I don't know where you get your information from VV, but the lady murdered in Kelowna has not been connected with the sex trade in any way. However she has been confirmed as a known drug addict (by her own family) and that would appear to be the likely cause of her demise. As well a suspect has been arrested in her murder and is currently awaiting trial. The person murdered in Burnaby was killed by her common-law husband/boyfriend, and he is in police custody awaiting trial. The person murdered in Kits was allegedly killed by a client, however that is not confirmed. The suspect in that case in is police custody awaiting trial. I had not heard of the incident in Langley, but the link to the article would indicate that she was living an extremely high risk life style. It would appear that your are trying to fuel some sort of hysteria that SP's take their life into their hands everytime they see a client. The reality is that convenience store workers are thousand times more likely to be murdered on the job than SP's.
I don't know about a thousand times more likely, or even "more likely." SPs are in a precarious position BECAUSE of the anti-prostitution laws in this country. Let's start with the "common bawdy house" section of the criminal code that basically makes an SP's place of business subject to scrutiny by the police. Most of the time LE knows about these places but generally leaves them alone unless complaints and nuisances start to accumulate. Or unless they have good reason to believe that illegals are working out of a specific location. Needless to say, for some SPs if something doesn't look right they're first instinct is not to call the police or seek help from a neghbour but to try to diffuse the situation themselves and sometimes these situations go sideways.
Usually these girls work alone out of their residence, so to compare it to a convenience store clerk is absurd. Most store robberies are quick cash scores and they're not even done with weapons, most of the time they're done with the threat of violence or an implied violence. These clerks know not to offer resistence and the robbers know this. Security cameras are in place to identify suspects and of course the clerk has no reservations calling the police, who may or may not get their perp. Lone girls working out of an apartment may be a little apprehensive about calling the police or yelling for help from neighbours when a situation does arise. Hell, some men even have the intention of being violent when visiting these girls, regardless.
The communicating in public for the purpose of prostitution, or section 213, deals with SWs who are in even greater danger as a result of this legislation, since they often choose to solicit on dark, quiet streets in industrial areas to avoid the police. Look what happened with the SWs on both Georgia and Davie street in the 1970s and 80s. Most were situated right on the strip, clearly visible to all who walked or drove by. The restaurants and cafes along Davie street knew most of the SWs and kept a close eye on them and the SWs kept an eye on each other, knowing who they went with by recording licence plate numbers and guestimating how long they would be. At this time the criminal code defined soliciting as being "pressing and persistent" and most cops didn't bother the girls or their clients, since proving pressing and persisent was a nightmare.
In 1984, as a result of numerous complaints made by west end residents, they were injunctioned out of the downtown area and into east of Granville and most moved to Seymour and Richards streets (which was a very secluded and industrial and warehouse area at the time) and also into Mount Pleasant (likewise industrial). The criminal code was ammended in 1985 after the Fraser commission that studied the prostitution situation in Canada. The ammendments eliminated the "pressing and persistent" clause and further, made the inside of a vehicle a public place, requiring SWs to be less visible and ultimately placing them in more vulnerable and secluded locales.
The new laws also added the procuring, soliciting and living off the avails of a prostitute under the age of 18 which placed these street kids in even more danger since pimping them now had to be done in very secluded prostitution dens. If they were found soliciting on the streets they were picked up by police and turned over to social services, at the very least putting a damper on earning any money for the night. So their best choice was being dependant on a pimp.
And then in the early 1990s the SWs were again injunctioned out of Mount Pleasant and relocated to the Downtown Eastside, where they remain today. How many SWs have been murdered since 1985?
If you want to read an excellent book written in 2006 by a local author pick up, "Red Light Neon: A History of Vancouver's Sex Trade" by Daniel Francis. From the very first brothels on Dupont Street (now Pender Street) to the Penthouse to the Fraser Commission to the Pig Farmer, a very well documented, researched and informative slice of Vancouver's alternate history.
And one more thing, if this girl in Kelowna was a confirmed drug addict, there's a good chance that she was also a prostitute, since most of the time, female addicts of hardcore drugs can usually only sustain their habits by turning tricks since they can't hold down a "normal" job. Which come to think of it, is another reason drug addicted providers place themselves in dangerous situations and generally prefer to avoid contact with police.
Panther
