However, the Justice and Electoral Committee said that prior to the PRA a range of offences could be committed in association with acts of prostitution, and that for most forms of prostitution it was likely a law would be broken at some stage. This paper briefly outlines the history of prostitution in New Zealand, and the law, before examining the impact of the PRA on the number of sex workers, their working conditions and location of work.
Number of sex workers: Concern had been expressed that decriminalising prostitution would increase the number of sex workers. It is very difficult to calculate accurately the number of people involved in the sex industry, and estimates need to be treated with caution. There were an estimated 5, sex workers at about the time the PRA came into force according to a retrospective survey of Police officers with knowledge about the sex industry in Police Districts.
The following year it was estimated 2, sex workers were in those five locations. The Committee believed that the change in the earlier estimated number of sex workers from 5, to 2, indicated the limitations of initial data collection methods, and the more robust methodology used to estimate the later number, rather than a decline in sex workers. However, the Committee was satisfied that the popular assumption that decriminalisation would increase the numbers of people involved in prostitution was flawed.
The NZPC in said there were an estimated street-based sex workers nationwide, though any estimate needs to be treated with caution due to the often temporary and sporadic nature of work.
More recently, it has reported no apparent increase in the number of street-based sex workers and sex workers in general within Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Information on the clients of sex workers is limited. The Committee considered research is needed to identify clients along with their motivations and reasons for buying sex.
