DTES WOMEN DEMAND JUSTICE IN MURDER OF LISA ARLENE FRANCIS
31 @ 4:00 PM CRAB PARK: REMEMBRANCE AND HEALING CEREMONY
July 28, 2009
VANCOUVER – Women in the Downtown Eastside Womens’ Centre Power to Women Group
are deeply shocked and outraged by the homicide of Lisa Arlene Francis, also
known as Lisa Kireche, who was found floating in the Fraser River.
“Lisa
was a dedicated volunteer at the Downtown Eastside Womens’ Centre and a member
of the DTES Power to Women Group. She was a lovely woman, always smiling and
willing to help and listen. Her tragic death has left us shocked and angry and
has left a significant void in our community,” states Madeline
A.
According to Anne Marie Monks, a member of the DTES Power to Women
Group, “We have to understand that violence against women in always
unacceptable. Every single person in Vancouver should be grieving for the loss
of this precious life and be outraged at this murder. Women living in the DTES
and women in the sex trade are all mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers and
friends, and deserve the same level of compassion and justice as any other
murder victim.”
Stella August, an Elder and member of the DTES Power to
Women Group agrees, “Every person deserves full respect and dignity. This death
makes me so angry, but does it affect people in other nieghbourhoods who think
Lisa is just another dead DTES hooker?”
“The heinous and unimaginable
violence that has taken the lives of so many women in the DTES is a present-day
reality. This has not gone away with Robert Pickton behind bars. Every year the
list of murdered and missing women continues to grow,” states Pat Harem, a long
time DEWC member and volunteer. According to the Missing Women’s Task Force,
there are still 39 women officially listed as missing from the
DTES.
Women in the neighbourhood are demanding justice in the murder of
Lisa and all the missing and murdered women. According to Beatrice Starr, a
Native woman with the DTES Power of Women Group and long-time resident of the
DTES, “My sister was murdered many years ago and to this day it remains
unresolved. The police always push the cases of women in the DTES to the
backburner because it is not seen as a societal priority. We are not going to
stand by and let Lisa become another statistic.”
Women in the community
are also urging people to understand the complex realities of living in the
DTES: “Why is our society never able to see beyond the labels and the
stereotypes of ‘DTES’ or ’sex worker’? To me, Lisa was an incredibly kind and
gentle woman,” comments Diane Letcuk, long-time DEWC member and volunteer. “If
you do want to talk about the DTES and sex work, then question the systems and
policies that perpetuate poverty, inequality, and violence and create the
conditions for very few choices for women to survive.”
Sandra Pronteau, a
DTES activist and former sex trade worker reveals, “Even if this murder was an
intentional one that targeted Lisa specifically– such as an ex boyfriend- it has
instilled fear and insecurity in the minds and lives of all women who work the
streets. It has highlighted yet again that any of us could be next and nothing
is being done to stop that! In fact the opposite is happening, with cutting of
services like the MAP van. We, the residents of the DTES, want details and
answers so we can lay Lisa Arelene Francis in peace.”
Stand for the MAP Van July 29 Grandview
Please come out and stand for the MAP van
at Grandview Park
(1600 block Commercial Drive
7 to 9 pm
Wednesday, July 29th
Women are vulnerable and have no support in the
middle of the night without the MAP Van.
We must protest this lack of action on the part
of the Provincial Government
See you there!
Happy pride Everyone! – Tempest @ Caprice
Happy
sunshine & summer friends,
This year Stiletto Storm is launching Pride weekend with the sexiest party in the city, TEMPEST at Caprice. Grab your friends, spread the word, and come join the fantasy.
Thursday July 30, 9pm-3am
Caprice Nightclub (967 Granville St)
tix: $15 advance/$20 door
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=93794820903&ref=ts
Kicking off the Pride weekend on Thursday, July 30, the Caprice Nightclub
will be transformed into a midsummer night’s dream like nothing Vancouver
has seen. You never know where the dream may take you as body-painted guests
dance the night away whilst being awed by some of Vancouver’s most skilled –
and sexy – entertainers.
Guests will enjoy a variety of aerial artists including pole champion
Carmen, award-winning burlesque from Jenny Magenta, sexy boy troupe The Go Go
Experience, fire shows by Aaron Aries and Ms Pyro and more. The sexually
themed performances target Vancouver Pride supporters to kick off the
internationally-attended weekend of festivities.
“Straight, gay, trans, bi,
curious, confused or maybe just flexible – we love it all,” says Ryann Rain of
Stiletto Storm Productions – an event company that specializes in world-class
sensual entertainment. “Everyone is welcome and sexy attire is encouraged.”
Ace Angels International
will provide body painting and a professional masseuse will be on hand “for
kinky people or those with kinks.” Tickets are only $15 in advance, $20 at the
door and are available at Little Sisters (1238 Davie
St), Flaming Angels (644 Seymour)
or online at clubzone.com.
Rain says she views Pride as
a celebration of expression and inclusion. “Tempest will showcase Vancouver’s
beautiful, sex-positive culture through diverse, quality entertainment and by
bringing people together.”
