Sex Work
What is Sex Work?
A sex worker is a person who is employed in the sex industry, including but not limited to those who sell sex, pornographic models and actors, cam models, dancers, strippers, and phone sex operators. We use the umbrella term “sex work” rather than ‘prostitution’ because it is preferred by and used by sex workers themselves and it encompasses the wide range of services that sex workers provide.
Harm Reduction and Sex Work
A harm-reduction approach to sex work does not victimize or pathologize sex workers or treat sex work as anti-social behaviour. Sex work is real work, no different in moral standing than any other form of labour. We support sex workers’ fight for the same legal rights and protections as other workers.
Legal status of sex work in Canada
Some forms of sex work are legal while others are criminalized. Acting as a pornographic model and camming, for example, are legal in Canada. Selling sex remains the most regulated type of sex work. Prior to 2013, Canada’s prostitution laws did not specifically criminalize adults selling sex, but criminalized aspects associated with the act, such as communicating in a public place for the purpose of prostitution and operating or working in a brothel. These provisions were struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2013.
In response, the federal government adopted the “Nordic model” in 2014, which criminalizes sex buyers rather than sex-sellers. This policy, however, is not supported by sex workers because it does not treat sex work as a legitimate form of labour and puts sex workers at an elevated risk. This approach means that the only clients that seek these services are those that are willing to break the law. It makes street workers more likely to take risks with new or unknown clients and displaces sex workers into darker, less populated areas where they are more vulnerable (CBC News, 2014). It also means that sex workers often have to work in isolation without protection or support from peers, employers, or partners.
What can be done to make sex work safer?
We recognize that when it comes to criminal justice reform - sex workers know best. We support sex workers and recognize that sex work is not intrinsically dangerous, oppressive or exploitative. Most of the problems sex workers experience are a result of legal and social systems that disregard their rights. We work to end these oppressive systems, not to “rescue” sex workers (Maggies Toronto, 2011).
Sex workers support the decriminalization of sex work. When sex work is criminalized sex workers are vulnerable to violence and obliged to “choose between their liberty interest and their right to security of the person" (Justice Himel in Bedford v Canada). The Canadian Criminal Code (CCC s. 210) makes it illegal for sex workers to work in their own homes or in establishments – the very places where they are safest because they can have security measures in place (i.e. cameras, neighbours, known exits). Street-based sex workers are often charged under Canadian Criminal Code s. 213. In order to avoid coming to the attention of the police, street-based sex workers often abandon safety strategies such as working in pairs, soliciting in well-lit populated areas, and taking the time to carefully assess a client prior to entering a vehicle (Mensah & Bruckert, 2012).
Sex workers favour decriminalization over legalization, which often requires sex workers to keep up with registration fees, costs, and licenses, making sex work inaccessible for people with little money and resources, and allows law enforcement to regulate consensual, private behaviour (Decrim Now DC, 2019). Sex workers oppose health policies such as mandatory testing that are founded on stereotypes about sex workers that persecute them rather than genuinely improve public health. We support evidence-based approaches to HIV and other STI’s that are led by the experts—sex workers. We recognize that the risk of HIV and other STI's is directly related to poor working conditions created by criminalization and stigmatization (Maggies Toronto, 2011).
Resources
Maggie’s is a Toronto-based organization that provides support to sex workers (such as counselling and legal resources), and operates a “No List” (a register for sex workers to report dangerous or abusive clients).
References
Decrim Now DC. (2019, May 27). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/DecrimNowDC/status/1133175254891810819
Mensah, M. N., & Bruckert, C. (2012). 10 Reasons to Fight For the Decriminalization of Sex Work. Retrieved from http://maggiestoronto.ca/uploads/File/10reasons.pdf
Schwartz, D. (2014, June 5). Sex workers like New Zealand law, not Canada’s new ‘Nordic model’ for prostitution. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/sex-workers-like-new-zealand-law-not-canada-s-new-nordic-model-for-prostitution-1.2665431
Maggie’s. (2011). Maggie's Toronto Sex Workers Action Project. Retrieved from http://maggiestoronto.ca/about
Image source
Sex workers united against violence. (2013). Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Project. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Maggiestoronto/photos/a.10152910734895571/10152910738575571/?type=3&theater