http://www.straight.com/article-272070/vancouver/sex-workers-defend-buyers

Veteran sex worker Susan Davis wants people to know that her “clients aren’t
the bogeymen they are made out to be”.

“I love what I do,” Davis told the Georgia Straight in an interview at the
Vancouver Public Library’s central branch. “I think the guys are the best; a
lot of them are my friends. Some I’ve known for 18 years. How do you not
become emotionally attached?”

Davis, who has been in the business for 23 years, insisted that stability
and security for sex workers can only come with decriminalization of
prostitution.

FIRST, a national coalition of feminists who support sex workers’ rights,
hosted a lively forum on the subject at the library on November 23. Davis,
who was on the panel, suggested that men who buy sex can actually help
enhance the safety of those in the trade.

“I think that clients are our biggest resource in trying to combat
exploitation, trafficking, and exploitation of youth within the sex
industry,” declared Davis, a member of the West Coast Cooperative of Sex
Industry Professionals, in the interview.

Another panellist, SFU sociology instructor and researcher Chris Atchison,
echoed Davis’s sentiments. He revealed the results of an extensive
three-year study-called “Johns’ Voice”-that documents the relationship
between buyers and sellers of sex in Canada.

“I wanted to understand how these men engage in purchasing behaviour and
what their relationships with sex-trade workers are about,” Atchison told
the audience. “I wanted to know whether social and legal intervention such
as the Swedish model is warranted by any empirical evidence.”

Atchison was referring to a Swedish law introduced in 1999 that criminalized
johns’ purchasing of sexual services, but not the sale of those services by
prostitutes. At the forum, organizers screened a 10-minute video that showed
many Swedish sex workers are unhappy with the law. One sex worker featured
in the video claimed that things have become much more dangerous for street
workers, since they no longer have as much time to negotiate with their
customers.

Atchison was critical of the Swedish law. The men he spoke to were seeking
companionship and a connection with the sex workers they patronized, he
said, adding that they wanted to engage in a safe and respectful
relationship. He also reported that many customers saw the same sex worker
for months or years, and that 79 percent said they wished to see
prostitution decriminalized and regulated.

“I’m not here to present a picture of the sex buyer as some wonderful guy or
say that they are all great, salt-of-the-earth people,” he said.

The “Johns’ Voice” project showed that between one and two percent of
clients have been brutally violent toward a sex worker. Those are the people
the law must address, according to Atchison.

Jody Salerno, a former sex worker and the director of women’s services for
the B.C./Yukon Society of Transition Houses, told the audience that the men
who paid her for sex were not criminals or violent. “They wanted to share my
time and have consensual sex,” she said. “If men who pay for sex are
criminalized, sex workers are unsafe.”

She emphasized that anyone-including sex workers-who commits acts of
violence against women, children, youth, or men should be arrested and
prosecuted. “When sex workers are victims of criminal acts, treat them with
dignity and respect,” Salerno said.

Toronto author and investigative journalist Victor Malarek, a staunch critic
of legalizing the sex trade, told the Straight in an interview earlier this
year that about 90 percent of prostitutes worldwide are not doing this work
by choice. “Rather than deal with the drugs, the mental-health issues, the
physical-health issues, what led these women away from their reserves and
put them on the streets, the only thing these bozos [proponents of
legalization] can come up with is to keep them in something they never
wanted in their lives in the first place,” Malarek said.

VANCOUVER:
Ever wondered why men buy sex? Ever wondered what sex workers think about men
who buy sex?

The
public forum “Sex Workers, Clients and the Law,” by FIRST, a sex worker advocacy
organization, promises
to answer those questions and more on November 23rd.

“Our
forum focuses on the men who buy sex, and the experiences of sex workers with
their clients. It will make clear why criminalizing sex workers or their clients
will only make things worse for sex workers,” said forum moderator Scarlett
Lake, a madam who has been involved in the sex work industry for over 20 years.

Chris
Atchison, a Simon Fraser University criminologist, will report on his
groundbreaking “Johns’ Voice” study. With almost 1000 respondents, it represents
the largest study of sex buyers ever completed.

“The
study opens what has been a tightly closed door”, said Atchison. “Men reveal
their experiences in the sex industry: they talk openly about their attitudes
and beliefs.”

Atchison’s research reveals that the nature and scope of violence
perpetrated by sex buyers against sex workers is far more complex than typically
presented.

“The
vast majority of sex buyers who participated in my research indicated that they
have not, and would not, resolve conflicts
with sex workers by resorting to violence,” he said.

Former sex worker
Jody Salerno, currently Director of Women’s Services for the BC/Yukon Society of
Transition Houses, will
speak on how her family and the child welfare system failed her, while the men
she sold sex to
honoured their agreements.

“The men who
paid me asked permission to spend time with me and negotiated with me,” Salerno
said. “They asked for and received my consent. They were respectful and honoured
their agreements. These men were not criminals.”

