International End Violence against Sex Workers Day
the BC Coalition. WCCSIP and our allies will be celebrating with our 5th annual red umbrella march, all are welcome and i will post updates a to when and where....
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is observed annually on December 17th by sex workers, their advocates, friends, families and allies.
First celebrated in 2003 the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is the brainchild of Dr. Annie Sprinkle and the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA)[2], an American Sex Worker's Rights organization.
Originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle Washington, it has evolved into an annual international event.
The day calls attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers all over the globe as well as the need to remove the stigma and discrimination that is perpetuated by custom and prohibitionist laws that has made violence against sex-workers acceptable.
The red umbrella has become an important symbol for Sex Workers Rights and it is increasingly being used on December 17: "First adopted by Venetian sex workers for an anti-violence march in 2002, red umbrellas have come to symbolize resistance against discrimination for sex workers worldwide."
Odd that barely anyone in the camp that say they support ending violence against women have almost nothing to say in these types of threads.
You would think they would be very happy to see this type of initiative. But I guess since you posted it as a *gasp* sex worker, no response.
Keep up the good work susan.
thanks babe!!
Let us take time to remember the casualties of Canada's quiet war
Guest editorial by Susan Davis, written in response to the report of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Solicitation Laws and published in The Province newspaper on December 15, 2006.
As International End Violence Against Sex Workers Day approaches, I remember the friends and fellow sex workers I have lost to violence. My friend, Brenda Way, murdered, and her body thrown into the garbage, and Kelly, whose last name I never knew, murdered and mutilated in the East End hotel where we lived.
I imagine sex workers all over the world remembering their friends and wonder, will reason ever prevail? Will the safety of sex workers ever become a priority? I am a twenty-one-year veteran of the trade and have witnessed the effects of the disastrous law revisions in 1985 and the resulting spiral from relative safety in the trade into the dangerous environment we experience as workers today.
In 2003, a parliamentary subcommittee was formed in response to rising violence against sex workers and the unbelievable number of missing and murdered workers across Canada. We shared personal experiences and ideas with the committee and, for a moment, had a glimmer of hope. We sat patiently as they catalogued the darkest moments of our lives and then waited. What recommendations would the committee bring forward? A year after the report was due and a change in government occurred, the report was fi nally tabled in Parliament this week.
A disaster for workers, the report does not support decriminalization but does call for (big surprise) more research. Must sex workers endure researchers and politicians making their careers and millions of dollars while discussing "safety issues"? How long will we wait? Twenty years? Thirty years? It's been almost thirty years since the Fraser Accord recommended changes that we are still fi ghting for today. What actions were taken? None-and this report spells more of the same. It shows total complacency for the value of the people affected and a total lack of respect for those who died.
Canada presents itself as a leader in human rights on the international stage, but the number of missing and murdered sex workers tells a different story. The staggering mortality rate of Canada's sex workers is a refl ection of the two-faced nature of our society. "END HARM!" (Not for sex workers.) "END PROSTITUTION!" (Sorry, no livable wages.) Some feminist groups even work against safe workspaces and equality for sex workers!
It's difficult to suppress my anger and frustration, but I'm learning to heal through action. In 2005, a group of my fellow workers and I attended an international conference in Montreal and met leaders of the sex workers' rights movement from all over the world. I was moved and inspired as I learned of the courage, strength and accomplishments of these workers. I committed to equality and safety for sex workers and engaged anyone who would listen. Sexworkerdriven groups, such as the BC Coalition of Experiential Communities, of which I'm a member, continue to organize so the voices of sex workers will never be silenced.
So, I invite everyone to take some time and remember the casualties of Canada's quiet war. They had families and dreams. The loss to the community of their potential and light is immeasurable.
They may be gone, but they must never be forgotten.