The regulation of sex work varies widely across the world, ranging from full criminalisation to decriminalisation with labour protections.
Sweden originated the so-called Nordic Model in 1999, which criminalises the purchase of sex but not its sale, intending to reduce demand while protecting vulnerable women. In the past decade France, Ireland, Israel and the American state of Maine have adopted it; Scotland is considering it. The model's intellectual roots lie in abolitionist views of the 1920s, when the League of Nations sent undercover agents to infiltrate brothels and found examples of foreign women in debt bondage.
Supporters point to falling street prostitution in Sweden and a decline in the share of Swedish men who say they have paid for sex (from 14% in 1996 to 9% in 2017). Critics note that sex work may simply have moved underground or abroad—the Swedish government reckons 80% of Swedish men who pay for sex do so overseas. Prosecutions for buying sex have risen, but there were no convictions for trafficking in 2024. Police often find it easier to arrest clients than to pursue pimps and traffickers.
New Zealand was the first country in the world to fully decriminalise sex work. In 2022 Belgium became the first European country to do so, and in December 2024 it granted sex workers formal labour rights, entitling them to sick leave, maternity pay and pensions, and obliging brothels to get a permit and comply with health and safety standards. The Australian states of Victoria and Queensland have also decriminalised sex work; South Africa and Thailand have drafted similar bills. In 2023 Costa Rica recognised sex work as labour, giving workers a tax code and requiring them to pay VAT.
Supporters of full decriminalisation, including many academics, argue it reduces stigma, deters police harassment and helps separate the willing from the coerced.
The sale of virtual sex has gained momentum alongside platforms such as OnlyFans. Fully 14% of young Americans say they would consider selling content on the platform. On July 1st 2025 Sweden extended the Nordic Model to the digital world, criminalising payment for live pornography on such sites, with penalties of up to a year in prison.
The boundaries of what people consider sex work are becoming blurry. Only 56% of Britons aged 18-25 say that "sugaring"—selling companionship, often including sex, to older partners—counts as sex work, compared with 70% of over-65s. Virtual sex work can carry its own risks: in thousands of webcam studios across Colombia, women work 12-hour shifts streaming from cramped cubicles, keeping only a fraction of their earnings.
Expense Accounts, n.: Corporate food stamps.