Tuesday, 27 May 2025

Southside Justice sex worker legal program

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (19:49): (1657) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Attorney-General, and it concerns the urgent need to reinstate funding for Southside Justice’s sex worker legal program, a vital community-led legal service now at risk of closure. This program has for the past three years provided expert, peer-led legal support to sex workers across the state. It addresses issues such as discrimination, employment, non-payment, sexual assault and police interactions – just some of the legal issues that sex workers face every day. The program was co-designed with sex workers and grounded in harm reduction and human rights. It is exactly the kind of inclusive and specialised legal service that should be expanded, not left to disappear.

In 2022 the Victorian government made landmark reforms to decriminalise sex work, recognising it as legitimate work and committing to improving safety, health and human rights outcomes. As part of this transition, $12.3 million was allocated over three years. Southside Justice received just $156,000 – 1.3 per cent of that total. Despite this modest investment, the program’s impact has been significant, yet with no further funding allocated in the past two years and the alternative funding ending this December, the program faces imminent closure.

The success of decriminalisation depends not just on legislation and what we do in this place but on its implementation. Without accessible legal support, sex workers are left to navigate complex systems alone, undermining the reform’s intent. The pending review of the act is a critical opportunity to assess its impact. As the only statewide legal service for sex workers, Southside Justice is uniquely positioned to contribute to this review if adequately resourced. The action I seek tonight is for the Attorney-General to urgently reinstate and secure long-term funding for this essential program. Sex workers deserve equal access to justice, and the law must be backed by the support needed to uphold it.