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

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PIVOT LEGAL SOCIETY92girlfriend or mistress, and so there would be, you know, kissing and affection, and alot of things that some services might think was taboo. But I don’t want my clients tofeel processed, I don’t want them to feel like “eww, you probably got something yuckyand we don’t want to touch you.” I want it to be a great exchange for both people,and have a minimum amount of paranoia. It’s probably a metaphysical point ofview of mine but it seems to me that if there’s no bad energy coming from either side,then how much can go wrong, and that goes with the health as well.Q. What kind of process do you think an employer should have for, if for example, aworker works for you for five years and there’s no problem in terms of services andthen one day you sort of hear either through the client or, I guess it would have to bethrough the client, or maybe the worker, that she refused to do a particular aspect ofthe service? How do you think an employer should deal with that, if at all?A. . . . I mean for myself, I would try and find out what was going on, why thathappened, was it this particular individual, was there something about them thatyou know, raised a red flag, or made some objection. I mean people have said, youknow I would normally kiss but this one was really kind of disgusting or didn’t smellso good or something like that. Uh, you know, if someone, if the lady’s being reasonable,I have no quarrel with that.- female escort agency owner, former sex workerSome employers may even expect GFE services to involve oral sex or sexual intercourse without acondom.Some employers offer a set “menu” of sexual services available at their establishment, and allworkers in the establishment are obliged to offer the services on the menu, even where the workerdoes not wish to. This practice has the potential to violate the sexual assault provisions of the CriminalCode. Upon accepting the job, workers may have agreed to provide a range of services to any client,but under current law, consent must be obtained for each sexual encounter, and can be revoked atany time. Therefore, sex workers must not be placed in the situation of consenting to engage in sexualactivity as a result of inducements, pressure or under duress.In the following excerpt, a project participant discussed sexual assault and the importance of thesex worker’s consent:A. Okay, from the point of an employer I think yes, they are the ones that take advantage,they’re the ones that believe in free sampling of the wares. You know? You’dbe surprised. The only time I have a potential problem with a client is if he wantsservice I don’t provide and he’s sort of on the drunk side. And then he can be belligerentand keep asking and keep nagging, and it’s like, you know what I do? I’m abig girl and I look at him and I go if you do that one more time you’re not goingto get the time you expected from me because I’m going to leave and you’re going tobe left to your own resources. And that usually straightens them right up. And if itdoesn’t, on one of those occasions when it doesn’t, I just climb into my clothes and Ileave and I go maybe next time you’ll have a better grip. And, you know, you’ll graba brain and you won’t do that again. There’s no room for sexual harassment chargeswith clients. There is room though for sexual assault charges. That is to say that if agirl doesn’t provide a particular service, and he doesn’t care and goes ahead and takesadvantage of her that way, then of course. I mean, there’s tons and tons of girls in thisindustry for instance that don’t provide anal sex. Occasionally, some client will comealong and say well I paid for it, I should have it and those, those sorts of things, thoseshould be prosecuted. I mean nobody should get away with doing that to another
BEYOND DECRIMINALIZATION: Sex Work, Human Rights and a New Framework for Law Reformperson against their will.- female off-street out-call sex workerGiven Canada’s sexual assault laws, sex workers will always be legally entitled to maintain control overthe sexual services they provide in any given transaction. This right cannot be overridden by contractualobligations or workplace rules. Sex workers will always have the right to refuse sexual activity,regardless of any prior arrangements with an employer or with a client.Even though this protection is in place, the reality is that sex workers who are living in povertymay feel compelled to engage in sexual activities that they do not feel comfortable with in order toretain a client or earn more money in a single transaction. 19 Many sex workers reported that somecustomers offer higher fees for unsafe sexual acts. The practice of clients offering to pay more for riskysexual acts was a recurring theme. Sex workers who are in greater financial need may be at more riskof being compelled to engage in unsafe practises. One sex worker described receiving more money forproviding oral sex without a condom:Q. Now did they give you condoms there?A. No, you have to have your own condomsQ. So, were you using condoms?A. Yes, I did.Q. All used or . . .A. All used.Q. Did customers ever offer you not to use a condom?A. Oh, yeah.Q. And did they offer you more money not to use a condom?A. I take the offer when it’s blow job. I do not take the offer when it’s having sex.- female off-street in-call sex workerSome sex workers are pressured to engage in unsafe activities in order to generate enough income topay escort agency fees, such as transportation, security, administrative services and other work-relatedexpenses:Q. Should [sex workers] determine what services are provided?A. Oh, definitely. Some girls that work for the agencies, they go on these calls and onegirl says well . . . the guy wanted Greek but I won’t take it up the ass. And he sayswell you do what you’re supposed to do because that’s what you are. You know, they’re. . . I’m just so frustrated . . . You’re just forced to do unsafe things to pay [the escortagency’s] fee.- female off-street out-call sex workerTo a certain extent, these financial concerns can be addressed by providing sex workers with wageprotection (see the discussion of wage protections in the section “Financial arrangements and wagestructure” on page 29).Several workers described how in certain massage parlours, only “Canadian” sex workers are able toexercise control over the services they provide. Several sex workers, including the massage parlour workerbelow, said that workers who do not have Canadian residency status have much less power and controlover their work:A. I do feel unsafe, but it’s not that bad. The guy did not raped [sic] me. He just, youknow, he was trying to, like, having sex with me . . . He was trying to have sex with19 Voices, supra note 3.93
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