During the “Developing
Capacity for Change Project” - CoOp development work shops,
workers expressed how a trade association and a branding
or certification process could support safer work
conditions over all and stabilize the existing safer
indoor venues that exist now. The development of occupational
health and safety training was also seen as a way
to give people entering and in the sex industry the
tools to make safe decisions about their work. It
was agreed that all stake holders including business
owners and consumers should be engaged to contribute
to the design of the future of our industry.
Currently a charter challenge is underway to bring
down the laws governing sex work. This action will
only be successful if as an industry we can prove
our ability to self govern and police ourselves. In
the next 10 years we must agree to respect each other
and treat each other with dignity. This will be an
enormous task but an absolutely necessary one none
the less. If we cannot demonstrate the ways in which
we have traditionally maintained the stability of
our industry, the system at large will most likely
impose whatever laws it sees fit and we as an industry
will be faced with another disaster.
With this in mind, the BCCEW/C set out to engage
sex industry workers in beginning the process and
determining whether or not there is industry support
for such an action and what the structure of such
an organization might look like.
Actions / Recommendations
The following actions and recommendations emerged
as common themes from dialogue with all stake holders
including consumers, business owners and workers.
"Establish a consortium of sex industry
stakeholders to develop an Industry Association
and negotiate where there are areas of commonality.
ie. violence, consumer theft, health and safety,
and industry stability."
Relevance
Sex Industry Workers
Stability for the sex industry means jobs and
safe places to work. If the industry bands together
behind some basic minimum standards, the greater community
will no longer be able to attack business owners arbitrarily.
This will mean fewer closures of these businesses
and more places to work. The systematic vilifying
of business owners has lead to the loss of most safe
work options for sex industry workers and pushed some
workers to chose work options beyond their personal
physical boundaries (17 show lounges have closed in
the last couple of years and forced some exotic dancers
to chose other forms of sex work such as escorting)
The minimum standards aspect will mean that workers
can distinguish which businesses are good to work
for and which may not be. The Industry Association
will provide a tool for sex industry workers to make
safe decisions about their work.
Sex Industry Business Owners
Stability for the sex industry means a business
owner’s lively hood and hard work will no longer
be subject to uninformed scrutiny by police, license
inspectors, and so called “good will” groups
promoting the abolition of the sex industry.) History
has shown us how the greater community has targeted
business owners and cast them as pimps, abusers, traffickers
and “organized crime”. An Industry Association
could de-mystify our industry and advocate on behalf
of longstanding businesses that have provided safe
and stabile work environments distinguishing them
from those who may be of a less honorable cast.
New business owners could also be educated on the
minimum required standards and insure a level playing
field for all.
Sex Industry Consumers
Stability for the sex industry means that
consumers will be able to engage sex workers use
a business’s services secure in the knowledge
that they will be treated with dignity and respect
and be able to engage in these activities safely.
Also, a consumer would be able to support ethical
business practices and the businesses that uphold
them.
Greater Community outside of Sex Industry
Stability for the sex industry means that
the greater community will no longer have to wonder
about conditions within the industry or be forced
to impose uninformed actions against it. Through development
of minimum standards and occupational health and safety
training the greater community can be comfortable
in the knowledge that sex industry workers are being
given the tools to make safe decisions and have safe
places to work.
This will remove the burden of sex industry
governance from people whose actions have historically
(for more than 100 years) had disastrous effects
for the safety and quality of life of Vancouver’s
sex industry workers.
The greater communities concerns are generally
centered on the street level sex trade. The
public sex acts, violence, unwanted advances from
consumers and condom mess reflect the lack of safer
indoor jobs in the sex industry. The systematic removal
of these safer indoor environments must be halted
to stem the number of workers entering the dangerous
street level trade. It is hoped that through education
and industry stabilization the numbers of sex industry
workers working in harmful conditions will dramatically
decrease.
"Develop Standardized Health and Safety Training
for Sex Industry Workers and consumers in partnership
with ALL stakeholders including business owners."
Relevance
Sex Industry Workers
Standardized Health and Safety Training will
give sex industry workers clear and concise information
about their work. It will give them the tools to make
safe decisions about engaging business owners, engaging
consumers, safe sex, their emotional health, and about
finding support should they need it.
Sex Industry Business Owners
Standardized health and safety training would
mean business owners could prove they had provided
their employees with the information necessary to
work safely. Most business owners do provide training
for employees and are very conscious of the safety
of their workers. However, they have never been able
to demonstrate their attention to this most important
aspect of the sex industry. Through a standardized
training system developed in partnership with ALL
stakeholders (including business owners) these ethical,
safe and healthy business practices could be recognized
and supported.
Sex Industry Consumers
Standardized health and safety training will
also include information for consumers. Because of
criminalization, consumers have been cast as somehow
dysfunctional, rapists, and perverts. This makes it
difficult for them to ask for information about their
sexual health and the risks involved with engaging
in the sex industry. This will provide consumers the
tools to make safe decisions when purchasing sex industry
services. Also, consumers engaging sex industry workers
or businesses who are members of the industry association
can be assured that the workers are well versed in
safe and healthy sex work practices.
