[SWAF-Potluck] Please sign this petition

Sat Mar 8 04:07:01 PST 2014

I signed it too.

This is what i wrote:

"This is important because many, i assert most, sex workers in Canada,
are not in fact being trafficked, they are self-employed and quite
happy.

Some are being badly treated, which is terrible, but it's mainly the
archaic, unproductive laws themselves that prevent sex workers from
reporting that abuse.

Many sex workers I know personally are respectable, well-adjusted
people who are happily working in a very healthy, valuable service
industry, that in reality serves a huge population. Why not make it
legal and make it safe for everyone, plus collect taxes? Why not make
it respectable, finally?

It serves no one to make it illegal. And it does not reflect the
wishes of the majority of the people of Canada, who the Government is
supposed to serve.

Thank you for listening.

Rev. Anne"

(I hate paying taxes as much as the next person, but it seems like an
argument that could forward our goal with the general public,
especially with people who are otherwise indifferent)

On 3/6/14, Ki Bournes <ki at massagebyki.com> wrote:
> From Raven..... forwarded by me due to technical difficulties
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> For those who are able to sign this petition to Peter Mackay please do.  I
> realize that we all do things like this at great risk to ourselves and to
> our communities of industry folks. There is a spot for you to write why you
> are signing the petition.  It asks 'why is this issue important'.
>
>
>
> This is what I wrote:
>
> I think you know why this is important. Too many lives lost unnecessarily
> due to ineffective and unresponsive policies and practices that are designed
> to maintain racism, sexism and economic inequality for those who are deemed
> to be dispensable by the economic and political elite. Signing this petition
> puts me at risk of violence from those who stand in opposition to a labour
> rights perspective. This issue is so important that I accept this risk.
>
>
>
> BTW I put a work address and not my home one because an address is required
> so maybe people can give other addresses too.
>
>
>
> Be well my friends,
>
> Raven
>
>
>
>
>
> From: first-bounces at cybersolidaires.org
> [mailto:first-bounces at cybersolidaires.org] On Behalf Of Joyce Arthur
> Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2014 10:01 AM
> To: 'FIRST'
> Subject: [FIRST] Petition: Say NO to the NORDIC Model
>
>
>
> Please sign, then share widely! This petition asks Justice Minister Peter
> MacKay to not pass a new criminal law, and to listen to the voices of sex
> workers and sex work organizations to determine how best to protect sex
> workers and the communities they live and work in.
>
>
>
> http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/the-honourable-peter-mackay-say-no-to-the-nordic-model-and-yes-to-decriminalization-of-sex-work-in-canada
>
>
>
> Short link: http://chn.ge/1f1S6ie  *   Twitter hashtag: #CdaDecrimNow
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> Petitioning The Honourable Peter MacKay
>
> Say NO to the NORDIC MODEL and YES to DECRIMINALIZATION of sex work in
> Canada
>
> Petition by Sonya Barnett Toronto, Canada
> ________________________________
>
> In December of 2013, The Supreme Court of Canada struck down 3 sections of
> the Criminal Code regarding sex work:
>
> s. 210 keeping or being in a bawdy-house
> s. 212 living on the avails of prostitution
> s. 213 communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution
>
> Their ruling focused on the safety and security of sex workers and was a
> huge win in a years-long battle against archaic and dangerous laws. 2
>
> The SCC unanimously found these laws to violate Canada's Charter of Rights
> and Freedoms, ruling them "overbroad", "grossly disproportionate" to their
> objectives, and therefore unconstitutional. The provisions denied
> the Charter rights of sex workers by prohibiting them from taking vital
> precautions that can reduce their risk of becoming victims of violence. The
> SSC has given Parliament one year from the date of the ruling to draft new
> legislation should they so choose, "as long as it does so in a way that does
> not infringe the constitutional rights of prostitutes. " 3
>
> THE NORDIC MODEL
>
> Our Minister of Justice, Peter MacKay, has indicated that he plans to
> introduce what is known as the "Nordic" or "Swedish Model" of prostitution.
> The Conservative government views sex work as "sexual exploitation" and
> slavery.4
>
> The Nordic model criminalizes the buyers of sexual services, and not the
> sellers, based on the notion that such laws protect those who sell sex
> {primarily women}. Those in the sex trade are regarded as 'prostituted
> persons', misguided, coerced, or merely victims of sexual violence. Buyers
> of sexual services are viewed as aggressors and victimizers.
>
> No sex workers were consulted in the creation of the Swedish law. The
> approach taken removes any agency or autonomy from those selling sex, while
> ignoring reasons why many enter the sex trade. It also ignores deeper social
> issues related to poverty, gender inequality, access to social, health &
> protective services, race, and discrimination.
>
> Those who support the Nordic approach rely on reports based on flawed
> methodology, which conflate trafficking with sex work, and purport to show a
> decrease in the size of the sex trade without the evidence to support this
> claim.
>
> "In light of the ambiguity concerning the Swedish law's ability to achieve
> its objective of eradicating sex work and promoting gender equality, over
> ten years' worth of evidence of its harmful impact on sex workers in Sweden,
> emerging evidence concerning the harmful impact of police sweeps targeting
> clients under Canada's current communicating provision, and the correlative
> deprivation of sex workers' security of the person, a Nordic model of
> asymmetric criminalization that maintains a criminal prohibition on the
> purchasers of sex workers' services should be deemed grossly
