[LAF] FW: Sex Workers Plan Cooperative Brothel in 2010 Olympics City

[Joy Wood]

> To: joy_helbin at hotmail.com> Subject: Sex Workers Plan Cooperative Brothel in 2010 Olympics City> > - -------- Original Message --------> News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo> > Sex Workers Plan Brothel in 2010 Olympics City> By Wency Leung> Women's eNews> October 13, 2007> http://www.alternet.org/story/65025/> > VANCOUVER, Canada -- Susan Davis considers herself one of the lucky ones.> > In her 21 years as a sex worker, Davis, 39, has known countless peers> who have died of suicide, murder, AIDS or drug overdose in Vancouver's> gritty Downtown Eastside.> > She herself has experienced four heart attacks from smoking crack> cocaine and survived several assaults by violent clients while working> on the streets.> > "I'm a one-percenter," Davis said, referring to the notion that the> other 99 percent fail to survive this impoverished, drug-infested> neighborhood. "It's nuts down here."> > Now, Davis and other local sex workers have banded together to establish> Canada's first cooperative brothel in an attempt to offer women a safe> place to work.> > The group, formed by a sex workers' alliance based here, called the> British Columbia Coalition of Experiential Women, will incorporate next> month and is already setting the groundwork to open the co-op brothel.> > Members have begun scouting for a location and are enlisting the backing> of local businesses, police and labor organizations.> > Faced with the task of cleaning up the city to host the 2010 Winter> Olympics, Vancouver authorities said they are open to the idea.> > "We would be willing to explore anything that . . . would be helping the> situation of sex trade workers, and make it safer for them and make it> better for the community," said Vancouver police spokesperson Howard> Chow. He noted one requirement: "It has to be something that is lawful."> > Aiming for Official Exemption> > Prostitution itself is legal in Canada. However, since most activities> associated with it are not -- such as soliciting sexual services in a> public place, operating a bawdy house and living off the avails of> prostitution -- the group is planning to appeal to the federal> government for an exemption.> > The government has already allowed the operation of a safe, supervised> injection site in the city, where authorities give amnesty to> intravenous drug users.> > "Vancouver truly is the testing ground for new ideas," Davis said,> citing the site as well as other initiatives, such as free needle> exchange programs and the testing of prescription heroin on addicts.> > "We can't do anything that would put police in a position to arrest us,"> she said. "So, what we're saying is, 'This is such a little place. Let> us try and demonstrate to you what we think will happen, which is it> will greatly diminish the complaints from the neighborhood and will> greatly increase the safety of the sex workers of the Downtown Eastside.'"> > The Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter objects to the idea of a> co-op brothel, as it views prostitution as a means of perpetuating> violence against women.> > An overwhelming majority of prostitutes would leave the sex trade if> given a choice, said shelter spokesperson Daisy Kler.> > "The idea that there are women who, given an autonomous decision, given> all other options, would stay is a fantasy," she said.> > She added that a co-op would not protect Vancouver's most vulnerable> women, as those who work the streets solely to survive would not likely> have the money to join.> > Cracking down on pimps and johns would more effectively improve the> safety of sex workers than offering a place where men could continue to> exploit women, Kler said. "We don't think men should be entitled to buy> and sell women to satiate themselves."> > Not Alone in Choosing Sex Work> > Davis acknowledged that, ideally, those women who wanted to leave the> sex trade could do so. But she maintained that she entered the trade on> her own accord and she is not alone in choosing sex work.> > "This is hard for feminists to swallow," Davis said. "Having your own> destiny is really appealing to everyone. There's a lot of people with no> lived experience trying to impose what they think is right on us."> > The proposed brothel is welcomed by some frontline workers in the area,> where more than 60 women, many of them sex workers, disappeared between> the late 1980s and 2001. Those disappearances led to an investigation> into Canada's worst suspected serial murder case.> > The suspect, Robert William Pickton, a local pig farmer, was arrested in> 2002 and was charged with 26 counts of murder. He is being tried for the> deaths of six women. A second trial is expected to follow.> > Kerry Porth and Sheri Kiselbach, coordinators of the Vancouver-based> nonprofit Prostitution Alternatives Counselling and Education Society,> said little has been done to ensure the safety of sex workers since the> high-profile investigation.> > Prostitutes who work out in the open continue to be preyed upon by> violent clients, they said. And while opponents of the co-op brothel> plan disagree, Porth and Kiselbach said that the incidence of violence> is greatly reduced -- though not eliminated -- when sex workers work> indoors, such as in massage parlors or through escort services.> > "Every time you go out there, you don't know what's going to happen,"> Porth said. "You don't know if it's your last night out there and that's> a ridiculous amount of stress for any individual to live with."> > The society has for years been fighting to decriminalize the sex trade,> which has been pushed underground and forced women to work in isolation> and in dangerous conditions, Porth said.> > Davis, who is spearheading the co-op brothel, said she envisions a space> that would bring back the "golden age of sex work," when bawdy houses> freely operated.> > Showgirls, Dinner and a Room> > The incorporated group would operate a museum and gallery to showcase> the artwork and history of showgirls and prostitutes, she said. It would> also run a dinner club with burlesque performances under the same roof> as the brothel.> > Any sex worker could join for a nominal fee and be able to rent clean> rooms cheaply, she said. Although they would share expenses, members> would set their own fees and keep their profits. The co-op would also> enforce labor standards.> > So far, some of the strongest opposition has come from escort agencies> threatened by the prospect of organized competition, Davis said.> Politicians and local businesses have largely been supportive. Davis> said the sex workers' group aims to have the co-op brothel and museum> fully operating in time for the influx of tourists expected during the> Olympics.> > Since part of the Olympic organizing committee's mandate is to support> local economic development, she said, the cooperative could fit that> description, providing a thriving business while keeping the sex trade> in check.> > Porth and Kiselbach noted that international sporting events, such as> the Olympics, customarily attract a massive inrush of sex workers.> > Ahead of this year's World Cup soccer matches in Germany, for instance,> politicians and women's rights groups there had predicted the> trafficking of up to 40,000 women into the country to serve in the sex> trade.> > Regardless of the debate on the rights and wrongs of the sex trade, a> proactive approach to sex workers' safety is desperately needed, Davis said.> > "We can continue the debate about morality. I don't think that should> stop . . . but we can't deny it exists," Davis said. "I mean how moral> is it to let people die?"> > Wency Leung is a freelance journalist based in Vancouver, Canada.> > - --
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