SA committee debates sex work laws

Decriminalising prostitution would improve sex workers' health and shield them against discrimination, a South Australian parliamentary committee has heard.

Liberal upper house MP Michelle Lensink has introduced legislation that would remove references to sex workers within the criminal law except in the case of sexual servitude, where people were forced or tricked into entering the industry.

The peak sex workers lobby says prostitutes are "marked for life" when their work is criminalised, including in child custody matters.

"Sex workers are not asking for any special consideration. We just want the same rights that everyone else takes for granted," Scarlet Alliance chief executive Jules Kim told the committee on Thursday.

Ms Kim said decriminalisation in NSW had improved health outcomes for sex workers, leading to greater condom use and lowering the rate of sexually transmitted diseases.

Religious groups including the Australian Christian Lobby and Family First want SA to follow the lead of Norway and make it a crime to pay for sex, while helping prostitutes to leave the industry.

"We need to provide ways for healing broken hearts because there are a lot of broken hearts in this industry," ACL director Wendy Francis told the committee.

"Without women wanting money, there would be no prostitution industry."

Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire said he believed Ms Lensink's bill could pave the way for amendments allowing 17-year-olds to leave school and enter the sex industry.

"It becomes a slippery slope, in my opinion," he said.

Ms Lensink's bill takes the number of attempts to decriminalise prostitution in SA close to double figures.

The first attempt was made in 1980 and the most recent, by Labor MP Steph Key, lapsed in 2014 when parliament rose before the March state election.