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

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PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETY86A. As an employer, like, if I was hiring someone for any kind of work, I’d want tothink that they were people who were clean, responsible, and able to be on time, andsomeone who is capable of getting themselves where they’ve got to go to see the client. . . . Who has something of a wardrobe to use, or their get-togethers, even if it’s justone or two outfits that they can get by on until they’ve made some money to get somemore, there is a certain need for attractiveness in this business, and in that way it isdifferent than a lot of other businesses, but you know, if you went to an office and youcouldn’t dress properly for it, I’m sure people would get tired of that.Q. So what would you ask someone? You interview people I assume when you hire them?A. Yeah . . .Q. And what kind of questions do you ask them, like, have you done this [sex work] before?A. Yes I would.Q. Do you take measurements?A. Well I don’t stand there and take them, I just ask them what their measurements are,yeah, I need to convey that to my client. I would want to retain the right to say “Idon’t think I’m gonna be able to get many clients for you given this, this, or this” youknow, I don’t have to refuse them completely but I can say you know “your chancesmay not be very good.” I was thinking of someone just the other day I’d done thatwith last year. She just wasn’t appealing enough relative to the rest of the people Ihave on offer, that she would have gotten any work or much work. So there’s thatangle. They have to be in shape to a degree and it seems like the age factor is anotherfactor, although of course you don’t, I don’t want to employ anybody too young. Iprefer that they’re 20 or older, so there’s that angle as well.- female escort agency owner, former sex workerThere were differences of opinion over the use of physical attributes as a criterion in the hiringprocess. Several escorts felt that the physical beauty requirements imposed by many employers wereunfortunate, but they thought that it is a reality of the sex-work profession. Sex workers describedhow clients’ demands for particular physical attributes drive the hiring process and the retention ofworkers:Q. What about any sort of rules with respect to hiring employees?A. I guess that’s up to the employer because if every kind wants a different girl, differenttastes, ya, so it’s up to the employer-what kind of girl she wants to hire or he wants tohire.A. Do you mean how do you prevent discrimination in hiring and stuff like that? That’stough.Q. Ya like only the pretty girls with big boobs gets hired.A. But you know what, that’s what happens in restaurants. Hooters. And who controlsit? Nobody.A. So regardless . . . It’s going to happen and I don’t think there’s nothin’ that can bedone about it either.A. That’s the way the world is.Q. If the law could do something about it though do you think there should be lawsabout it?A. What are there now?Q. Basically you could bring an action for discrimination or a complaint to one of thesebodies. Whether or not it will be successful probably depends on how blatant it was.A. Different men like different body types.
BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law ReformA. Ya there is, for sure.A. Well, it’s attrition. In the massage parlours it’s attrition. If you’re not making moneyyou leave, right? You don’t have to sit there for eight hours if you’re not makingmoney. They don’t even have to get rid of you, you just go.- female off-street out-call sex workersOther workers stated that the particular personal appearance that many employers require means thatsex workers who do not fit the mainstream beauty norm often have to work independently:A. Not every woman in this business is that blatantly attractive, and I’ve worked withgirls who are all shapes and sizes and I’ve seen places like in Vancouver, you know,like [name of business omitted] . . . if you’re not like completely plastic-surgeryclean, you don’t get picked so you don’t make any money. So they’re not going to stickaround very long and they’ll end up . . . what? Going to work on their own, I mean,that’s just what would happen.- female off-street out-call sex workerSex workers and business owners were asked about the types of information that employers shouldshare with job applicants in the hiring process. The ESA states that an employer must not makefalse representations in order to induce, influence or persuade a person to become an employee. 11One escort business owner described the importance of describing the nature of the services that areprovided at her establishment in order to ensure that any person who was hired was willing to providethese services:A. Well, when we interview, when I sit down with them at the very beginning, I getsome idea, I have a form that I fill out, like an employment form, and I ask themyou know what their rules are on this that and the other kind of thing, if they havecertain rules. And I may say to them well, you know the way you want business or theway you’re used to it from somewhere else probably isn’t going to fit with my style. Mybusiness is known for offering what they call “girlfriend experience” and that tends tobe a more relaxed, open, kind of encounter that a man may have with a girlfriend ormistress, and so there would be, you know, kissing and affection, and a lot of thingsthat some services might think was taboo.- female escort agency owner, former sex workerThe requirement that employers provide full information about the nature and conditions of employmentis central to the ability of both the employer and the worker to enter into a binding employmentcontract under contract law. In order for the terms and conditions in the employment contract to beenforceable, an employee must be fully informed as to the details of their contractual arrangement. Thestatutory protection found in s. 8 of the ESA reinforces this obligation.For many escort agencies or massage parlours, the job application process involves an interviewwhere an applicant is asked questions about themselves, their experience in prostitution and, in somecircumstances, about their physical measurements. Some sex workers described the particularly offensiveand apparently widespread practice of male employers requiring job applicants to have sex withthe owner or manager as part of the “interview” process:A. Okay, when I went around looking for a job or to become an escort . . . I mean, everyone of those guys that interviewed me, I had to have sex with them. Like that, tome, is sexual harassment. The escort owners want to try you out. I don’t know of any11 ESA, supra note 4, s. 8.87
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