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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

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
BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law ReformA. Is usually how we handle drunks. But it – a lot of drunks are, they are sleeper drunks– you don’t realize they are drunk.A. Yeah. Y’know, doing the door, presentation. I do the door a lot when I am there. Butthat’s, y’know, part of it. We know the least – we take happy drunks, but we do nottake falling down drunks. And we don’t take miserable drunks, and we don’t pick afight with a drunk.A. Y’know, we – we train people in sort of confrontation management that way. It’srather than saying, Sorry we can’t help you, you are drunk. That’s very confrontational.You just say, I am really sorry, we are all booked up right now. Do you wantto come back in about an hour?A. No one is going to come back in an hour.- female off-street in-call sex workersOther sex workers stated that there should be no restriction on business hours whatsoever:Q. And what about business hours? Do you think there should be any restrictionsregarding business hours for establishments?A. No, I don’t. Like, here in Edmonton, they make massage parlours shut down at 11:00and I really can’t see why.- female off-street out-call sex workerOther participants stated that restrictions on the hours of operation of sex industry businesses shouldbe no different than any other kind of business, such as establishments serving alcohol:A. I think that it should be like drinking establishments that have set hours when theyare serving alcohol. I don’t think it should be specialized to sex work and they shouldhave their own restricted hours.- female off-street out-call sex workerIn sum, sex workers were divided as to whether or not business hours for sex industry businessesshould be restricted.Advertising by-lawsIt is common for municipal sex industry by laws to restrict advertising. Most often such provisionsprohibit nudity and depictions of sexual activity in advertisements. 86 Sex workers were dividedas to whether or not there should be restrictions on the content of advertising. Sex workers stated thatthe most damaging restrictions on advertising are the sort imposed in Edmonton where independentescorts must show their license in order to place an ad. 87 For independent escorts in particular, advertisingis usually the most important method of contacting clients.Two sex workers agreed with restrictions on advertising content, stating that ads should be tasteful,and that children should not be exposed to explicit advertising:A. I don’t think nudity is needed in an advertisement. I don’t see it necessary foranything, perhaps nice, tasteful, clothed shots of people, maybe the size . . . . I don’twant to look at a full-page ad of Barbie and her friends or something. Just somethingsmall, something simple. I mean, you don’t have to put it out there, clients knowwhat’s what anyways, so it doesn’t need to be big.- female off-street out-call sex worker86 Supra note 32 at s. 11.5(8).87 Supra note 68 at s. 36, 37.59
Page 4:
PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETYPart 2: Municipa
Page 21 and 22: BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work,
Page 57: BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work,
Page 109 and 110:
BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work,
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229:
show all

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?