Those in legalized sex work in Belgium are now entitled to formal employment contracts, which include sick pay and maternity leave, under a landmark law that went into effect Sunday. Under the law, which Belgian lawmakers passed in May, sex workers signing such a contract also become entitled to a raft of other rights and protections that normally apply to workers employed in other industries, such as health insurance and unemployment benefits. “This is a world first in the sense that it is the first comprehensive legislative framework that grants sex workers equal rights (with other employees) and protects them from risks inherent to the (job),” Daan Bauwens, director of the Belgian Union of Sex Workers, told CNN. Sex workers signing a formal employment contract now have “every kind of social protection” granted to the majority of employees in Belgium, according to Quentin Deltour, public relations manager at Espace P, a group advocating for sex workers’ rights in Belgium, which [...]