sex positive group of sex workers, people with lived experience, allies, and agency members who strive to improve the lives of sex workers in Kingston and area
As an agency that is grounded in feminist roots, and therefore values equality, respect, inclusion, compassion and justice, we at the Sexual Assault Centre London were enraged to hear of the treatment received by these nine women. As an agency we believe that the current legislation that makes sex work a criminal act restricts these women from negotiating their work safely, discourages them from seeking services that may help their mental and physical health, and further marginalizes them within our communities. We cannot ignore the truth that some women enter sex work for reasons such as poverty and restricted options for other work, however to reduce it to an act involving no agency or power on the woman’s behalf, is just as demeaning as the oppression these women already face.(Csete and Seshu, 2004) Here at the Sexual Assault Centre London we have a core belief system; we educate, we agitate, we work for change, and we strive to create a world without violence. The events involving these women are exactly the kind of thing we as an agency strive to eradicate. As you called it, this blatant witch-hunt for women who have chosen to make their living via sex work, is archaic and disgusting. By publishing their names and addresses, the authorities in this area have purposely endangered these women’s lives, disregarded their basic dignity, and quite literally thrown them to the wolves. It would be interesting to see if the same outrage and treatment were channelled towards the male clients these women were working with, our guess would be probably not. While SACL adamantly supports the current legislation, as it is applicable to exploitation, we believe that is imperative to hear the voices of the sex workers themselves in order for them to have agency in the decisions that involve their livelihood. Publicly outing and labelling these women as criminals only further marginalizes them, and drops the chances of them doing their works safely even lower. The treatment of these women by the authorities and people of their community is antiquated, prejudiced, and deplorable. For years society has been de-humanizing the women who do sex work by labelling them “ whores”, “sluts” and a slew of other things in order to make it more acceptable to steal their basic rights and freedoms as human-beings. It is time to end that, to hear their voices, and to say a loud and resounding “enough”.
In Solidarity,
Caiti Barendregt-Brown
Coordinator of Public Education and Community Outreach
The Sexual Assault Centre London
Pingback: Sex workers harrassed say advocates : The Dialog
As an agency that is grounded in feminist roots, and therefore values equality, respect, inclusion, compassion and justice, we at the Sexual Assault Centre London were enraged to hear of the treatment received by these nine women. As an agency we believe that the current legislation that makes sex work a criminal act restricts these women from negotiating their work safely, discourages them from seeking services that may help their mental and physical health, and further marginalizes them within our communities. We cannot ignore the truth that some women enter sex work for reasons such as poverty and restricted options for other work, however to reduce it to an act involving no agency or power on the woman’s behalf, is just as demeaning as the oppression these women already face.(Csete and Seshu, 2004) Here at the Sexual Assault Centre London we have a core belief system; we educate, we agitate, we work for change, and we strive to create a world without violence. The events involving these women are exactly the kind of thing we as an agency strive to eradicate. As you called it, this blatant witch-hunt for women who have chosen to make their living via sex work, is archaic and disgusting. By publishing their names and addresses, the authorities in this area have purposely endangered these women’s lives, disregarded their basic dignity, and quite literally thrown them to the wolves. It would be interesting to see if the same outrage and treatment were channelled towards the male clients these women were working with, our guess would be probably not. While SACL adamantly supports the current legislation, as it is applicable to exploitation, we believe that is imperative to hear the voices of the sex workers themselves in order for them to have agency in the decisions that involve their livelihood. Publicly outing and labelling these women as criminals only further marginalizes them, and drops the chances of them doing their works safely even lower. The treatment of these women by the authorities and people of their community is antiquated, prejudiced, and deplorable. For years society has been de-humanizing the women who do sex work by labelling them “ whores”, “sluts” and a slew of other things in order to make it more acceptable to steal their basic rights and freedoms as human-beings. It is time to end that, to hear their voices, and to say a loud and resounding “enough”.
In Solidarity,
Caiti Barendregt-Brown
Coordinator of Public Education and Community Outreach
The Sexual Assault Centre London
Thank you both and thank you to all those who signed this letter – the support was amazing!