Incorrect reports indicating that sex work was once again allowed in the Brussels-Capital Region have been rectified this weekend, as the Interior Minister clarified that a prostitution ban remains in force.
The reports were caused by a press release from the cabinet of Brussels' Minister-President Rudi Vervoort, stating that the Region's own prostitution ban was no longer necessary.
However, that did not mean that sex work was allowed again, but that Brussels' specific ban was no longer necessary, because of the federal ban on non-medical contact professions, which includes sex work.
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Consequently, the local ban was brought into line with the federal measure, which is applicable throughout the country. "Once and for all about prostitution in the Brussels-Captial Region: we have adapted our Brussels rules to the rules of the federal level," tweeted Zeynep Balci, a spokesperson of the Vervoort cabinet.
On Sunday, following the publication of the Ministerial Decree with the Consultative Committee's latest decisions, Federal Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden clarified that "nothing will change" for contact professions.
Voor alle duidelijkheid: voor de contactberoepen verandert er niets. Prostitutie blijft m.a.w. verboden. #coronamaatregelen https://t.co/egUqDdfB0T
— Annelies Verlinden (@AnneliesVl) November 29, 2020
"In other words, prostitution remains prohibited," she tweeted in response to someone asking for "a decent explanation" for why going to a sex worker seemed to be allowed, but going for a haircut was not.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times