Stibbe wins court case on sex workers' rights
Stibbe represented women’s rights organisation Bureau Clara Wichmann and two sex workers in litigation on local policy and access around a streetwalking zone in Nijmegen. These allegedly violate the privacy, safety and fundamental rights of sex workers. The court ruled in favour of the sex workers.
The streetwalking zone in Nijmegen, one of the last streetwalking zones in the Netherlands, offers sex workers a safe workplace and access to care services. To gain access to the streetwalking zone, sex workers must be registered by the municipality. The municipality furthermore applied a phase-out policy.
Various studies have shown that the registration of sex workers and the increasing restriction of legal workplaces and opportunities threaten the privacy and safety of sex workers.
For sex workers and Bureau Clara Wichmann, this registration, the associated conditions and the underlying phase-out policy raised concerns about sex workers' privacy, safety and fundamental rights. The municipality also denied the two sex workers access to the zone.
The court found in favour of the sex workers, ruling that the obligation to register and the conditions of the phase-out policy violated the right to privacy (GDPR) and the Services Directive. The court also granted the two sex workers access to the zone.
A more detailed explanation of the ruling by the Gelderland Court can be found here and a press release of Bureau Clara Wichmann here.
