Women's World 2011 Conference held in Ottawa

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Lara Purvis reports in Xtra!, 18 July 2011, revealing the atmosphere at this conference that spawned so many anti-sex-trade stories in the mainstream media:

 

http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Hostile_clashes_dominate_womens_conference-10497.aspx

 

Hostile clashes dominate women's conference

Pro sex workers beaten down in name of feminism

 

At the recent Women's World 2011 Conference held in Ottawa, sex workers and their allies found themselves silenced and outnumbered by anti-sex work groups and a controversial art exhibit entitled "Flesh Mapping: Prostitution in a Globalized World".

 

Promoted as a global feminist conference, Women's World 2011 saw the convergence of almost 2000 women from 92 countries, from July 3 to 7 at the University of Ottawa.

 

Designed to bring together researchers and activists on women's issues, this year's event unexpectedly highlighted a deep and painful fissure in the feminist movement, with hostile clashes at the sex worker advocacy panels and in the common spaces over the course of the five days.

 

The week's schedule included numerous panels arguing, from various angles, to end global prostitution. This movement, more commonly associated with an earlier generation of anti-pornography, anti-sex work feminism argues that sex work is inherently exploitative of women, further entrenching patriarchal structures.

 

In comparison, the pro sex work groups at Women's World were small in number. Groups like Prostitutes of Ottawa/Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist (POWER), Toronto's Maggie's and Montreal's Stella work as sex worker advocacy groups arguing for the option to choose their occupation, safer working conditions and harm reduction strategies. Together they support groups like Sex Professionals of Canada (SPOC), which has made significant grounds in arguing for decriminalization in Canada.

 

The chasm between the two groups became blatantly obvious at the Women's World multi-media exhibitexhibit, "Flesh Mapping: Prostitution in a Globalized World" which attracted much attention among media and conference delegates and marked a strong prohibitionist ideology throughout the conference.

 

The multi-media exhibit included 70 used bed sheets as canvases that expressed sentiments, such as, "women are abandoned in the name of choice."

 

It was a disturbing exhibit for many but, for activists like Tuulia Law of SPOC and the president of Students for Sex Workers Rights at Ottawa University, it felt personal.

 

"It was a huge room - located ironically just down the hall from the Pride Centre - with messages about the horrors of prostitution and the impossibility of choice written all over, and a bed in the middle," says Law. "Even the name - they were mapping our flesh - I found incredibly offensive, but being in that room, with all the folk-art looking quilts and sheets that denied our existence and our choice, that denied the existence of choice in the sex industry at all, just made me want to die."

 

Oral presenters at the two sex worker advocacy panels were also harassed.

 

A social justice activist and former sex worker Simone (her full name cannot be given), was a Women's World volunteer who attended the panel, The Stigma of Sex Work: Addressing the Problems, Organizing for Change.

 

"I realized there was a strong prohibitionist presence from the beginning. It was clear in the schedule and the general focus on the Flesh Mapping exhibit. And I overheard conversations in the elevators and all around me. I knew people were organizing to disrupt the workshops," says Simone.

 

After the presentations by panelists that included Frederique Chabot (POWER), Colette Parent and moderator, Chris Brucket (University of Ottawa) and Mensah Nengah (The Université du Québec à Montréal) the language turned personal.

 

When one audience member suggested they were perpetuating not only patriarchy but also the oppression of capitalism with their choices, a group of anti-sex work supporters stood up and cheered.

 

"The panelist's responses were so powerful and well-spoken but they were not heard. It was such a feeling of hatred towards sex positive feminists," Simone shares quietly.

 

"I got up and went to them where they stood congratulating each other. I said, "We had this much space in this conference." She holds up a hand, her thumb and finger an inch apart. "This much. And you squashed it. Why are you denying my existence? My choices? I am in this room," says Simone.

 

"It felt like a tornado went through the room," agrees Lindsay Blewett, an escort who also attended the workshop. "It's really hard to describe how it felt. I felt so powerless as nothing we could have done would have changed anything. They were not there to dialogue. They were there to humiliate us, to silence us, to laugh at us, to yell at us."

 

The hostility didn't end in the workshops. Pro sex work activists wearing t-shirts chose to sit quietly outside of the Flesh Mapping exhibition on the last day offering informational materials and buttons in an effort to share another perspective.

Joining them was Brucket, researcher and professor from Ottawa of University.

 

"We sought to take the high road and were respectful," says Brucket. "It was perhaps 10-12 of us, mostly women, one young male student - a number of us were current or former workers, others were allies... I should note that I was there in part to show that some of us older feminists also question the prohibitionist discourse."

 

The reaction to their presence was visceral. One sex worker was asked if she'd ever been raped.

 

"One wonders at the bounds of human decency," muses Brucket.

 

Another anti-sex work supporter did media interviews pointing to the group and implicating them in the harm to other women, while others accused them of ignoring the needs and hurt of Aboriginal women and being in alliance with the police.

 

Though the group tried to respond to each concern, they were not heard.

 

"It was extremely demoralizing," says Chabot.

 

A representative for Women's World shared her disappointment at the events, stating: "We now recognize that pro sex worker activists felt unsafe at the congress - we take this very seriously and have plans to dialogue with representatives of that community about how to ensure the situation is not repeated at future Women's Worlds and similar gatherings."

