New Zealand Prostitutes Collective Dame Catherine Healy calls the case a milestone as she warned brothel operators to uphold labour rights.
By Nina Siena December 14, 2020 09:20 GMT
A sex worker in New Zealand will receive a six-figure payout as a settlement after filing a sexual harassment case against a business owner. The sex worker had initially filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission but the case was unresolved. She turned to the Office of the Human Rights Proceedings which took the case to the Human Rights Tribunal before the case was heard and had finally come to a settlement on Monday.
In a statement from Human rights director Michael Timmins, the agreed settlement was substantial and hopefully would serve as a benchmark for future cases.
"With the #MeToo era, more and more complaints of sexual harassment are being brought forward. It's good that people are coming forward with these complaints but it's also a stain that this is acceptable conduct in businesses up and down the country", Timmins said.
He added that the settlement is a reminder to businesses across the country that under the Human Rights Act, all workers, regardless of the type of work they do, have a right to do their job without having to worry about sexual harassment in their workplace. Anyone who feels they have been sexually harassed should consider raising a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.
The current ceiling for sexual harassment settlement is about $25,000 for damages. However, Timmins said they settled for a six-figure sum to show the seriousness of the matter as the case paved an avenue to force change in a way that reflected the true cost of harassment.
Although, most sexual harassment cases have non-disclosure agreements, the office wanted to make sure there was some form of public transparency as with agreed statements. The identities of those involved in the case as well as other information remain confidential.
In an article from the BBC, sex rights and national coordinator of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, Dame Catherine Healy calls the case a milestone as she warned brothel operators to uphold labour rights. NOT A MADAME BUT A DAME; ARISTOCRACY.
In 2003, New Zealand passed a law decriminalising sex work. Healy was at the forefront of a long campaign to put this into legislation arguing that doing so would make the profession safer for both workers and clients.
The collective was crucial help in drafting the landmark Prostitution Reform Act which allowed brothels to operate as a legitimate business while granting sex workers full employment rights.
There are approximately one million sex workers in the United States, many of whom are more vulnerable than ever due to the coronavirus pandemic Photo: AFP / Emily Kask
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