# Sex Work in New Zealand - Can It Be Paired With Other Jobs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658 "2020-02-28T16:35:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/1 "2020-02-28T16:35:33Z")
Sex work in New Zealand is essentially legalized and decriminalized (with the exception of underage persons and people with temporary visas). As far as I know, the Kiwis have the most lenient laws regarding Sex Work in the world. Under this system, can sex work be integrated with other employee tasks? For example, if a New Zealander wanted to employ a personal assistant to do various administrative tasks, could they include sexual acts in the job description? I’ve looked at various websites on New Zealand’s sex work laws and heard a couple of talks on them, but I have not seen this addressed. I’m not trying to poke any bears with this question; it’s just something I’m curious about. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/2 "2020-02-28T20:34:19Z")
No idea, but I’d sure like to sit in on the job interview. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “these are the people you will be working under”. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/3 "2020-02-28T22:11:45Z")
I don’t know, but I really hope not. This seems like it would be insulating predators from sexual harassment complaints. I can easily imagine a desperate young person excepting a low-paying job with the understanding that she had to blow her boss on a regular basis, not because she wanted to be a prostitute but because she was desperate to feed herself. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/4 "2020-02-28T22:16:16Z")
I would rather doubt it; decriminalizing something doesn’t make it mandatory for anyone to partake in… and if you make it a job requirement that’s kind of forcing people to do it right? How would you get around all the labour laws protecting people from being forced to do unreasonable or unsafe things? Presumably all the laws on harassment and assault are still in place, and would prevent such a thing (to whatever degree they are currently successful at least). ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/5 "2020-02-28T22:30:27Z")
Presumably other anti-discrimination laws would prevent the prospective employer from hiring only from among his or her preferred sex. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/6 "2020-02-28T23:41:23Z")
> [@mmmiiikkkeee](#): > > … if you make it a job requirement that’s kind of forcing people to do it right? I don’t think this line of argument works. Many jobs have specialized requirements, some aspects of which potential employees might well find unpleasant (horse stable hand) or dangerous (salvage diver). Provided such are clearly disclosed, those who apply are saying they are willing to take on these responsibilities - force is not involved. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/7 "2020-02-28T23:53:07Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Presumably other anti-discrimination laws would prevent the prospective employer from hiring only from among his or her preferred sex. I’d guess that in very few cases where sex workers are paid is the sex of the worker a matter of indifference to the customer. So if “sex work is legal in NZ” has any practical meaning, such discrimination by an employer would have to be acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/8 "2020-02-28T23:55:23Z")
I think the employer could do this, assuming of course that he registered his home or business premises as a brothel, as required by the Prostitution Reform Act 2003. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/9 "2020-02-29T00:25:04Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Presumably other anti-discrimination laws would prevent the prospective employer from hiring only from among his or her preferred sex. Not necessarily. There used to be employers using the BOQ loophole\* to get around sex discrimination laws. Response was that the only valid BOQ jobs were _wet nurse_ & _sperm donor_. This might add a 3rd category to that list. \*BOQ = Bone-fide Occupational Qualification. Like saying “we can’t hire a woman reporter since she might someday have to interview an athlete in a locker room, and obviously a woman couldn’t do that”. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/10 "2020-02-29T00:40:37Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Sex work in New Zealand is essentially legalized and decriminalized (with the exception of underage persons and people with temporary visas). As far as I know, the Kiwis have the most lenient laws regarding Sex Work in the world. **Under this system, can sex work be integrated with other employee tasks?** For example, if a New Zealander wanted to employ a personal assistant to do various administrative tasks, could they include sexual acts in the job description? I’ve looked at various websites on New Zealand’s sex work laws and heard a couple of talks on them, but I have not seen this addressed. > > I’m not trying to poke any bears with this question; it’s just something I’m curious about. …in New Zealand you can either operate as an individual sex worker, as part of a collective of no more than four sex workers (known legally as a small owner-operated brothel) or as an operator in the sex industry. Under the act: > [@The Prostitution Reform Act 2003](#): > > 5Definition of operator > (1) > In this Act, operator, in relation to a business of prostitution, means a person who, whether alone or with others, owns, operates, controls, or manages the business; and includes (without limitation) any person who— > (a) > is the director of a company that is an operator; or > (b) > determines— > (i) > when or where an individual sex worker will work; or > (ii) > the conditions in which sex workers in the business work; or > (iii) > the amount of money, or proportion of an amount of money, that a sex worker receives as payment for prostitution; or > (c) > is a person who employs, supervises, or directs any person who does any of the things referred to in paragraph (b). > (2) > Despite anything in subsection (1), a sex worker who works at a small owner-operated brothel is not an operator of that business of prostitution, and, for the purposes of this Act, a small owner-operated brothel does not have an operator. [http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0028/latest/DLM197847.html](http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0028/latest/DLM197847.html) The legislation is set up so that individual sex workers are allowed to work without having to register: it also allows groups of sex workers to work together safely without the need to register. A a New Zealander wanted to employ a personal assistant could not include sexual acts in the job description. If they were not offering sex work themselves then they would not qualify as “a small owner-operated brothel” and even if they did offer sex work I doubt it would be seen in the courts as a legal transaction. If this New Zealander were working for a larger organization and this organization didn’t offer sex work they would have to apply for a [Brothel Operator Certificate](https://www.justice.govt.nz/licences-certificates/brothel-operator-certification/apply-for-a-brothel-operator-certificate/). The mere fact that the business would have to register as a brothel would be enough to put off most people from applying. The probability of getting a licence based on the scenario posted by the OP is practically zero. So the TLDR answer is nope. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/11 "2020-02-29T01:50:09Z")