 

While the experiences of sex workers and their allies at Women's World left many wondering about solidarity and the meaning of feminism, Brucket stands firm.

 

"I have been a feminist for 35 years and refuse to let that go. I am, however, profoundly disturbed by what I saw and experienced at Women's World. This was a silencing of the voices of marginalized women and unprovoked verbal violence - I am at a loss to define this as anything other than second wave feminist imperialism."

[VedaSloan 119179]

You totally beat me to it!

 

As one of the people who was quoted for this article, and who was at Women's Worlds as both a volunteer and activist, I'm STILL upset about it.

[VedaSloan 119179]

The comments section on the article is being taken over by prohibitionists who are trying to downplay the entire incident by saying it was a "disagreement" and "hyperbole."

 

If anyone else could post some positivity I'd appreciate it. Or if any of the ladies could post, if only to show that I'm not in the minority as a sex worker who willingly chose this occupation.

[Guest s******ecan****]

It seems logical to me that the very existence of "pro-sex work" groups made up of practicing sex workers is proof the industry is not by definition exploitive. There are numerous such groups, such as the ones named in the article. They are not phony "sock puppet" groups created and funded by Johns, or pimps. They are pure grassroot organizations made up of empowered sex workers who are doing what they do by choice.

 

Truly exploited individuals do not voluntarily band together to promote their continued exploitation.

 

Its unfortunate for sex workers that they have to fight this "two front" war especially when the uber feminists and religious right have nothing else in common.

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

I was there for a short time, and the experiences of sex workers were brutal.

[Nathalie L 112512]

I'm deeply sorry that sex workers and their allies went through what they did at Women's World... It blows my mind that such violence was propagated at a 'feminist' conference...

 

I wish I could have been there to support you all.

[Touch 57501]

Wow, this does not bode well for the discussion of the place of sex-workers in Canada in the coming months! (But thanks all for bringing this reporting to our attention.)

[jafo105 39057]

I think a lot of the hostilities come from ignorance. They define ALL sex-workers by the ones singled out in the media. (Pimps, drugs, addicts, etc). Here on Cerb, we all know that there are many different professions within the industry. The majority of which those elements are not found.

 

They also think that the sex-worker is to blame for their spouse going outside of the relationship for sex. They are afraid to admit the truth, that the problem exists because of a lack of intimacy and communication within the relationship. This is not the fault of the sex-worker!

 

I think someone mentioned religious beliefs -- Prostitution is mentioned several times throughout the bible. I do not recall it ever being in a negative way. "Jesus" had a special friend, Mary Magdalen, she was clearly identified as being a prostitute.

 

This is just my take on the situation.

 

Jafo

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

The historical Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute. She came to be a prostitute in Christian mythology centuries after her death.

[jafo105 39057]

Thanks Megan for clarifying it for me.

 

Jafo

[Guest E*******h S******s]

Feminists are bullies. They always have been. Women who choose to do something outside of what feminists deem worthwhile (ie. staying home and looking after the house and kids or working in the sex industry) are made to feel as though they are lesser people.

 

My life and my choices have just as much value as any other human being's choices and no group or gender has the right to tell me otherwise. Damn, I wish I had been there.

[VedaSloan 119179]

Feminists are bullies. They always have been. Women who choose to do something outside of what feminists deem worthwhile (ie. staying home and looking after the house and kids or working in the sex industry) are made to feel as though they are lesser people.

 

My life and my choices have just as much value as any other human being's choices and no group or gender has the right to tell me otherwise. Damn, I wish I had been there.

 

Not all feminists are bullies! It's such a shame that these particular "feminists" are giving us all a bad name.

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

I'm a feminist and I'm not a bully! But yes, some self-identified feminists are definitely bullies. :(

[fortunateone 156618]

I've seen martin dufresne commentaries on rabble.ca, usually and most often in the feminism sections of that discussion site, and fwiw, the guy got removed from the site for his comments, in spite of the fact that he was pro-feminism in the commentaries lol. but at a certain point, the less right wing feminists there were fed up with his appropriations and speaking on behalf of them with viewpoints they didn't share.

 

He goes from, there was no hostility, to well, the panelist should have had the courtesy to wait for the noise (jeering? insults? accusations? other?) to die down before answering a question they were asked, if she wanted to be heard? Um, really?

 

Those abolitionists were choosing not to listen, and then added to it by not allowing anyone else to listen either, to the very people who have actual information. They'd rather deal with their stereotypes and assumptions.

[VedaSloan 119179]

I've seen martin dufresne commentaries on rabble.ca, usually and most often in the feminism sections of that discussion site, and fwiw, the guy got removed from the site for his comments, in spite of the fact that he was pro-feminism in the commentaries lol. but at a certain point, the less right wing feminists there were fed up with his appropriations and speaking on behalf of them with viewpoints they didn't share.

 

He goes from, there was no hostility, to well, the panelist should have had the courtesy to wait for the noise (jeering? insults? accusations? other?) to die down before answering a question they were asked, if she wanted to be heard? Um, really?

 

Those abolitionists were choosing not to listen, and then added to it by not allowing anyone else to listen either, to the very people who have actual information. They'd rather deal with their stereotypes and assumptions.

 

If I ever met that guy in person, I'd probably strangle him. As it was, I was fighting not to lose my shit at his description of what happened as "spirited balktalk."