Sex Work in Canada & Beyond

Decriminalize Sex Work! #sexworkiswork #RepealPCEPA! #StigmaKills #RightsNotRescue #sexworkers #DecrimNow #EndEndDemand #NoNordicModel #ProhibitionHarms!

[Red Umbrella Club @redumbrellaclub]

South Africa: A victory for legal sex work

South Africa’s post-apartheid Constitution, which unapologetically centres human equality and rights for all, is now paving the way for the decriminalisation of sex work in the country.

A case in a courtroom in Cape Town this October may augur the beginning of the end of women in sex work’s nights of anguish, where harassment and abuse, including from law enforcement, were always looming around the corner.

At the centre of the legal battle is a woman identified only as S.H. alongside the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce, better known as @SweatTweets the organisation that has spent more than thirty years fighting for the rights, safety and dignity of sex workers in South Africa.

Read more: https://t.co/AVcHwu1Ayx

[NSWP @GlobalSexWork]

Today is International Sex Workers’ Day, held to mark the 1975 occupation of Saint-Nizier Church by around 100 sex workers, protesting their criminalised & exploitative living conditions.

Sex workers continue to mark the day by calling for fulfilment of their rights.

[RUS - Red Umbrella Sweden @RedUmbrellaSwe]

Internationella s3xarbetsdagen närmar sig! Missa inte tillfället att hjälpa vårt arbete med att sammanföra s3xarbetare och kämpa för säkrare arbetsvillkor. Vår Tradera butik är öppen tills slutet av 2a Juni, så passa på innan det är för sent!
https://t.co/iDwq578ib1

[Eurydice Aroney @eekiemout]

It’s time again! June 2nd is #Internationalwhoresday when we celebrate the daring tricks and whorestorical delights of the 1975 French #sexworkers strike.

So if you dig a good #whorestory join me as I reach into the archives (if I can get it together).

1/15 Thread

[Red Umbrella Club @redumbrellaclub]

Voluntary Adult Sex Workers Cannot Be 'Rescued' Or Detained Against Their Will: Supreme Court

In a landmark ruling aiming to mitigate the concerns of the victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), the Supreme Court has held that the consent of adult sex workers must be the primary consideration in decisions relating to rehabilitation, reintegration, and placement in protective homes.

While adjudicating a miscellaneous plea seeking guidelines and directions to protect the fundamental rights of victims of trafficking for CSE, a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, accepting Senior Advocate Ms. Aparna Bhat submission, regarding the preparation of a 'Victim Protection Plan', held that victims cannot be treated as passive objects of rescue and rehabilitation, and that their choices and autonomy must be respected.

The Court rejected the paternalistic assumptions under the existing framework i.e., Section 17 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA), which often treats all persons rescued from prostitution-related situations in the same manner, irrespective of whether they were trafficked, coerced, or voluntarily engaged in sex work. According to the bench, such a "one-size-fits-all" approach fails to account for the diverse realities of those brought before magistrates.

“It is the victim's life, liberty, and future that the order will determine, and thus it would be incongruous to hold that all of this can be decided without any regard for what the victim wants.”, the Court observed.

Read more: https://t.co/AFMTO9zCgc

[Triple-X Workers @XXXWorkers]

“In Montreal, strippers, massage parlour workers and other sex workers don’t tend to earn a salary, but are instead paid directly by clients for lap dances, massages and sometimes for sexual acts. … for many, the model offers them a level of flexibility.”
https://t.co/3WHosTB0q9

[Red Umbrella Club @redumbrellaclub]

After F1 strike, Montreal sex workers don’t agree on pay model

While sex workers debate their pay model, both camps want to see sex work decriminalized.

Under the federal criminal code, sex workers aren’t criminalized for exchanging sex for pay. But their clients, as well as anyone who facilitates their work, are criminalized.

As a result, many operate in a grey zone, with their clients allowed to pay for services including lap dances but considered criminals if caught paying for sexual services.

“Ninety-five per cent of (clients) are really fine, I’ve never had any trouble with them,” Monica said. “But some of them can be dangerous, like any other job.”

The criminality surrounding the sex industry means clients don’t disclose their names, she said. If something goes wrong, even banning them from returning to the massage parlour can be difficult.

“My clients are very nervous to share personal information,” Sarah said, which she said can put her in danger.

“The demand of a majority of sex workers is decriminalization.”