Sponsored
by FIRST, the “Sex Workers, Clients and the Law” public forum will be held
Monday, November 23, from 7–9 pm, at the Vancouver Public Library, Central
Branch, 350 W.
Georgia St. (Alma Van
Dusen & Peter Kay rooms).

Last Updated: 13th November 2009, 5:28am

 On any given night, there are a number of known strolls stretching from Kingston Rd. down to the back streets of Parkdale that are the preferred turf for “hundreds” of sex-trade workers. No one knows the exact number — not the police, and not even those closely connected to the trade. But “hundreds” is the word often used, particularly on nights when the weather is kind. Out of that number, it is speculated that on any given night, upwards of two dozen of those sex-trade workers will be aboriginal women, some new to the game, but many of them seasoned street pros, their fraught-with-danger livelihood often fuelled by an addiction to drugs and alcohol. It is not a pretty picture, but it is the reality. And so, too, are the statistics. According to the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy, at least one aboriginal person a day — half of them women — are infected with HIV in this country, 32% through sexual contact and, with half of the aboriginal population now under the age of 25, it represents a burgeoning crisis that is in dire need of being tamed. But that is only part of the equation, at least in this city. Not that long ago, the Toronto Police sex-crimes unit created a special victims unit, a dedicated team of four officers who, on the busy nights, will patrol those aforementioned strolls, not to bust sex-trade workers, but to direct them to agencies that have their backs, and to bust those who do them harm. It is a fine line to walk. Some 20-plus years ago, some five years after the infamous gay bathhouse raids of 1981 had almost 3,000 angry demonstrators hitting the streets in protest over the perceived hammering of gay and sexual rights, a small organization called Maggie’s received government funding to become the first prostitute-staffed and prostitute-directed community service project in Canada. Some 20-plus years later, Maggie’s, a second-floor walkup on Gerrard St. E., still wants nothing to do with the cops, despite the changes in attitude and enforcement. “That’s just the way it is,” says Jessica Yee, the 24-year-old executive director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, and an adviser to Maggie’s on aboriginal issues. Perhaps it is time these two twains meet. VALUABLE ALLIES Attitudes and sensitivities have changed, and those once thought to be at crossed purposes can be valuable allies. The special victims unit’s mandate and mission is straightforward and non-threatening, except to pimps. And it reads, in part, as follows: “To thoroughly investigate allegations of criminal sexual offences which have occurred against any person identified to be a sex worker; to recognize sex workers as ‘victims first;’ to identify and investigate sex workers under the age of 18 involved in juvenile prostitution; to apprehend sex workers under the age of 16 involved in juvenile prostitution and assist in their return to a safe environment; to identify, arrest and assist in the prosecution of pimps; to conduct regular outreach efforts with local community organizations and sex workers themselves; and to educate the public and police with respect to the unique dynamics of prostitution to promote greater understanding of its unique challenges.” There was a small barbecue not that long ago at Riverdale Park, in the heart of Toronto’s Cabbagetown district, to launch the Maggie’s-backed Aboriginal Sex Workers Outreach Project. It was Jackie Bath, 49, a former sex-trade worker and crack addict, and now an outreach worker for the project, who came up with the number of 20-26 aboriginal women plying the sex trade on any given night. “I work my way from Kingston Rd. down to Parkdale, and I do it most nights,” she says. “So I know most of them.” In her backpack she carries free condoms, clean works for intravenous drug users, as well as sterile crack pipes. Property Smith is the director of the new project, and has set a goal to educate aboriginal sex-trade workers in this city to the cultural programs that exist for First Nations women who, because of time’s passage, or their addictions, may have lost their grasp of First Nations culture and spirituality. ‘RAISE AWARENESS’ “We have to raise awareness of what’s out there,” she says. “There is a lot of denial for an aboriginal sex trade worker to deal with — from addictions to abuses to all sorts of trauma. “This project is all about harm reduction. It is not about lecturing. It is about keeping safe. “The sex trade, whether some people want to believe it or not, is most often a matter of choice. And it can be empowering,” says Smith. “But it can also be dangerous if preventative measures are not taken — for whatever the reason — and we must take that message to the street … from one sex-trade worker to another.” But, as Property Smith put it, when the rent is overdue, and a john offers three times the price not to use a condom, the choice becomes difficult. “But the right choice has to be made,” she says. “The wrong one has too many bad consequences. “That point has to be driven home — peer to peer.” MARK.BONOKOSKI@SUNMEDIA.CA OR 416-947-2445

But the Salvation Army will join the likes of Club X, Condom Kingdom, Fluffy Cuffs, Kinky Boots, Savage Lingerie and Awgasm at Melbourne’s Sexpo this month.

Should the Salvos be at Sexpo? Have your say in the comments below

Its stall will promote “Christian understanding of sexuality” and raise awareness about the human trafficking in prostitution.

Salvos social justice director Capt Danielle Strickland will distribute material on human trafficking, the sexualisation of girls and “Jesus loves porn stars” New Testaments, which tell how a porn star found God.

But she won’t be preaching moral messages.

Capt Strickland is no stranger to sex; she visits many brothels as part of her battle against people being forced into prostitution.