prostitution in canada

Violence and Sex Work

While there is nothing inherently violent about two consenting adults agreeing to a specified payment for sex or even engaging in the act, yet there is no ignoring the fact that violence exists in sex work.

• The Toronto Police estimate that 5-6 sex workers, primarily street based sex workers, are assaulted everyday in the city of Toronto alone, meaning over 2,000 assaults take place on sex workers yearly in Toronto. Most of these assaults are at the hands of the client (a.k.a. a john).

Majority of violence against sex workers is directed at street based sex workers , this is most likely because indoor sex workers and sex workers that work for an agency, the clients often have to identify themselves in the course of conducting business, because they contact the escort agency from a hotel at which they are staying, and may use a credit card to pay for the date. Leaving evidence of their identity makes their committing offences against escorts much less likely.

Street sex workers are at a heightened risk of violence because of the circumstances in which they work (working outside in remote locations to avoid being caught, working alone as to not draw attention, having to make split second decisions about who their getting into a car with due to fear of ticketing or going to jail), as well as the social stigmatization of women in the sex industry that provides a convenient rationale for men looking for targets for acts of misognistic violence. Street sex workers work in conditions that make them prone to violence due to a lack of supervision. And, there are healthcare risks due to unsafe sexual contact with unscreened clients.

• In a 1998 study conducted by M. Farley and H. Barkan titled Prostitution, violence against women, and post-traumatic stress disorder, Farley, M. & Barkan, H, surveyed 130 street sex workers and found that 82% of the sex workers had been physically assaulted, 83% of sex workers threatened with a weapon, 68% had been raped while working, and 84% reported current or past homelessness. Of the 130 sex workers tested, 92% of sex workers met some criteria of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Because prostitution is a crime, many sex workers are not eligible to receive Criminal Compensation for an assault that happened while working because of a clause that excludes people participating in a crime during the assault.

• Between 1992 - 1998 the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics on Homicide in Canada, noted that 86 sex workers were found murdered in Canada, it was also noted that the number of sex workers reported murdered more then likely under-represents the actual figure, as only those incidents where the police were absolutely certain that the victim was killed while engaging in sex work were counted. In 79% of these murder cases the client (john) was responsible, the remainder were murdered by either a pimp, boyfriend, husband, common-law husband or a spouse. 1995, 54% of homicides against sex workers went unsolved, while only 20% of non sex worker homicides were unsolved.

December 17^th is considered International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Founded by the Sex Workers Outreach Project in San Francisco, this day is used to commemorate the lives of sex workers who have been murdered or who have faced acts of violence. As well on this day, sex worker rights advocates address as well as bring awareness to the many hate crimes faced by sex workers around the world.