I was thinking of something a little different what I saw the thread title - That would be an AWESOME employee benefit 2 weeks vacation, Health, Dental, 401K, & 2 visits a week to the sex worker of your choice ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/12 "2020-02-29T07:14:47Z")
…just to add even more context: even if this person obtained an Operators licence a contract that stated that sex work (assuming the OP meant the sex worker was obliged to have sex with their employer) be integrated with other employee tasks would likely be illegal and unenforceable. Under section 16 of the act no person shall induce or compel someone else to provide commercial sexual services and section 17 explicitly states: > [@](#): > > Refusal to provide commercial sexual services > (1) > Despite anything in a contract for the provision of commercial sexual services, a person may, at any time, refuse to provide, or to continue to provide, a commercial sexual service to any other person. > (2) > The fact that a person has entered into a contract to provide commercial sexual services does not of itself constitute consent for the purposes of the criminal law if he or she does not consent, or withdraws his or her consent, to providing a commercial sexual service. > (3) > However, nothing in this section affects a right (if any) to rescind or cancel, or to recover damages for, a contract for the provision of commercial sexual services that is not performed. Part 3 hasn’t been tested in the courts, however I do not think it likely that an employer would be successful if it did make it to court by virtue of the fact they would never have been granted a brothel licence in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/13 "2020-02-29T16:41:33Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I don’t know, but I really hope not. This seems like it would be insulating predators from sexual harassment complaints. I can easily imagine a desperate young person excepting a low-paying job with the understanding that she had to blow her boss on a regular basis, not because she wanted to be a prostitute but because she was desperate to feed herself. What if you flip the job description around? Sex worker needed to answer phones, take messages, do filing, and other secretarial duties. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/14 "2020-02-29T16:51:24Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > What if you flip the job description around? > > Sex worker needed to answer phones, take messages, do filing, and other secretarial duties. Reminds me of the old joke about the prostitute who offers to do anything you want for ten bucks. “Okay, paint my house.” ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/15 "2020-02-29T20:04:53Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > What if you flip the job description around? > > Sex worker needed to answer phones, take messages, do filing, and other secretarial duties. …the law doesn’t magically change if you flip it around. They would require a brothel licence: there would almost certainly be no grounds to grant the licence. These ridiculous hypotheticals (that always pop up in threads about sex workers) aren’t going to happen. A reminder that the reason why the laws were changed in New Zealand were because the sex worker industry lobbied for change. They gathered support from women’s groups, they managed to get bipartisan support, and they were involved in working groups that helped put the legislation together. You aren’t going to find a loophole and if you somehow managed to they would close it real quick. This is a harm-reduction model, not based on moral or ideological stances, the legislation was set up to both protect sex workers and the people that use their services. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/16 "2020-03-01T17:36:57Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/17 "2020-03-01T22:45:13Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the law doesn’t magically change if you flip it around. My hypothetical was a proposed solution to **Skald’s** reasonable concern that someone accepting a position as a secretary could be forced into unwanted sexual activity. Make it clear from the beginning that sex is the primary job description and administrative assistant functions are additional duties to be fulfilled when not taking dictation. I acknowledge that this would probably not be legal under the appropriate legislation, but was asking **Skald** if that would alleviate his objections. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/18 "2020-03-01T22:51:02Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > My hypothetical was a proposed solution to **Skald’s** reasonable concern that someone accepting a position as a secretary could be forced into unwanted sexual activity. > > Make it clear from the beginning that sex is the primary job description and administrative assistant functions are additional duties to be fulfilled when not taking dictation. > > I acknowledge that this would probably not be legal under the appropriate legislation, but was asking **Skald** if that would alleviate his objections. No, it would not alleviate my objections. I think it would, if legal, lead to people like Harvey Weinstein finding more ways to exploit the vulnerable. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/19 "2020-03-01T22:56:02Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I acknowledge that this would probably not be legal under the appropriate legislation, but was asking **Skald** if that would alleviate his objections. …\*\*I \*\*would object because once again it removes agency from the sex worker. A contract that obligates a person to have sex with someone else would be illegal here and it should be illegal anywhere else that decriminalises sex work. What you describe isn’t sex work. Its sex slavery. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658/20 "2020-03-01T23:58:34Z")
Yeah it seems like the only equitable, and frankly moral, way to handle this is if each and every act requires specific individual consent - no blanket policies, period. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sex-work-in-new-zealand-can-it-be-paired-with-other-jobs/848658.md?page=2)