> disproportionate in its impact on sex workers' constitutional rights." 6
>
> DECRIMINALIZATION MODEL
>
> In order to honour the spirit of the Supreme Court's ruling, Canada requires
> a different model: Decriminalization.
>
> Decriminalization is the removal of criminal sanctions from both sellers and
> buyers of sexual services. New Zealand decriminalized adult sex work in 2003
> and passed a new civil law with the input of sex workers that protect their
> health and safety. The Decriminalization model is not only touted by sex
> workers and sex work organizations around the world but also by the United
> Nations, Amnesty International, and the World Health Organization.
>
> A Decriminalization Model customized for Canada would enable sex workers to
> enjoy the same health, safety and legal protections that are available to
> all other industries. Municipal by-laws, drafted in conjunction with the sex
> work community, can ensure that sex work is regulated in a safe and fair
> manner, consistent with other businesses. Canada must also recognize and
> address issues within sex work surrounding marginalized communities that
> suffer from discrimination and prosecution based on race, gender, social and
> economic factors.
>
> The Criminal Code already covers the serious issues of trafficking,
> exploitation and violence in other sections, so there is no need for
> additional criminal laws governing prostitution.
>
> PETITION
>
> The Supreme Court ruling was about Section 7 of our Charter, Security of the
> Person. Instituting the Nordic Model would flagrantly reinstate this
> infringement.
>
> We are petitioning the Justice Minister to pass no new criminal laws around
> sex work, and to listen to the voices of sex workers and sex work
> organizations to determine how best to protect sex workers and the
> communities they live and work in.
>
> Please sign with us to help propel Canada into the future in terms of the
> rights and freedoms afforded to all of us by our Charter. What our
> government decides will affect not only Canadians, but others worldwide.
>
> We would like to recognize those who are unable to sign this petition due to
> personal constraints involving access, as well as fear resulting from stigma
> and persecution.
>
> PRESENTING SIGNATORIES
>
> Sonya JF Barnett, afterbedford.com
> BC Coalition of Experiential Communities
> Joyce Arthur, FIRST Decriminalize Sex Work
> Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
> Good For Her
> Jean McDonald, Maggie's - Toronto Sex Workers' Action Project
> Providing Alternatives Counselling and Education (PACE) Society
> Prostitutes Involved, Empowered, Cogent - Edmonton (PIECE)
> Stepping Stone, Halifax
> West Coast Cooperative of Sex Industry Professionals (Vancouver)
>
> twitter: #CdaDecrimNow
>
> ***
>
> FOOTNOTES
>
> 1 For example, the "bawdy house" law {with language showing just how
> antiquated the laws are} prohibits even one person from providing sexual
> services in the privacy of their own home; The communications law endangers
> street-level workers because in order to avoid detection/arrest, sexworkers
> cannot take the time to properly vet clients before entering their vehicles.
>
> 2 Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford 2013 SCC 72
> http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/13389/index.do
>
> 3  Ibid.
>
> 4 Conservative Convention Policy Floor Resolutions: Canada's Social Fabric
> 2013, pg 17
>
> 5 Sex Work Law Reform in Canada: Considering Problems with the Nordic Model,
> by Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network pg 105
>
> 6 Sex Work Law Reform in Canada: Considering Problems with the Nordic Model,
> by Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network pg 122
>
> 7 International Committee on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe
> http://www.sexworkeurope.org/node/488
>
>
>
> For more information on the Decriminalization and/or how current laws affect
> Canadian sex workers and those abroad, please read:
>
> 10 Reasons to Decriminalize Sex Work, by Open Society
> Foundations http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/decriminalize-sex-work-20120713.pdf
>
> The Swedish Sex Purchase Act: Claimed Success and Documented Effects
> http://www.plri.org/resource/swedish-sex-purchase-act-claimed-success-and-documented-effects
>
> Sexwork Law Reform in Canada: Considering Problems with the Nordic Model, by
> Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
> http://aidslaw.ca/publications/interfaces/downloadFile.php?ref=2193
>
> Voices for Dignity: A Call to End the Harms Caused by Canada's Sex Trade
> Laws, by PIVOT Legal Society
> http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/pivotlegal/legacy_url/273/voicesfordignity.pdf?1345765612}
>
> Beyond Decriminalization: SexWork Human Rights and a New Framework for Law
> Reform, by PIVOT Legal Society
> http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/pivotlegal/legacy_url/275/BeyondDecrimLongReport.pdf?1345765615
>
>
>
> OTHER RESOURCES:
>
> Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
> http://www.aidslaw.ca/
>
> NSWP: Global Network of Sex Work Projects
> http://www.nswp.org/
>
> PLRI: New Directions in Sex Work Research
> http://www.plri.org/
>
> Abel, Gillian, Lisa Fitzgerald, Catherine Healy & Aline Taylor, Taking the
> Crime Out of Sex Work: New Zealand Sex Workers' Fight for
> Decriminalisation (Portland: Policy Press, 2010).
>
> Global Commission on HIV, "HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health" (New
> York, UNDP, HIV/AIDS Group, 2012)
> Online: http://www.hivlawcommission.org/index.php/report
>
> NZ, "Prostitution Law Reform in New Zealand", July 2012, Online: NZ
> Parliamentary Library
> http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/B1D8651B-D929-4620-836B-DDFF4D5ACEDF/246410/RP201205ProstitutionLawReforminNewZealand3.pdf
>
>
>
>
> ATT00001.txt
>
> _______________________________________________
>

-- 

~In Community, ANYthing is POSSIBLE.
~For Inspiration or to learn about my services, go to
https://sites.google.com/site/astralanne/resources