Interesting article... Here it is for those that missed it.
The prostitution dialogues
Reducing the issue to simplistic, moralistic terms fails to recognize the complexity and diversity of the problem
Scarlett Lake, M. J. Palumbo, Diane Quan, Julia Saunders and Greg Smith . . . founding members of the Vancouver Society for Sexuality, Gender and Culture
Special to the Sun
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
A four-part editorial series published by The Vancouver Sun last September ended with a six-point plan -- cease enforcing the communicating law until it's reformed, permit the operation of legal escort agencies, create safe strolls, among others -- to protect prostitutes and the community. The plan and the reasoning behind it have merits and flaws.
Most important, though, is that the editors made a positive and welcome effort to engage the community in a serious dialogue about prostitution. We think that effort deserves thoughtful response and support.
Although The Sun's editorial board acknowledge that changes in the law are not the only answer, public response to prostitution often leans heavily on legalism as the primary strategy to protect prostitutes and the community.
We think this view has some shortcomings:
- We need more measures to address the prevention of unwanted entry into prostitution -- a matter of education and social supports more than law. We must provide youth with comprehensive preventive sexual health education beginning in elementary school.
- It is true that not everyone in prostitution wants to be there, but behind that unwillingness may be the very complex question of what meaning "freedom of choice" has in a no-choice or poor-choice environment. For some, there are huge issues of substance and other abuse that tie them to the sex trade as their only perceived means of survival. The challenge is to make choice a reality where none seems to exist.
- Supports should be available for those who wish to exit the sex trade and to rebuild their lives. Experience in New Zealand suggests that legalizing prostitution may have the side-effect of eliminating or reducing funding for exit services on the faulty premise that, with legalization, all those in prostitution could now be defined as choosing to be there.
- We also know that a significant number of sex trade workers choose to be in the business and find satisfaction in it. For them, a successful strategy will include opportunities to build community acceptance and provide the protections and benefits commonly associated with the workplace. Recent initiatives in Montreal to create the Canadian Guild of Erotic Labour provide a glimpse of the extent of workplace protections that may be achieved.
It's a lot easier to criticize than to come up with the perfect solution. We also struggle to know the best approach. Inherently, though, we believe it lies in a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy that includes a broadly based array of interventions and supports, including those in The Sun's six-point plan.
One critical piece -- needed without delay -- is the protection of prostitutes and the community from the real risks they face, using established risk management principles. Assessing those risks from a humane and rational perspective will point us to changes in priorities and practices that will increase protection for individuals.
We also see merits in an asset-based approach. By that we mean using the strengths and capabilities in the business and support sectors to improve access to employment for those who want them.
There is a dimension of rights and obligations that must be addressed. Canadian law upholds a woman's right to contraception and pregnancy options. More recently we have seen confirmations of individual rights to choice in lifestyle and sexual preference.
The courts currently interpret community standards to be accepting of some elements of sex trade activity, including sexually explicit magazines and videos. We need further clarification of the rights, freedoms and protections that apply to the sex trade as a whole.
These elements require research, and that means courageous scientists who are prepared to weather the inevitable moralizing of detractors. The research needs to extend to an open, honest exploration of the social meaning of the sex trade, and the benefits of prostitution as well as the risks.
We offer two examples of research that is critically needed to deepen our understanding of the complexity of the issues:
- Does the availability of consensual sex -- for hire -- affect the incidence of non-consensual sexual activity, as some clients of the sex trade have suggested?
- Exactly how do the particular characteristics of the various facets of the sex trade affect the health and well-being of people involved -- and the community?
We need dispassionate insight to guide us in defining those characteristics of the industry that should be sustained, while we work to eliminate the dangerous and dehumanizing activity some are forced to endure.
Reducing the issue to simplistic, moralistic terms fails to recognize the complexity and diversity of the problem, and results in Band-Aid solutions that are not helpful to society. We can't fully understand and help those most at risk in the sex trade until we also understand the entire landscape in which it exists.
The vision of the Vancouver Society for Sexuality, Gender and Culture is one that promotes the understanding and celebration of human sexuality as a core expression of our humanity -- physically, emotionally and spiritually.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005
