The reason I became involved in the charter challenge as an individual plaintiff was quite clear to me. I didn't want sex workers to experience the injustices and violence I had. I wanted change. The laws did not protect me when I reported many violent crimes including attempted murder. Instead, I was treated with contempt, ridiculed, discounted and dismissed. I was treated as a criminal, as though I deserved to be treated this way.
These new laws just replicate the past laws, they reinforce Ho-phobia and the idea that prostitution is a social ill and a form of men's violence against women. Under the guise of protecting women and children in this country, this new provisions are irrational and undermines our constitutional rights. This narrow preconception discriminates against and creates naive, insulting stereotypes of those who do sex work.
And now nothing has changed. In fact we are regressing to the Stone Age. This is inexcusable, it astounds and horrifies me. The whole world was watching Canada to set a precedent and I feel ashamed and embarrassed of our current government. They have failed to do the right thing. It is very clear that sex workers were not listened to or heard. Once again, our realities were disrespected and discounted, we were ridiculed and silenced. They did not look or value us as human beings, nor did they accept that we are the experts of our own experiences. They didn't view sex or the selling of sex as necessary, like any other occupation, but as dirty and immoral and actually stated that no one would choose to do it.
A Conservative Senator Donald Plett stated: "Of course, we don't want to make life safe for prostitutes; we want to do away with prostitution. That's the intent of the bill." How could anyone in their right mind even consider that you could abolish prostitution? This bill lacks insight, totally disregards evidence-based research, and it is a deliberate, unrealistic attempt to abolish prostitution in this country.
It's really difficult to wrap my head around what the Conservatives were thinking. It warps and boggles my mind. In what reality do they live? Really? What is wrong with you? It is clear that they have bought into the ideas and morals of the prohibitionists. I can certainly recognize it by the language they use. Anti-prostitution advocates have them believing that all prostitution is violence against women; that those selling sex are uneducated; that we suffer from a false consciousness; that drugs have confused our minds; that we come from cultures that are not enlightened; that we are at the mercy of pimps; that we are trafficked, exploited, are damaged; and so on.
Regardless of their archaic beliefs about sex and selling sex, it will always be a part of human existence, and it will not go away through legal reforms aimed at ending it.
How can you possibly make decisions without being educated about the issues? Without speaking to those most affected? The conflations, misinformation, individual morals, uptight sexual attitudes and religious viewpoints have clouded their thinking.
And now a rescue industry begins to flourish. The messed up idea that evangelicals help us in some way, shape or form is beyond belief. Their ideas are regressive and harmful. They have nothing to teach us, but will only discriminate, shame and judge us.
We don't want your "rescue," nor do we need it. We are not lost animals.
Do you not understand that this bill is pushing us more underground? That we will have no choice but to work in concealed, dangerous, underground locations where the most extreme and dangerous circumstances exist? Including exploitation and death. Sex workers will absolutely NOT be safer, nor will they be willing to seek any legal protection, especially from the police. This blatant disregard for sex workers' health and safety is profoundly disturbing. These are the real consequences of their foolish bill.
Why in the world is there an assumption that all of our clients are bad and should be penalized; that they're perverts and predators? This view is disjointed and disconnected beyond belief and is fundamentally inaccurate. There is a huge difference between a client and a predator. Let's understand the difference and make the distinction.
To me this is hypocrisy at its finest, so much so that it's almost laughable. Because, we all have dated many in positions of power — like police officers, judges, lawyers, doctors, senators and MLAs.
The new laws also prevent us from having a relationship with a "pimp" without knowing what the relationship entails or if the relationship is agreeable to both parties. They have bought into the media portrayal of an evil person or a slick fellow who cons young girls and grown women into selling their bodies and giving them all their money. That society must protect the poor, mentally defective sex worker from any relationship in which the other person benefits financially from commercial sexual activities. This concept is so outrageous it is offensive. But, unfortunately it is the prevailing view of much of society, of some feminists, and other individuals who wish to 'rescue' sex workers from the clutches of "pimps." Would anyone ever consider interfering in the relationships of the many actresses who get involved with totally unsuitable partners? And how should society prevent women from selecting potentially abusive husbands?
Should there be some sort of governmental agency to sort out who is suitable as a boyfriend, husband or significant other, to prevent unsuitable and potentially dangerous relationships?
Sex work is complex, as are the lives of the people who are involved at every level. The new laws only add to the complexity. They do not provide a rational approach to safety because they have been constructed through ideology, and will tragically end the lives of beautiful human beings.
I am going to say the following because I have lost any respect I once had in this government. I have lost any faith in their decisions. I may seem rude and crude to some, but:
I SAY — FUCK YOU… YOU FUCKING FUCKS!! AND KNOW THIS!
We are more determined than ever. This fight is NOT over. You will not stop, oppress or silence our voices any longer. In all of human history, no government, no army, no religion has ever stopped sex work. Nor will you be able to stop what is now a global sex workers' rights movement. We have always been strong, resilient and resourceful, and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.
