Editorial | Former sex worker now a dame

Queen Elizabeth II has singled out a former sex worker for honour, and this is seen as a strong indication of how social movements are inspiring change in the 21st century. Many people may not have heard the name Catherine Healy before Monday when the Queen made her a dame in her Birthday Honours, citing the fact that she co-founded and helped build the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective into a globally respected public-health provider.

The 62-year-old Healy was instrumental in helping New Zealand become the first country to decriminalise prostitution in 2003 when the Prostitution Reform Act was passed in Parliament by a single vote.

Healy's story reflects that of many others in society who continue to fight stigma while advocating for rights and recognition. This monarchy's recognition of the much-maligned group of workers will certainly go some way in inspiring hope in others who are seeking to come out of the dark and into the light of legitimacy.

Employed as a teacher in the 1980s, Healy wanted to top up her $400-a-month salary with extra work which she found in a massage parlour as a receptionist. It was there that she learnt that sex work was a lucrative way to earn as much as $4,000 a month.

In the years since the vote, a law review found that it had a marked effect in safeguarding the rights of sex workers to refuse particular clients and practices chiefly by removing the veil of illegality.

Because of her advocacy, sex workers in New Zealand now have contracts, labour conditions and the right to report violence, and they do not fear harassment and arrest by the police.

Jamaica is in many ways taking a while to reach the level of tolerance that we are seeing in societies that are adapting to the changing social and cultural landscape. The country is deeply divided on a number of social issues, including prostitution.

And that debate continues, whether persons who engage in commercial sex deserve to be treated as ordinary people or as a special class that is subject to abuse, discrimination and scorn. Usually, the scorn is reserved for the worker and not the persons who employ their services.

Ability to unify

Whatever we think about the institution of the monarchy, it continues to shape events because it has the ability to unite diverse groups under a shared loyalty. When we reference the recent marriage of Prince Harry to a black woman, upending years of tradition, we come away with a feeling that the social distance between ethnic minorities may be closing - at least in Europe. To social commentators, this represents an important shift in Britain towards acknowledging the evolution of a diverse ethnic society.

We are reminded of what the Queen had to say about change at the start of her Jubilee Celebration in 2002 when she addressed Parliament: "Change is a constant; managing it has become an expanding discipline. The way we embrace it defines our future."

The Queen received many kudos for welcoming Megan Markle into the royal family. Her profound gesture of recognising Catherine Healy may take a while longer to be digested in these parts.