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

Mon Jan 23 12:01:43 PST 2012

I do not subscribe to the argument that the complete decriminalization of
prostitution will make the practice safer.

However, I too enjoyed the way this post was written, and am very much in
support of this kind of dialogue.

Joanna - I agree.  Starting conversations by acknowledging our common
ground is crucial in the debate going forward.

On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 2:11 PM, Joanna Chiu <chiu.joanna5 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yeah, criticism among feminists is a great thing and helps to further the
> movement, but for sex work/prostitution in particular, feminists seem to
> have trouble maintaining respectful and productive dialogue. I think it
> would help if all conversations around sex work start off with
> acknowledging our common goals. That usually includes common interests in
> helping to reduce violence against sex workers, and exploitation of minors
> in the sex industry. What do you all think are other ways to improve
> quality of conversations around sex work?
>
> And again, here are WAM! Vancouver's values:
>
>
>
> Our Values
> WAM! Vancouver operates in accordance with the core values of WAM!
> International (listed here: http://www.womenactionmedia.org/about/values/ ),
> with the following additions:
>
>    - *Indigenous Land:*  WAM! Vancouver acknowledges that the City of
>    Vancouver occupies unceded Coast Salish Territory, specifically the land of
>    the Skwxwú7mesh, Xwméthkwyiem, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.  WAM! Vancouver
>    aims to incorporate the history of colonization of Aboriginal peoples, as
>    well as the traditional knowledge of these groups, into all of its
>    activities.
>
>
>    - *Choice:*  WAM! Vancouver supports women’s reproductive rights
>    without condition.  WAM! Vancouver therefore supports a woman’s full and
>    unqualified access to abortion, and reserves the right to exclude persons
>    or organizations who aim to infringe upon this right in any way at any WAM!
>    event or within any WAM! space (including the listserv).
>
>
>    - *Sex work/prostitution:* WAM! Vancouver supports the dignity of
>    current and former sex workers/women in prostitution and advocates for
>    their safety.  While individual members of WAM! Vancouver have a wide range
>    of opinions regarding the legalization, decriminalization, or abolition of
>    sex work/prostitution in Canada, as an organization, WAM! Vancouver does
>    not advocate for any one approach. Any discussions about sex
>    work/prostitution in WAM! Vancouver spaces (including the listserv) or
>    at WAM! Vancouver events shall abide by WAM!’s core values, and not
>    infringe upon the dignity of any person.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 4:54 PM, Lindsay Miles <lindskmiles at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Thanks for posting, Meenakshi. I too grow fatigued with the divisiveness
>> of this issue within the feminist community (if we can speak of one), and
>> position myself in support of SWUAV and their work.
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Meenakshi Mannoe <
>> meenakshi.mannoe at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> 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)
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Wamvan mailing list
>>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Wamvan mailing list
>> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
>> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Joanna Chiu
>
> www.joannachiu.com <http://www.joannachiu.com%20>
> twitter.com/joannachiu
> Ph: 917 767 6145
> WAM! Vancouver <http://www.wamvancouver.wordpress.com%20>
> <http://twitter.com/joannachiu>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wamvan mailing list
> Wamvan at lists.resist.ca
> https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/wamvan
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/wamvan/attachments/20120123/4d31017d/attachment.html>