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

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PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETYBecause I heard about a couple of guys still there. And the wife is over here. And theywork together, which means . . . over there he is the dealer. He does all the work ofpaying like every year, they send money to the family, that’s all.Q. Okay, so he buys the girl from the family and brings her to Canada to where his wifeis waiting, who owns the massage parlour?A. Actually . . . I think that lady at the time. I am pretty sure because I used to work in herhouse. Not her house because she would rent some house and would hide the girls there. . . They were doing business there. Starting to run out of business there, and that’s whyshe starting to send the girls to the massage parlour . . . she is not the only one.- female migrant off-street in-call sex workerSome migrant sex workers experience language barriers or employer-imposed restrictions on theiractivities, and are therefore very limited in their ability to seek assistance from police, health careservices, government agencies, social service organizations, faith-based groups or their peers. Forexample, one migrant sex worker explained that, in general, migrant sex workers are more vulnerableto sexual assault than other sex workers and face substantial barriers to legal redress:A. Like two girls coming from Thailand or whatever . . . They got raped a couple of girlsof them. They got raped more than two times . . . And they just have to settle.Q. At the new, the other one on [location omitted] did anything like that ever happenthere? Did you ever feel unsafe?A. I do feel unsafe, but it’s not that bad. The guy did not raped me. He just . . . he wastrying to like having sex with me. It’s a Vietnamese guy. He was trying to have sexwith me without a condom. I said no. And then he trying to grab me. Starting tograb me really hard, trying to forcing me to do it. Like he want to rape me, likepossible. So, I was screaming. And my friend, that is my friend was just passing byand she knocked on the door. Like, knock, knock, go, go. That’s why I was lucky.That’s why I was [able to get] away . . .Q. So she rattled on the door and he got scared?A. Yeah, and then he stopped. I went out and I said, I do not want to do him . . . This isthe difference when you are Canadian; you have a choice to say I do not want to dothis guy . . . In all those massage parlours if you are not, like you cannot say no.- female migrant off-street in-call sex workerEven when in need of immediate medical care, some migrant sex workers are forced to continue towork, and to do so in dangerous conditions:Q. But you won’t get a chance to talk to [non-Canadian sex workers] and find outwhat’s going on?A. Not at all. But I remember once, the girl was crying and I was trying to talk toher. And she do not really speak English very well. But she was trying to tell me thesponge, the boss was telling her to put it inside her vagina because she was bleeding .. . And she, because it’s really hurting; it’s really painful. She trying to put a smallerone in. And the customer complaining because he saw blood. So, the owner, likeapparently, slapped her or whatever because she was crying.Q. Oh, so he hit her?A. Yeah, I think so and she needs to put a bigger sponge inside. She told me that andthen she said like, like she hate her life and stuff like that. I feel so bad.- female migrant off-street in-call sex worker194
BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law ReformIn some establishments, wages are higher for Canadian than for migrant sex workers. In some massageparlours, workers are not paid an hourly wage – their income consists only of tips they may receivefrom clients for the sexual services they provided. In these cases, the client pays the establishment forthe massage, and then negotiates the sexual services with the individual worker. This means that whenbusiness is slow, or in instances where the client receives a massage only, a sex worker does not getpaid:Q. Yeah, so do you think that [non-Canadian sex workers] charge the same as Canadiangirls?A. No, it’s totally different. I know that. I am pretty sure.Q. What do you think the difference is?A. Okay, like Canadian girls when they work in the massage parlour. Say, I do notreally remember, but say one hour you get $25 an hour pay. For one session, not onehour, like 45 minutes. Me myself I only got $15 for an hour because I do not havea license . . . But I was complaining and that’s why they pay me. Because before, Ihaving argument with them. I do no have pay for hours . . . And I find out, that allthe girls. They are working when they don’t have. First off, when they do not have thelicense.Q. The massage certificate.A. License. And some girls they are not even supposed to live in Canada . . . And they donot get paid for hours . . . It’s crazy. You know, how much money the owner makes?I mean like one hour, the owner charges 50 bucks. Like at that time. Like now it’slower prices. But at that time, it’s 50 bucks . . . So, the girl’s 25 bucks an hour, yougot 25 bucks. But now when the girl do not get the $25, he gets 50 bucks for nothing.Q. And what does the girl get?A. The girls get zip. The girls get the money if they have sex with the guy.- female migrant off-street in-call sex workerHaving to acquire a massage certificate or a license creates an additional barrier for a migrant sexworker. For example, she may not have the financial means to do so, or she may not want to registerany information with the government or educational institutions for fear that she may be arrested ordeported.In the following excerpt, the same migrant massage parlour worker explained how Canadian sexworkers are paid for their work even if they do not engage in the sale of sex acts, while their migrantcounterparts are not paid:Q. The owner gets paid for the room and time, and the girl gets paid for whatever sexthat she does. So, if he just wants a massage, do you get paid?A. I do.Q. And how do you work that out?A. They got a paper.Q. Right.A. When you get it you gonna put your name on and how many hours you are in there.This is the problem here. When the girl is not Canadian, they do not get paid for anhour. So, if the guys does not do anything, they got nothing. But usually they will paytips, at least 20 bucks.Q. Oh, okay. But for you because you are Canadian, you get a . . .A. They have to.Q. Paid for the hour.- female migrant off-street in-call sex worker195
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