Club9 -
Thank god you are ok.. I'm sorry you had this happen to you. I am glad you decided to contact the police. I've heard of a few different instances when sp's have had to contact the police to report assaults or stalkings.. I believe everyone's experiences were positive when dealing with police officers. If you feel the need to talk to someone and don't know who to talk to, please don't be shy and contact me. PM, email, phone.. whatever you prefer. I think it's really important to get it out and have someone who will just listen and let you talk about it as much as you need to.
Susi -
Thank you for providing a contact at VPD but I have to say I was shocked to read your advice against contacting the police... It is the police's job to handle these types of situations regardless of what their personal opinions might be. The fact is that their own moral beliefs or judgments and that whether or not they agree with whatever lifestyle choices she may have made, is 100% irrelevant and inconsequential. Furthermore she was not even doing anything illegal, so even if that were one of her worries (which it
should not be), in this case it would not even need to be a consideration. Perhaps I misunderstood the reasons or the advice given, but I feel it's goes completely against what you seem to be trying to gain and the changes you advocate for.
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I do feel it's actually relevant to this discussion, as I'm truly baffled and quite confused. I can't say I've ever once read anyone advising against reporting any violence or threat to the police. This is serious business, and not only does deciding against reporting it give a false impression that this kind of thing does not happen, it also does nothing to improve the isolation most sp's face when no one in their circle of friends or family are aware of what they do. I understand you don't trust the police but I think they deserve more credit and this course of action does nothing to improve dialogue or relationship between sex workers and police. In my opinion, it is not a solution that can result in any change or improvement. I find it incredibly sad and am a tad worried that someone working for change would advise an sp who has just been assaulted to mistrust the police and remain a powerless silent victim.
Perhaps I misunderstood..? because I'm sorry -maybe that's just me- but I just do not feel it is a positive way of working towards change.
when i charged the man who tried to kill me, i delt with the whole system. now i'm shaking...fucking PTSD!!!
from the police to the prosecutor to the judge, they were all absolutely inept.
the man didn't even have a lawyer, so the man who tried to kill me got to question in open court. do you think a " clean" girl from kitsalano would have had to endure that? no
also, the prosecutor did not produce the weapon or any of the pictures of my injuries that i had provided her with or the hospital report.
the judge aquitted the man stating that he specifically did not believe me, i was not credible.
on to victim's services- we don't qualify for victim's compensation- the reason? because they cannot attribute our trauma to one specific event- so we've been raped too many times and there fore do not qualify
the reason i warn people about dealing with the police is i know how bad it can be- i went through a year and a half of re-living that night for it to be thrown in my face and my would be killer to go free.
because of this experience i worked to initiate a number of actions including the sex industry worker safety action group in partnership with vpd.
i went to the police board 5 times in one year to beg them to stop their assault on exotic show lounges- they would go in 20 at a time in uniform and push everyone around under the guise of undermining organized crime. the took dancers in costume outside on the street!!what the hell were they thinking?!!!
currently i have been named in an extortion case where a former madame is legally bullying myself and another sp and still even after all my work, they don't believe me or her and are helping this woman harm us.
i believe in working towards change and believe that we must work through these difficult issues, however change has not happened yet and people should be aware of what they may face if they choose to engage the system.
that's all, for me... if i could do it again... i would not have reported and i would not have gone through the system. it made my recovery so difficult and dragged it out for so long.
we have to choose what we will spend our energy on in this life and this type of thing will take over your life if you let it.
positive change is coming though- the sex industry worker safety action group have a number of great projects on the table including;
community policing partnership car- to employ one sex worker and one police officer- this will mean some one from our community will be the one to take the reports of violence and will ensure fair treatment for sex workers dealing with police.
policy/ procedure mannual revisions- currently their are no policies or procedures in place to ensure our protection, so they just do whatever they want.
professional development package- to make sure officers are aware of new policies and best practicesfor dealing with our community.
1-800 reporting line run by sex workers- so you know you won't be judged when you call
bad date data base- so officers can take the report and enter details into the computer and it will show any similar incidents or maybe even identify these guys.
i will post the 411 document- it explains exactly what sex workers can expect when dealing with the justice system after being the victim of a crime.
susie