For more information visit www.stilettostorm.com or www.capricenightclub.com
–
Ryann Rain
Director/Founder
Stiletto Storm Production Ltd.
778-847-3746
ryann@stilettostorm.com
www.stilettostorm.com
Canada’s first sex worker cooperative needs your support – July 22nd, 2009
Greetings from Vancouver!!!!
During 2005 a group of sex workers had also come together in partnership with Simon Fraser University and began the History of Sex Work Project in the hopes of discovering the history of sex work, our history, in the City of Vancouver. How did sex workers contribute to its growth, character and its conception? In recent years, the sex workers civil rights movement has become an international effort and sex workers all over the world are demanding human rights and labor standards. As in all civil rights movements, we need to understand our history in order to understand our place in the community. The foundation for change is to have pride in ourselves and the accomplishments of the sex workers before us.
We wanted to understand the factors which came to bear on the quality of life for sex workers throughout the life of our city and how the situation had degraded into the disaster we see today in the downtown east side of Vancouver. We learned how from the 1920’s up until the early 70’s the sex industry had existed in what were called “Supper Clubs” where a gentleman could be entertained with a nice dinner, an escort to keep him company, and a Las Vegas style exotic dance performance. Dancers, escorts, cigarette girls, waitresses, cooks, bouncers and bartenders all worked together under the same roof. This was a community where everyone worked within their own personal boundaries and in relative safety, within a safe, supportive work environment.
The end results of the project were a book and a multi media museum installation which are owned by and created by the project participants. The Group discussed how the project could be expanded to include an historical walking tour and supper club style dinner and show that could provide employment opportunities for sex workers, empower sex workers through knowledge of our history, and support the creation of a number of co-operative enterprises.
The enterprises the team thought would support the expansion of the project were catering , publishing , consulting and, of course art (the History project is very artistic and as well, the team intends to develop a play).
During the project “Leading the Way” in 2006-07 Vancouver sex workers worked hard to create a framework for this co-operative and have finalized governance policies, decision making procedures, terms of reference, membership criteria, code of conduct, and conflict management procedures that will reflect what they envision as a community. We were officially incorporated in February, 2008 as the West Coast Co-operative of Sex Industry Professionals, Canada’s first sex worker cooperative.
This project will focus on the development of the catering/cafe enterprise;
Catering/Café Enterprise
Many organizations have formed catering companies or opened café’s as a way to generate funds, build community capacity and create alternative sources of income.
Sex workers exiting the industry explained that existing supports do not provide an opportunity for them to secure employment or to earn money. Food preparation is an accessible skill with which members are familiar. The integration of food preparation, serving, kitchen clean up and bartending positions into the co-op café’s various activities will involve learning about the food service industry and will give sex workers the skills and experience they need to work not only within the co-op but to compete for employment outside of the sex industry.
With support from ICPas per our attached proposal, we hope to create a in depth business plan and detailed construction plans for a physical location for this space within the first funding year, then using our plan to fundraise capitol costs to implement our plans in the second year and open/operate the cafe.
We were hoping to appeal to you all to support us by sending us a letter of support for our proposal. The dealine is July 31st and i know it’s short notice but we would appreciate any support we can muster!! Let’s start moving forward on canada’s first sex worker cooperative!
please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
thankyou for your time.
sincerely,
susan davis
cooperative development coordinator
West Coast Cooperative of Sex Industry Professionals
Straight Talk – Transgender activist opposes Downtown Eastside pharmacy ban
women will not be served at its new pharmacy on the Downtown Eastside. And that
has a neighbourhood transgender activist alleging that the collective is
discriminating against women like herself.
“That’s not acceptable,” Jamie Lee Hamilton told the
Straight in a phone interview. “No city licence should be given out to
any business that operates in the city of Vancouver if it chooses to
discriminate.”
Hamilton added that she plans on filling her next hormone prescription at
Lu’s: A Pharmacy for Women, which opened on July 7 at 29 West Hastings
Street.
The collective’s executive director, Caryn Duncan, told the
Straight in a phone interview that her organization’s steering committee
discussed whether or not to extend service to all “self-identified women”. In
the end, members decided to serve “women born women”.
“We are an organization that has for almost 40 years supported women around
their battle with breast cancer or unwanted pregnancy or delivering a baby with
a midwife, [and] celebrating or dealing with menopause,” Duncan said. “It’s
about bleeding—or wanting to bleed or not bleed. It’s about being a woman, and
the physiology of being a woman.”
She claimed that the pharmacy doesn’t have the expertise or capacity to serve
transgender women. “I think we’re being very reasonable,” Duncan said. “I
believe the massive groundswell of support for our pharmacy and for our work is
evidence that what we do is supported in the broader community.”
The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld women-only organizations’ legal right to
restrict membership to women and not admit transgender people. Hamilton,
however, claimed that the court’s ruling dealt with organizations and not with a
business that provides a health service.
