In what has been billed as a “world first,” a brothel worker sued the brothel owner for sexual harassment – and won.   The Human Rights Review Tribunal in New Zealand awarded her NZ$25,000 (US$26,470).

New Zealand legalized prostitution ten years ago by the Prostitution Reform Act.  Under the Prostitution Reform Act, brothel operators who don’t promote safe sex face criminal charges.  Prostitutes are also covered under occupational health and safety laws.

The brothel owner was alleged to have “belittled and frightened the woman until she felt unsafe and on edge, became depressed and turned to alcohol,” and told her that “he could do what he liked with the women who worked for him.”

The Tribunal held that “Sex workers are as much entitled to protection from sexual harassment as those working in other occupations.  The fact that a person is a sex worker is not a licence for sexual harassment – especially by the manager or employer at the brothel.”