[IPSM] First Nation Women Prostituted 'in Overwhelming Numbers'

[Macho Philipovich]

i'm totally uncomfortable with the point of view and message of this
article by melissa farley.

the article is in support of the "struggle against legalizing prostitution
in Canada".  i'm not at all excited about seeing sex trade workers become
watched and regulated by the state, but i'd prefer it to the situation
now, where many are criminalized, incarcerated, and forced to work in
areas where they're at severe risk of violence.

the thing that's most upsetting is that farley and friends are trying to
influence law and policy about sex work but it doesn't appear that any of
them are making an effort to find out what people in the sex trade want,
to offer them services and alternatives, to let them lead the struggle, or
to really engage with them on any level.  all they're doing is adding to
sex worker stereotypes of metal health problems, drug addiction, and
sexual abuse histories.

i'm sure these folks mean well.  one of the linked articles claims they
don't want to criminalize sex workers, just pimps and johns.  if they
spoke to anyone working in the sex trade, i'm sure they'd discover that
when johns are criminalized, it only pushes street workers into more
hidden areas where they're more susceptible to violence.

please folks, it's important to support your local sex workers, but be
careful that what you're doing is decreasing the violence, not increasing
it.

-macho


usman x said:
> http://www.aviva.org/namica.htm
>
> http://sisyphe.org/article.php3?id_article=1407
> 15 décembre 2004
>
> First Nation Women Prostituted 'in Overwhelming Numbers'
>
> 'I have been given permission by the publishers of Journal of
> Transcultural
> Psychiatry to offer this article to anyone at this time who could use this
> information in Canada.  My coauthors and I feel that it is a contribution
> to
> the Canadian struggle against legalizing prostitution in Canada.  Among
> others, what we found is that First Nations young women are prostituted in
> overwhelming numbers in Canada.  This fact is usually not brought up
> during
> the discussion about legalization, and we hope that this article
> contributes:
>
> 'Prostitution in Vancouver: Violence and the  Colonization of First
> Nations
> Women.' We interviewed 100 women prostituting in Vancouver Canada.  We
> found
> an extremely high prevalence of lifetime violence and PTSD. 52% of our
> interviewees were women from Canada's First Nations, a significant
> overrepresentation in prostitution compared to their representation in
> Vancouver generally (1.7-7%).  82% reported a history of childhood sexual
> abuse, by an average of 4 perpetrators. 72% reported childhood physical
> abuse, 90% had been physically assaulted in prostitution, 78% had been
> raped
> in prostitution. 72%  met DSM IV criteria for PTSD. 95%  said that they
> wanted to leave prostitution.  86% reported current or past homelessness
> with housing as one of their most urgent needs. 82% expressed a need for
> treatment for drug or alcohol addictions. Findings are discussed in terms
> of
> the legacy of colonialism, the intrinsically traumatizing nature of
> prostitution and prostitution's violations of basic human rights.'
> Source:
> Melissa Farley, 'Transcultural Psychiatry, 42(2). June 2005'.
>
> Website: www.prostitutionresearch.com
>
>
> ---------------------
> "The true focus of revolutionary change is never merely
> the oppressive situations which we seek to escape,
> but that piece of the oppressor which is
> planted deep within each of us." Audre Lorde
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>
>
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