Belgium made labour laws history on Sunday after their new law, which grants sex workers formal employment benefits such as access to pension funds, Maternity Leave, and Health insurance, officially went into effect.

The Law, which was passed in May as a world first, enables practitioners within the taboo profession the ability to formally refuse clients, set the conditions of an act, and stop an act at any moment with the protection of legal coverage.

“I am a very proud Belgium sex worker right now,” Mel Meliciousss, who is part of the Belgian Union of sex workers, UTSOPI, shared on her Instagram.

“People who are already working in the industry will be much more protect[ed], and also people who are going to work in the industry also know what their rights are.”

The landmark day comes two years after Belgian lawmakers voted to decriminalise sex work and narrow the definition of pimping in 2022, making it easier for sex workers to be able to find bankers, insurers or accountants, according to UTSOPI.