Prostitution laws affect sex workers' clients too: Sex, Safety and Security study looks at experiences of paying for sexual services
June 13, 2013
The June 13th appeal hearings in the Bedford et al. case raise attention around Canada's prostitution laws. Many of the related conversations have to do with safety and security of people involved in the sex industry. Many of the conversations place primary concern on issues of harm in prostitution.
While these conversations bring a much-needed focus on what to do about prostitution and prostitution laws in Canada, it is rare to find included in these discussions experiences and perspectives of individuals who pay for sexual services. In fact, none of the conversations about prostitution laws in Canada to date have looked at the impact of law on clients.
Voices of sex buyers are particularly important as our past research indicates that law affects clients in various ways. Our 2009 study, Johns' Voice, suggested that clients have different levels of awareness, as well as various concerns and anxieties, about the law – factors that ultimately shape their experiences of purchasing sex. In addition, research suggests that law has not been applied equally to clients. Sexuality, race, ethnicity and class may all affect clients' relationship to the law – both how knowledgeable they are about it, and how the law will be applied to them. These issues are rarely discussed in conversations about buyers of sexual services, even in calls for further criminalization of clients. If we don't know how law affects clients exactly, we cannot know how effective it will be in addressing the issues it is meant to address. The fact that sex workers across the world are speaking out against criminalization of buyers of sex a dditionally suggests the importance of understanding the role of the law in commercial sexual relationships.
Chris Atchison, University of Victoria researcher, has been focusing on the client side of the commercial sexual exchanges for 18 years. With Johns' Voice he led the largest and the most successful research with sex buyers in Canada to date. In his latest study, "Sex, Safety and Security" he explores the experiences of persons who have paid for sexual services. This national research focuses on issues around safety and security in the sex trade, and examines these from the perspectives of sex buyers. Chris hopes that this research will make an important contribution and add a missing voice to the current discussions about prostitution and prostitution law in Canada.
CONTACT:
Chris Atchison
Tel: 604.558.0489
Email: info@sexsafetysecurity.ca
June 13, 2013
The June 13th appeal hearings in the Bedford et al. case raise attention around Canada's prostitution laws. Many of the related conversations have to do with safety and security of people involved in the sex industry. Many of the conversations place primary concern on issues of harm in prostitution.
While these conversations bring a much-needed focus on what to do about prostitution and prostitution laws in Canada, it is rare to find included in these discussions experiences and perspectives of individuals who pay for sexual services. In fact, none of the conversations about prostitution laws in Canada to date have looked at the impact of law on clients.
Voices of sex buyers are particularly important as our past research indicates that law affects clients in various ways. Our 2009 study, Johns' Voice, suggested that clients have different levels of awareness, as well as various concerns and anxieties, about the law – factors that ultimately shape their experiences of purchasing sex. In addition, research suggests that law has not been applied equally to clients. Sexuality, race, ethnicity and class may all affect clients' relationship to the law – both how knowledgeable they are about it, and how the law will be applied to them. These issues are rarely discussed in conversations about buyers of sexual services, even in calls for further criminalization of clients. If we don't know how law affects clients exactly, we cannot know how effective it will be in addressing the issues it is meant to address. The fact that sex workers across the world are speaking out against criminalization of buyers of sex a dditionally suggests the importance of understanding the role of the law in commercial sexual relationships.
Chris Atchison, University of Victoria researcher, has been focusing on the client side of the commercial sexual exchanges for 18 years. With Johns' Voice he led the largest and the most successful research with sex buyers in Canada to date. In his latest study, "Sex, Safety and Security" he explores the experiences of persons who have paid for sexual services. This national research focuses on issues around safety and security in the sex trade, and examines these from the perspectives of sex buyers. Chris hopes that this research will make an important contribution and add a missing voice to the current discussions about prostitution and prostitution law in Canada.
CONTACT:
Chris Atchison
Tel: 604.558.0489
Email: info@sexsafetysecurity.ca
