The Co-ordinator of New Zealand Prostitutes Collective is to be made a Dame Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the rights of sex workers.

Ms Catherine Healy has overseen the organisation for 30 years and said she was so touched when she received the letter that she burst into tears.

With the support of Young Woman's Christian association, National Council of Women and the AIDS foundation, she campaigned to decriminalise prostitution.

Working with this group she developed a model Bill to safeguard the human rights and safety of sex workers which was introduced in 2000 and passed in 2003.

"Sex workers today have all the rights - they don't have to worry about the police coming in to arrest them and certainly in New Zealand, they know they have the right to justice."

Not only has she fought for their rights she has also provided education to the workers on sexually transmitted diseases.

She is a member of the national HIV and Aids forum and a consultant for the World Health Organisation.

Ms Healy is also called upon to provide advice to government and non-government organisations globally and received a New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993.