Read more: https://t.co/QDMhQXhPcW

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

1/ Right now, a bill called C-22 is moving through Parliament. It would let police pull information on who you talk to, when, and where, all without a warrant. It's at committee this week. 🧵

[Triple-X Workers @XXXWorkers]

“Community organizations serving and supporting sex workers received funds to expand their outreach and support services. WISH Drop-In Centre Society, PACE Society, and RainCity Housing and Support Society are among some of the recipients.”
https://t.co/TNASOZ94lt

[Sex Work in Canada & Beyond @CanadianSexPro]

Montreal Stripper Strike: Goldman, who also works as an escort, says she’s always been painfully aware that sex workers are not awarded the same labour protections as other workers in Canada, given that parts of the industry are criminalized. https://t.co/BKOchG9qDu

[Triple-X Workers @XXXWorkers]

3 Canadian police officers arrested for sexually assaulting a prostitute in a taxi in Barcelona

“One of them is the one who allegedly sexually assaulted the woman, while another hit her in the face, and the third was the co-pilot of the vehicle.”
https://t.co/aRuUkt40of

[Red Umbrella Club @redumbrellaclub]

The vulnerability of sex workers in South Africa: a call for decriminalisation

Sex workers in South Africa are facing deepening vulnerability as criminalisation, social stigma, and a worsening funding crisis continue to limit access to rights, protection and support services. These concerns were raised at a seminar hosted by the Research Chair in Gender, Transformation and Worldmaking, together with the Department of Criminal Justice and Procedure at the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) Faculty of Law, and the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT).

Held under the theme, “Practices of Sexual Freedom”, the engagement brought together academics, activists and civil society representatives to unpack the lived realities of sex workers, ongoing debates around decriminalisation and constitutional rights, and the growing financial pressures threatening social justice organisations.

Read more: https://t.co/Db5Se1SIFh

[Triple-X Workers @XXXWorkers]

“The bill also recognizes sex work not exercised under exploitative conditions as a legal economic activity under the French employment code. It proposes tax breaks as incentives to create businesses where sex workers hold effective control…”
https://t.co/OpaBF23NCi

[Red Umbrella Club @redumbrellaclub]

‘Society Is Built to Keep Us in the Gutter’: Sex Workers in Montreal to Strike During F1 Weekend

This latest “whoreganization” effort is part of sex workers’ fight for labour rights and decriminalization.

A collective of Montreal sex workers is calling on strippers and erotic masseuses to go on strike during the Grand Prix weekend.

While the F1 weekend is a lucrative time for club management, sex workers say that it’s synonymous with rowdy, cheap clients, steep bar fees and higher rates of assault.

On Saturday, May 23, the throngs of tourists who flock to Montreal for more than just fast cars might not get their fix of scantily clad dancers, lap dances or happy endings. On that day, Montreal’s Sex Work Autonomous Committee is inviting sex workers and allies to participate in activities and a protest — and encourage sex workers to deprive the city of their services.

Their demands? Abolishing the bar fee in strip clubs. Gaining worker status with Quebec’s labour board, the CNESST, to get protections like sick leave, disability, Employment Insurance, and a way to report unjust or unsafe labour practices. Fully decriminalizing sex work. And eventually, even a wage.

Read more: https://t.co/Oz0vRt0Ly2

[✧ @cessonmute]

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, 412 women have been arrested. In contrast, following the release of the Epstein files, not a single man has been arrested.

[Sex Work in Canada & Beyond @CanadianSexPro]

@SaulStaniforth Boy George gets 15 months for falsely imprisoning male escort https://t.co/0HD7oRvbP2

[Stephanie Kaylor @sm_kaylor]

I’m editing an anthology with Working Girls Press about sex workers who’ve helped us get our footing, from locker room advice, to screening tips, to lesser known advocates who introduced us to the labor movement. Read the full call & send your pitch!

https://t.co/AhhGGNd48j

[Sex Work in Canada & Beyond @CanadianSexPro]

Seven centuries of sex work in Belgium https://t.co/YRY2iYmPWC

[Sex Work in Canada & Beyond @CanadianSexPro]

@Suzierizzo1 @Bills_gallery Wrong. Long arranged to meet someone who advertised as an ADULT sex worker, but who turned out to be an undercover detective. This was a police sting. Adult consensual sex work should not be criminalized or conflated with human trafficking.

[Sex Work in Canada & Beyond @CanadianSexPro]

@john389904 @eddiedean69 Picking up on an incel vibe here, john. Sex "workers" sell a service, just like a masseuse, a construction worker, a therapist, etc. Your death-wish conveys an extreme level of hostility that must be hard to live with. I suggest that you seek support asap.