Prostitution Reform Act 2003

The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 is an Act of Parliament that decriminalised prostitution in New Zealand. The Act also gave new rights to sex workers. It has attracted international attention, although its reception has been mixed. The Act repealed the Massage Parlours Act 1978 and the associated regulations.

The Act was introduced as a member's bill by Tim Barnett after being drawn from a ballot. Members were allowed a conscience vote, and on 25 June 2003, the bill passed its third reading by a margin of one vote (60–59), after the country's only Muslim MP, Ashraf Choudhary, voted to abstain, thereby allowing the bill to narrowly pass.

Legislative features
The Prostitution Reform Act decriminalises prostitution and gives new rights to sex workers. The Act also repealed the Massage Parlours Act, effectively eliminating voluntary adult (age 18 and up) prostitution from criminal law and replacing it with civil law at both the national and local levels. The law makes a distinction between voluntary and involuntary prostitution. Coercion to perform sexual services is still a crime. Sex work is likewise forbidden for persons on temporary visas, as is immigration for and investment in sex work. Contracts between the seller and the client have been recognised, and the provider has the right to deny services. Contracts that are contested might be referred to the Disputes Tribunal. Advertising is prohibited, with the exception of restricted print media. The Summary Offences Act remains in force in relation to soliciting, which may be classed as offensive behaviour.

Purpose of the Act
Section 3 of the Act defines its purpose:

"The purpose of this Act is to decriminalise prostitution (while not endorsing or morally sanctioning prostitution or its use) and to create a framework that—
 * (a) safeguards the human rights of sex workers and protects them from exploitation:
 * (b) promotes the welfare and occupational health and safety of sex workers:
 * (c) is conducive to public health:
 * (d) prohibits the use in prostitution of persons under 18 years of age:
 * (e) implements certain other related reforms."

Existing law
Prostitution-related statute law passed in the second half of the 20th century included the Crimes Act 1961, the Massage Parlours Act 1978, and the Summary Offences Act 1981. Section 26 of the Summary Offences Act prohibited soliciting; Section 147 of the Crimes Act prohibited brothel-keeping; Section 148 lived on the earnings of prostitution; and Section 149 procured. In 2000, the Crimes Act was amended to criminalise both clients and operators where workers were under 18 (the age of consent for sexual activity is 16). Young people under 18 were still classified as offenders after this came into force, until the passage of the Prostitution Reform Act 2003.

Indoor prostitution in New Zealand was governed by the Massage Parlours Act 1978 prior to the Prostitution Reform Act 2003, which enabled brothels to operate under the guise of massage parlours. However, because the act designated massage parlours as public venues, laws prohibiting soliciting in a public place extended to parlour workers, and they were occasionally searched by police acting as clients. Workers in the parlours were also required to inform the police with their names and addresses. It was prohibited to advertise the selling of sex ("soliciting"), establish a brothel, or live off the proceeds of prostitution.

Background
When Labour gained power in 1999, Labour MP Tim Barnett (Christchurch Central) was in charge of introducing a Private Member's Bill to decriminalise prostitution. This was based on the New South Wales harm reduction model (1996). The bill was introduced on 21 September 2000, and was drawn as number 3 in the ballot box.

Party support for the bill came from the Greens, particularly from Green MP Sue Bradford. It was opposed by New Zealand First, who preferred the Swedish approach to criminalising the purchase of sex. Other dissenting opinions were recorded by the National, ACT, and United Future members.

During the parliamentary debates and committees, support came from some women's rights groups, some human rights groups, and some public health groups. The police were neutral. Some feminists opposed the decriminalisation of brothels and pimping (see feminist views on prostitution); Christian groups were divided; and fundamentalist religious groups, including Right to Life, were opposed.

First reading and select committee stage
The Prostitution Reform Act was debated for the first time in the House of Representatives on 8 November 2000 as Bill 66-1. The bill passed by a margin of 87 to 21. The bill was then referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee, which received 222 submissions and heard 66 submissions. On 29 November 2002, the committee delivered its report, and amendments in favour of the bill. Following the 2002 election, the bill was referred to as Bill 66-2.

Second and third reading
On 19 February 2003, the Prostitution Reform Act passed its second reading by a smaller margin of 62 to 56. On 25 June 2003, the Prostitution Reform Act passed its third reading narrowly by a margin of 60 to 59, while one politician, Labour's Ashraf Choudhary, the country's only Muslim MP, abstained. Georgina Beyer, the world's first openly transgender woman MP, delivered an impassioned speech during the debate, identifying herself as a former sex worker and mentioning that she was assaulted while on sex work and was unable to report it to the police. This speech is thought to have swayed the votes of three MPs, including Ashraf Choudhary.