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

Mon Jan 23 12:25:06 PST 2012

Thanks for sharing Meenakshi, and thanks everyone for the feedback. I'll be
sure to pass along the gist of the comments to Jasmine.

On Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 12:01 PM, Natalie Hill <nhill10 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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)
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> 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>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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-- 
--------------------
Jarrah Hodge
@jarrahpenguin
http://gender-focus.com
604-790-0487
--------------------
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