Third parties are managers, brothel keepers, receptionists, drivers, landlords, hotels renting rooms to sex workers, and anyone else who facilitates sex work. Victoria’s outdated sex work laws criminalise some third parties to varying degrees. The full decriminalisation of consensual adult sex work would remove criminal penalties applying to sex workers, clients and third parties where there is a respectful business relationship.
Once consensual adult sex work is decriminalised, coercion, human trafficking, sex slavery and child exploitation remain crimes attracting severe penalties. Sex Work Law Reform Victoria fully supports criminal punishment of such offences.