Beyond Decriminalization: Sex-work, Human Rights and a New ...

BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law Reformhave likely never considered sex industry employment issues. One employer suggested that it is veryimportant for sex workers to be able to speak out when they feel that they are being exploited in theworkplace:A. I mean, people in this business don’t mobilize very often for a cause. And that’s agood example of a group of people coming together, current employees, ex-employees,coming together and saying, we, we need to do something about this, it’s so wrong.It takes a lot for a sex worker to say, this is wrong. A lot of what we do is wrong. Weswallow our pride everyday, y’know, men will make disgusting comments, and youjust sort-of smile, Oh – you’re, you’re funny! Um – y’know, part of the job is swallowingyour pride. Because part of the job is playing to the male ego. And, again,I am sorry for your gender. But part of the job, involves swallowing your pride. Sowhen it comes to what an employee will take from an employer, quite a bit! AndI mean, I have, myself. And – and I’m not a pushover. It’s just part of your cost todoing a lot of business. I’ve worked for a lot of pigs. And I’ve – I’ve never wonderedy’know, mobilize against someone – it would have to be really bad.- female massage parlour owner, former sex workerWhen asked whether they would be interested in having a mechanism for complaints againstemployers, many participants said that sex workers need a mechanism for making complaints aboutproblems in the workplace. However, sex workers raised a number of concerns about a governmentalbody, such as the Branch, handling complaints. They were concerned that a government body wouldnot understand prostitution and the particular workplace issues that sex workers face. Several projectparticipants felt that any government or other body that is made responsible for overseeing sex workplacestandards will need to include sex workers in its membership if it is to understand and addressthe problems that sex workers currently experience:A. Regardless of the section of employer, I definitely think that there needs to be anarbitration board or a complaint system. Because there’s – there’s been known abusesin this industry.A. For sure.A. And you don’t have no voice. Traditionally, the women doing the work have no voice,if there are problems and complaints.A. You have to, yeah, establish like somebody that would listen to the hearings though.A. And I think that should be a board of retired hos.A. Yeah. Somebody who has been in the industry for yearsA. Then it would be like a tribunal, not just a union, a tribunal always, only, like threevoices.- female off-street out-call sex workersSome project participants identified ways that the existing ESA complaint system would have to bemodified to address the particular needs of sex workers. They felt sex workers should be able to makeanonymous complaints. Also, they suggested that it should be possible to make a complaint at anytime of day or night:A. That there would be an organization that they could go to report these incidents ofthat are occurring and how they are being treated. And so that, something that backstheir involvement. That they won’t just be fired, that there is some sort organizationthat can come in and say hey this is either the regulations, you can’t do this and youcan’t do that. So then they get penalized for it . . . You could make the complaintanonymous, y’know, and just make a number, or something. To make it an anony-139