Sex Workers Demand Labor Rights

Meeting under the auspices of Italian deputy Vittorio Emanuele Agnoletto, some 120 sex workers from 23 countries held a conference to exchange personal experiences from the street and major issues concerning prostitution, including the public image of the profession and working conditions.
The participants -- both organized and individual sex workers -- demanded the same labor rights and social assistance as all other employees in Europe.
Legislation on prostitution currently varies from country to country within the EU. In the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, for example, prostitution is licensed and regulated by the state.
"We organized this conference in response to the increasingly repressive legislative policies and practices across Europe against sex workers and sex industry," said chief organizer Ruth Morgan Thomas.
Conference participants were to hold a rally in downtown Brussels later Monday to raise public awareness of the problem.
Agnolleto said he would initiate a debate on the issue at the EU assembly and draft a resolution.
"I believe this declaration is important not only for sexual workers, but it also could become very important for the European civil society. If they're recognized as workers, they can pay taxes and have the same duties and same rights as everyone else," Agnoletto said.
from CNN