Insight: The Oldest Profession

Philippa Tolley and visual journalist Rebekah Parsons-King investigate the current state of the sex industry more than a decade after it was decriminalised under laws nicknamed "the NZ Model."

Watch a video segment from the episode here

New Zealand's sex industry prior to reforms in 2003 has been described as a dangerous environment that lent itself to violence, exploitation and coercion.

But now, prostitutes can go to the police for help rather than facing arrest. Their lives are no longer blighted by convictions for soliciting and they have the right to object to any ill treatment.

In fact, research by University of Otago public health specialist Gillian Able indicates the change following the reforms has been almost universally positive.

But problems do remain. Prostitutes can still face violence, drug use persists, and poverty is also a factor in some sex workers' lives.

In a boutique agency in central Wellington, tucked behind an anonymous door, a young woman has just ended an appointment with a client. She has a wide smile across her face and is enthusiastic at the prospect of being able to do this job until she stops working.

"It's a wonderful working life. I'm working on my home and stuff that I've always wanted to do to better my life in different ways that working a 9-5 job has always gotten in the way of," she says.

This young woman, who doesn't want to be identified, is adamant she can always say "no" if she doesn't want to see someone or do something a client requests.

In fact, the job has gone so well that, since starting work in the industry at the beginning of the year, she has given up her other job solely to work as a prostitute and hopes to continue this way for many years to come, working for an agency owner who provides the rooms and the supplies, and organises appointments and advertising.

But Celeste, who runs a brothel in Christchurch, says for many it's like life in a mouse wheel - hard to get ahead.

After years of working as a prostitute, she decided to start her own brothel in Christchurch after the earthquake hit. The devastation of the central city cleared out all the dead wood, she says.

She wanted to run a business that helped the women who worked there achieve their goals in life.

"I would hope that they were with me for a certain period of time and that I was like a stepping stone to the next goal, but while I've got them there I'm trying to give them some really amazing life skills."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details