[Wamvan] Making the Sex Trade Safer: Is Decriminalization the Answer?

[Meenakshi Mannoe]

This post was featured on Jarrah's blog Gender Focus. Reading it, I
feel that Jasmine Peterson very delicately approaches the long-term
polarizing debate of abolition/decriminalization that continues within
the feminist community, part and aprcel of a global debate I believe.

I often feel fatigued by this debate and it was refreshing to read
Jasmine's post.

In full disclosure, I am a huge supporter of the work that SWUAV has
done and I see their work as a heartening example of grassroots
activism.

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Link: http://www.gender-focus.com/2012/01/22/making-the-sex-trade-safer-is-decriminalization-the-answer/

Article Below

Making the Sex Trade Safer: Is Decriminalization the Answer? January 22, 2012

Very pleased to have Jasmine back for a second post at Gender Focus.
Jasmine Peterson is currently a graduate student in Clinical
Psychology at Lakehead University (Ontario), and a feminist activist.

Prostitution is a cultural phenomenon that has been present in some
form or another throughout history; it has often been referred to as
‘the world’s oldest profession’ which is not an accurate statement,
but highlights the fact that sex work has been prevalent throughout
the world for centuries.

In Canada, prostitution itself is a legal activity. However, many of
the activities related to prostitution are illegal: operating or being
found in a brothel or bawdy house, procuring sexual services, living
on the avails of prostitution, or soliciting in a public space.

This is an issue for a number of reasons: it is difficult to engage in
prostitution without breaking the law even though prostitution itself
is legal, it contributes to and is a function of the cultural stigma
against sex workers (which can also lead to street prostitutes being
jailed more frequently than their clients), but most concerning is
that these laws prohibit those who engage in sex work to communicate
in a public space. This leaves workers more susceptible to the dangers
of the industry (specifically violence and fear of legal reprisal for
reporting such violence once it’s been committed).

A group of Vancouver sex workers – The Downtown Eastside Sex Workers
United Against Violence Society – have spent the past few years pitted
against the federal government in legal proceedings. The case has made
its way to the Supreme Court. What is really at the center of this
legal battle is the safety of sex-trade workers. The sex-trade workers
would like to see the activities associated with prostitution
decriminalized as an integral step in ensuring their health, safety,
and freedom of expression – basic human rights (read about it here).



The debate about decriminalizing activities surrounding prostitution
is a rather divisive one, with some polarizing views. The problem, as
I see it, is that there are two separate groups of sex-trade workers –
those who work off-street (for example escort services), and those who
are engaged in the on-street sex-trade.

The off-street sex workers are typically those with more stable living
conditions, and are less likely to be prosecuted or stigmatized than
their counterparts. The on-street sex-trade workers are often women
and men who are homeless or living in poverty, suffering addiction or
other mental health issues, and are at greater risk of serious acts of
violence.

To add to this, they are often afraid to report abuse or violence they
have been subjected to because they are frequently revictimized by the
legal system for engaging in the criminalized activities of an
otherwise legal profession.

One of the biggest concerns for many feminists who are opposed to the
legalization of prostitution acts is that sex work is inherently
coercive and exploitative, and that all sex work leaves those who
engage in the trade vulnerable to violence.

It’s legitimate to consider the poverty, homelessness, addiction, and
other struggles which affect many sex-trade workers as forms of
coercion, yet this is the group of people most disadvantaged by
current legislation, particularly the laws prohibiting communication.

Because communication in public is not legal, it forces sex workers to
take their work underground, to accept clients after only very brief
interchanges, which drastically increases the dangers associated with
their work. Of course, it is hard to predict what the effects of
decriminalizing all activities to do with prostitution might be. The
laws that target pimping (i.e. procuring, living off the avails of
prostitution) if eliminated, may leave sex-workers as much or more
susceptible to trafficking or exploitation by pimps.

While it is definitely of concern that a number of those who get into
the sex trade do so out of necessity because of their economic
situation, our cultural discourses and consequent perceptions of the
sex-trade seem to make it difficult, even impossible, for many of us
to imagine that some people choose this type of work. But I think that
it is as important that we do not negate it as a legitimate choice for
many in the industry as it is that we protect those who are
trafficked, coerced , or exploited by the industry.

Prostitution is not a new profession, yet society grants its members
very little respect, subjecting them to stigma, violence, and
prosecution. I sometimes wonder if the reason prostitution is regarded
so poorly is because of the way we talk about women and women’s
sexuality, the way we devalue women in our culture (I’m not suggesting
that only women work in the sex trade; it is equally dangerous for
males, transgendered individuals, homeless youth, etc.).

Whatever the reason, I see decriminalization of some of the activities
surrounding prostitution as an inevitable progression in working
toward making the sex trade safer, healthier, and providing sex
workers greater autonomy. It is, however, just one step – we also need
to address social issues that allow some to be coerced into the
sex-trade, by providing accessible services for addiction, addressing
homelessness and poverty, and reducing the stigma surrounding sex
work.

 -Jasmine

(photo via Wikimedia Commons)