The New Zealand Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) is anxiously waiting for Level 2 guidelines to be developed for the sex industry by the Government, just two days out from the easing of Level 3 restrictions.
The NZPC yesterday participated in a cross-sector meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Health, MBIE and the National Crisis Management Centre aimed at developing guidance on whether or not sex workers can operate under Level 2 conditions.
NZPC founding member Dame Catherine Healy said the meeting was constructive, but said guidelines being developed at such a late stage demonstrates the Government's "puritanical" mindset towards sex work.
"It's been a bit puritanical, the lack of mention of sex - they don't want the moral outrage," Dame Catherine said.
She said the questions asked at the meeting included queries on contact tracing if necessary, which she said could be difficult considering many clients wouldn't want to be named.
Now, Dame Catherine says the NZPC is waiting for the Government to give them a definite yes or no.
"They didn't promise a timeline, but they did say they would get back to us," she said.
"So we're waiting in the holding pen for clarification - I'm hoping they put the foot on the pedal and get cranking on it."
High-profile sex worker Lisa Lewis has been among those critical of the Government's lack of clarity, saying "I am hoping that if our Prime Minister has time to laugh about how we can go dating in Level 2, that she can give us - being thousands of the adult profession in New Zealand - some direction.
"This is important - that someone in a leadership role gives our industry some direction before the sex industry - all as a collaborative - makes our own decision as to when we go back to work legally and safely," Ms Lewis said.
Ms Lewis has taken her business online during Levels 4 and 3, and is currently auctioning off the rights for her first client after the non-contact period ends.
Dame Catherine said compliance with the rules by sex workers had been good at Levels 4 and 3, but that without concrete guidelines, there was a risk that sex workers could simply flout the rules and work as they please.
She warned that the industry as a whole is no stranger to operating outside of legal boundaries, and that "the sex industry could become a major contributor" to Covid-19 outbreaks if not given guidance.
"There's concern that if the sex industry is left to the very last, the temptation to work anyway will take over," she said.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has been contacted for comment.
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