Greater Community outside of Sex Industry
Standardized health and safety training will
allow the greater community to be confident that all
sex industry stakeholders have been given the tools
they need to protect their health (including exiting
and support services), safety and stability while
engaging in the sex industry.
"Develop and implement a certification process
in partnership with all stakeholders to stabilize
and promote sex industry businesses (inclusive
of independent workers as businesses). Design
an industry association seal or brand to distinguish
those businesses that support and have received
certification for the negotiated health and safety
standards and training."
Relevance
Sex Industry Workers
Developing a certification process in partnership
with all stakeholders will allow sex industry workers
to insure their concerns and insight are addressed
and included. An industry association seal will allow
workers to distinguish which businesses support safe
work environments and support the minimum negotiated
standards.
Sex Industry Business Owners
Developing a certification process in partnership
with all stakeholders will allow business owners to
insure their concerns and experience are included,
that the process is accessible and within reason as
far as the operation of sex industry businesses. An
industry association seal would allow businesses to
distinguish themselves in the market for consumers
and potential employees as businesses who support
safe work environments and the minimum negotiated
standards.
Sex Industry Consumers
The industry association seal will allow consumers
to make ethical choices in the sex industry businesses
they choose to support.
Greater community outside of Sex Industry
The industry association certification process
and industry association seal will allow the greater
community to make informed decisions about any actions
taken against the sex industry. Blanket assumptions
about our industry and the businesses engaged in it
from the past have had disastrous results for our
industry. The certification and seal will protect
those businesses who do support health and safety
from being targeted and allow the greater community
to support actions in relation to the sex industry
from a better informed perspective.
"Design a complaints process and penalty system
in partnership with all stakeholders to provide
a system of self governance and enforcement for
the sex industry."
Relevance
Sex Industry Workers
Sex workers have never had a way to report
unethical business owners or dangerous business practices.
A balanced system of investigation and penalty would
begin to stabilize the health and safety of sex industry
workers and eliminate the increasing number of dangerous
working environments emerging as a result of our industry
being pushed further and further underground.
Sex Industry Business Owners
Sex Industry business owners have also never
had a way to complain about industry workers who take
advantage of their good business practices or steal
clients. This would allow these problems to also face
due process and protect business owners from these
types of behaviors.
Business owners would also be able to protect
themselves from industry workers making false allegations
about their business practices.
A process of self governance and enforcement
would take these issues out of the hands of the
greater community and prevent decisions being made
by an outside party with no understanding of our
history and traditions. This would mean the police,
license inspectors and “end
the sex industry” groups would no longer have
the power to completely disrupt our lively hoods
and jeopardize our safety.
Sex Industry Consumers
Sex industry consumers have never been able
to lodge complaints about bad service or business
practices except in the on-line forums where “service
providers” are reviewed. Offences like being
robbed or noticing a worker appears to be too young
are difficult to report due to the stigma and close
scrutiny an investigation can bring on the consumer
himself.
A community based process which ensures the
confidentiality of complainants will allow this process
to work without harming peoples personal lives and
stability.
Greater Community outside of Sex Industry
The greater community has always felt the
need to carry the burden of policing our industry.
Through this confidential, community based process
this will no longer be necessary. Businesses that
go beyond what is reasonable (marketing youth, trafficking
persons) can be identified and prosecuted without
causing widespread de-stabilization of the entire
industry.
"Support the formation of craft unions or trade
guilds for all aspects or jobs within the sex industry."
The Sex Industry is as diverse as the people
who engage in it and encompasses more that actual
one on one physical contact sex work. There are
many job choices within actual sex work and there
are also all of the support positions. This is an
Industry and all employees’ health, safety,
and job security are important. Once the industry
is stabilized and self governing different craft
or trade guilds could form to support issues specific
to different sex industry workers and businesses.
Sex Work Diversity - some of the identified
genres of sex work include: Exotic Dancing, Web Cam work,
pornography, massage, escorts, male hustlers, phone
sex, and on street sex work.
Sex Industry Support Staff - some examples
of support staff are: booking girls, djs, waitresses,
bartenders, bouncers, camera people, make up people,
producers, film editors, computer experts, security
guys, drivers, and costume makers.
These work specific guilds could allow dialogue
between more experienced and less experienced workers
and improve knowledge specific to their individual
work. The sharing of knowledge would allow sex industry
capacity to increase over all.
The Industry Association could act as a bridge
between these craft unions should any issues arise
between them and facilitate reasonable negotiation
between all sides.
"Establish a system of communications between
the sex industry and those agencies who have traditionally
had the role of policing or monitoring the industry
such as the police, license inspectors and social
work/ support agencies to prevent misunderstandings
about safety issues within the industry."
These agencies have taken action against the sex
industry with disastrous effects in the past. A system
through which these actions can be vetted by or scrutinized
by the industry itself is necessary to prevent these
problems repeating themselves in the future. The lived
experiences of sex industry workers, consumers and
business owners are key to actions that will have
meaningful and sustainable impacts on the safety of
the entire community.
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