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

PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETYI want credit or a loan, some kind of insurance, whatever. I at one time had homeinsurance or something like that and then when they found out that maybe there wassome business going on in that home, they wouldn’t pay off for some items that gotstolen, somebody broke in and stole some things or whatever. And I just went, fine, Ijust won’t use insurance service . . . But there’s many many situations like that whereyou just can’t be a full member of society. You have to sort of be on the fringe.- female off-street out-call sex workerA final barrier that sex workers mentioned due to the stigma of being employed in prostitution was interms of access to legal protections.A. One of the major issues with all of the legal protections available is anonymity. Inorder to avail yourself of a legal protection, you have to, as a sex worker, you have toout yourself basically, as a sex worker. Either through signing some forms saying thatthis happened and I am signing a grievance or I am filing a claim, that had somethingto do with sex work, with your name on it, of course. Some sex workers feel thatit is the anonymity that they want to keep, which keeps them from, y’know advocatingfor increased legal protection. So it’s kind of like catch-22. It is. And it’s – evenif you are told that y’know, it’s not about being prosecuted or – that isn’t that type ofassurance that we are looking for. It is because of the stigma. You can’t ever come outand speak on behalf of your profession. And then if you speak anonymously, then itjust doesn’t carry the weight behind it. Because what would carry some weight is fora person in the community, such as myself, where I lived, stand up and say I am aprostitute, how does that make you feel?- female massage parlour owner, former sex workerIt is clear from the foregoing evidence that sex workers currently experience a high degree of discriminationon the basis of their source of income, and that they require protection from such discrimination.The BCHRC does not currently provide protection for people in B.C. who experience discriminationon the basis of their lawful source of income in regards to accommodation (other than tenancy,as previously discussed), service or facility customarily available to the public. This means that evenafter legal reform, a sex worker who is deprived of medical treatment because he or she earns incomefrom sex work would receive no protection from such discrimination under the BCHRC. The datasuggest that the rights of sex workers would be better protected if discrimination on the basis of lawfulsource of income should be added as a prohibited ground listed in all sections of the BCHRC.Discrimination based on sex: sexual harassmentForms of sexual harassment encountered by sex workersSex workers experience sexual harassment in many forms from both employers and clients. Sexualharassment involves conduct of a sexual nature that may be verbal or non-verbal, subtle or obvious.Sexual harassment can include such behaviour as pinching, grabbing, hugging, kissing, leering,propositioning, gender-based insults, and remarks regarding a person’s appearance or sexual habits.To constitute harassment, these acts must be unwelcome. They may be characterized by persistentand repetitive behaviour or a single incident depending on the degree of severity of the alleged act. In some cases, the harassing behaviour need not occur within the workplace itself for it to be coveredunder the BCHRC. For example, if an employer sexually harassed an employee at an after-work party Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd., [1989], 1 S.C.R. 1252 at 1284 [Janzen].186