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

PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETYtion. For example, Vancouver by-laws prohibit health enhancement centres and body-rub parloursfrom operating between 12 midnight and 8 a.m. 85 Street, out-call and in-call sex workers were dividedas to whether or not sex workers should be subject to such restrictions.Some sex workers stated that they did not want any restrictions on their hours of work, whileothers had no problem accepting municipally established business hours:A. No, if they’re working in a – if they are in a zone – or they are zoned to a certainarea than – and – and if they are zoned in a certain area around the edges of theresidential, maybe street workers. There the municipality of that certain area shouldhave some say maybe in – in hours . . . .A. There should be no restrictions.A. No restrictions.- female street-level sex workersSome in-call establishment sex workers stated that the limited business hours actually helped protectsex workers, in which case they recommended that by-law restrictions on times of business operationbe kept as they are:Q. So let’s talk about these – these by-laws then for the Health Enhancement Centre.What do you think about them? About the hours of operation?A. The hours of operation are okay. We don’t really want the after bar crowd, okay? Butif we were allowed to, we would have to stay open so that we could compete on thatlevel. Because if we closed at 12, and other places were open ‘til two, like it is rightnow, because we all close at 12, every prospective client in Vancouver, knows that theyhave to get in the door by 12.A. So we are all on a level playing field that way. Unless – given that he is a massageparlour client, if he is an escort client, he doesn’t have to, they are 24 hours. And if he isan independent working client, then he obviously, can find someone 24 hours.A. But if it is a client, who likes our type of service, which means you walk into a room,and you get to meet everybody and choose who you like, that style of service is onlyavailable until 12 midnight. Okay?A. If you call an escort agency, you have to go give up something yourself. Either youhave to go pay for a hotel room, or you have to have someone over to your home. A lotof men don’t want to do that. A lot of men don’t like to see an independent becausethey have to give their real name, and a girl – y’know, she’ll screen calls.A. So what remains attractive about our form of business is that you don’t need anappointment, and you can walk in and pick who you like, in person, and go fromthere. And if that is your thing, you can only do that until midnight in Vancouver.And I am glad for that.A. Because we don’t – I could see our business getting really ugly if we were – The onlyproblems we ever have is from someone who is drunk, who can’t make the judgmentcall. Like I said, we don’t get a misogynist or a violent person, because if they wantto go pick on a woman, they are not going to go into a place where there are a wholegroup of us and the geography is not set up to their benefit.A. But people who are not making the proper judgment calls, don’t think those thingsthrough. And drunks are – I guess there are very happy drunks out there – butusually, we will turn away drunks. We don’t say that we won’t help you because youare drunk. We will just say, we are sorry but we are all booked up right now.85 Supra note 32 at ss. 11.5(6), 17.1(4).58