Decriminalised, Debanked and Underserved: Sex Workers’ Financial Exclusion in Aotearoa New Zealand

Sex work was decriminalised in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2003. Over 20 years later, sex workers still report difficulties in accessing financial services, and those operating brothels describe differential treatment in accessing merchant services, including business insurance. At the same time, the New Zealand government prioritises access to financial services and improving financial literacy amongst vulnerable populations. Sex worker advocates have suggested that the discrimination experienced by sex workers and operators, including in the context of financial services access, can be addressed via designating sex workers as a protected category under the Bill of Rights Act. This presentation offers a different perspective, suggesting that meaningful remedial mechanisms can be obtained via an outcomes-focus to financial markets regulation.
Drawing on empirical research with sex workers and brothel operators in New Zealand, this presentation explores the extent and experience of financial services discrimination towards those working in the sex industry. It highlights the key areas where workers report discrimination and sets out the extant regulatory remedies, including statutory and strategic regulatory focuses.
In particular, this presentation interrogates the shift from strict statutory approaches to regulation--specficially financial markets regulation--to outcomes-focused, principles-based regulation. I suggest that these mechanisms offer meaningful remedies for those experiencing discrimination and provide a ground for engagement across the regulatory sector in other areas central to the realisation of the Prostitution Reform Act.