her workspace: a double bed bathed in a dim red light, with various types of chains and other sado-masochistic accessories.
Kiana, who did not wish to give her last name, left her native Romania at the age of 18 and first worked in Germany before arriving in Belgium. She rents one of the 51 display windows in Villa Tinto where she works five days a week.
“My mother knows what I’m doing. For the other members of my family I work in nails and tattoos,” she said.
For “Mel”, a sex worker and star on TikTok where she answers questions about her work, the law has allowed her to come out of the shadows.
“I was just tired of lying about what I do for a living, and pretending to be a hairdresser or a masseuse,” she said.
Belgium decided in 2022 to reform its laws on sex work, including relaxing rules on advertising prostitution for individuals over 18.
