Harm Rd Reduction Approaches to Sex Work March 6, 2014 Barb MacQuarrie
Live exxxpressions: Sex Workers Stand Up In Montreal! (pt.1) Live exxxpressions: Sex Workers Stand Up In Montreal! (pt.2)
John Lowman, Professor in the SFU School of iminology i and a Canadian authority on prostitution Tendency to generalize what we know about street prostitutes to all prostitutes The Canadian contact sex service trade, usually referred to as prostitution ranges from female sexual slavery (the gorilla pimp) p survival sex (sale of sexual services by persons with very few other options, such as homeless youth and women in poverty) morebourgeoisstyles styles ofsex trade (including somestreet street prostitution) where both adults are consenting albeit it in a way that is shaped by their gender, occupation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and cultural values Need to create choices for people who see prostitution as their only option for making a living, and develop programs of harm reduction for those who are involved ( ) titution Law Reform in Canada, T. Shiibashi (Ed.), An anthology celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the institute of comparative law. Chuo University, Japan. Lowney, K. S., & Best, J. (1995)
Prof Michael L Rekart, M.D. British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, University of British Columbia Sex work is an extremely dangerous profession Sex workers are exposed to serious harms: drug use, disease, violence, discrimination, debt, criminalisation, and exploitation (child prostitution, trafficking for sex work, and exploitation of migrants) The use of harm reduction principles can help to safeguard sex workers' lives in the same way that drug users have benefited from drug use harm reduction Successful and promising harm reduction strategies are available: education, empowerment, prevention, care, occupational health and safety, decriminalisation of sex workers, and human rightsbased approaches (The Lancet, Volume 366, Issue 9503, 17 December 2005 6 January 2006, Pages 2123 2134)
Prof Michael L Rekart, M.D. British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, University of British Columbia Successful interventions include peer education training in condom negotiating skills safety tips for street based sex workers maleand and female condoms the prevention care synergy occupational health and safety guidelines for brothels self help organisations community based child protection networks Straightforward and achievable steps to improve the day to day lives of sex workers while they continue to work Conceptualise sex work harm reduction as a new paradigm to hasten this process (The Lancet, Volume 366, Issue 9503, 17 December 2005 6 January 2006, Pages 2123 2134)
PIVOT Legal Society eyond Decriminalization: Sex Work, Human Rights and a ew Framework for Law Reform, 2006 xamines the regulatory and legislative reforms required to rotect sex workers in the event that the adult sex industry is ompletely decriminalized eport highlights nine areas of law municipal, employment, labour, social welfare, tax, company, human rights, immigration, and family ex workers want access to the same legal and human rights rotections that are afforded to other Canadians Katrina Pacey, lawyer and author of the report
Sex trade advocacy & Research Alliance nces Shaver, PhD Concordia University, Eleanor Maticka Tyndale, PhD University of Windsor, Glenn Betteridge, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Maggie s, Stella, the Exotic Dancers Association of Canada & Kara Gillies commend five principles to guide the development of new cial, legal, and economic policies to improve the security, ety, and well being of sex workers: Sex workers receive the protection, respect, and opportunity to fully exercise their rights under the law afforded to all Canadians Sex workers, sex worker advocacy groups, and other community organizations providing services to sex workers are consulted in formulating legal and policy changes that affect their lives All sectors of the sex industry (not just street based work) are considered d in formulating changes in law and policy Legal, social and economic reforms undertaken at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government are gender neutral and attentive to socio economic i differences Systems are developed to facilitate the drafting of municipal, provincial, and federal legislation to ensure they operate in a complementary rather than contradictory manner
Stella aria Nengeh Mensah, professor at UQAM s École de travail social and Institut de recherches et d études féministes Sex work is met with a lot of prejudice and stereotypes whore stigma This stigmatization has a major influence on the lives, working conditions and the health of women who are working in this industry Furthers women s isolation and social exclusion, and compromises their dignity As professionals, we can Oppose stigmatization in our environments Make better informed interventions to properly p fulfill women s needs These women, just like any others, want openness and support
Stella aria Nengeh Mensah, professor at UQAM s École de travail social and Institut de recherches h et d études d féministes i at do sex workers need? To have better control over their working conditions To gain or improve the personal skills and abilities i that allow them to live and work in a healthy way with dignity To be recognized as full citizens To be listened to without being judged To be taken seriously To be integrated into the community without fear of being ostracized To have their human rights recognized and respected To have abuse and coercion they are subjected reported as a violation oftheirintegrity integrity To have access to public services without discrimination To have access to work related social and judicial services To havetheirwork decriminalized
Stella aria Nengeh Mensah, professor at UQAM s École de travail social and Institut de recherches et d études féministes w do we meet these needs? Recognize the women who perform sex work as unique individuals with complex identities Improve their health and wellbeing by reinforcing their self esteem and their abilities Improve their integration into their communities Improve their access to judicial, community and health services Facilitate t the appearance of non stigmatizing i social representations ti Take into account the impact of stigmatization ill d h il l i f k i d will end to the social exclusion of sex workers as we engage in and tribute to the development of a social, judicial, political and media text that is free of prejudice.
Stella aria Nengeh Mensah, professor at UQAM s École de travail social and Institut de recherches et d études féministes w to better intervene with sex workers? Be conscious of your own values, your prejudices,,your attitudes and your behaviour, and then seek to understand the motivation behind them. Be careful about overgeneralizations and avoid merging this woman with the stereotypes surrounding her. Adoptanopen open minded attitude. Watch, listen andask ask questions to understand her world of references and her experiences. Validate and focus on her needs and expectations: reassure her and consider her, above all, a person like any other. Respect her rhythm of progression. This will facilitate the creation of trust. Inform her of the services provided and her rights. Meet her needs or direct her towards a more appropriate resource. Create a resource bank kin your organization i that will address sex workers specific needs. Support the fight against the stigmatization of sex workers.
Researchers Glenn Betteridge of the Canadian HIV AIDS AIDSLegal Network Prof Michael L Rekart, M.D. from the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, University of British Columbia Kate Shannon PhD, Assistant professor, Department of Medicine University of British Columbia PIVOT Legal Society, Brings together people living on the margins of society and legal professionals committed to social justice, to create legal change that has the power to impact society as a whole http://www.pivotlegal.org John Lowman, Professor in the SFU School of Criminology and a Canadian authority on prostitution Eleanor Maticka Tyndale, PhD, holds a Canada Research Chair in Social Justice and Sexual Health at the University of Windsor Cecelia Benoit, holds a CIHR funded Team Grant on contexts of vulnerabilities, resiliencies and care among people in the sex industry Frances Shaver, PhD, Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University MariaNengeh Mensah, professor at UQAM sécole de travail social and Institut de recherches et d études féministes Many, many other proponents of harm reduction approaches to sex work see John Loman s Prostitution Research Page http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lowman/