Proposed Terms of Reference for Canadian Adult Entertainment Commission

[Susie 1472]

all over our country LE seem to be stepping up attacks on our community. we are hoping to use these terms as a way to allow local organizing to begin for our national industry association.we would like your input in defining these terms.

just to clarify, all stakeholders will be allowed to vote one of 5 ways as described., so hopefully no one person is in control.

we must show benefits of membership. in the labour on the margins report

http://www.wccsip.ca/doc/laborOnTheMargins.pdf

we outline potential benfits as well as there is no cost for membership yet so no risk to potentially signing on.

my political presence and willingness to go to bat for people i hope will be a motivating factor to become members. i am 15 committees....government, health and enforcement related. i don't mind making a stink and calling them on their shit.LOL

also, we all have amazing talents and strength!together we can take control of our industry!

please feel free to ask me anything!

love susie

Terms of Reference for Canadian Adult Entertainment Commission

Draft 2009

These Terms of Reference were created to ensure localized organizing in various constituencies across Canada have the same agreed upon goals and processes.

Vision/ Goals:

To come together as an industry for the purpose of increased safety and stability for all stakeholders in the sex industry inclusive of workers, support workers, business owners and consumers.

To empower and unify sex industry communities inclusive of all genres and genders to increase the economic security of adult sex industry workers.

To provide sex industry specific training/ education/empowerment/ capacity building, ownership of skills and leadership to ensure all stakeholders have a voice in developing policies within

the sex industry.

Nurture community relationships, forge partnerships, identify and engage allies and external expertise in pursuit of CAEC goals.

Create a community where all are respected and honoured for their

experiences.

To create labour standards to improve the occupational health, safety and capacities of sex industry professionals as employees and contractors

within a legitimized profession, to ensure fair treatment of consumers and to protect longstanding ethical business owners.



 

Guiding principles

Work for the safety and respect of all sex industry stakeholders regardless of their location within the industry;

Ensure the inclusion of diverse communities, perspectives, capacities and expertise from the sex industry;

Promote progressive thought, forward thinking and continual positive

change for the empowerment and education of sex industry stakeholders and the community at large;

Keep harm reduction frameworks at the forefront and work toward social justice and social change to increase quality of life in addition to human and labour rights for sex industry stakeholders.

Pool resources and work together as a community.

 

Membership/composition:

Members must be active or former sex industry stakeholder , inclusive of: street level, bath houses, massage parlours, ads/ internet, dancers, adult film, off street, phone sex, web cam etc customers, support workers and business owners.;

Must be 19 years and over;

Must provide proof experience in the sex industry through on of

the following sources:

Criminal charges, 213, 211 or 210; tickets-no go zones, etc.

Photos, websites, ad payments, vouched for by another stakeholder ;

Employment history and verify work history;

Contracts for adult film, website, phone, escort/ massage

licenses etc;

 

Code of Conduct

Never speak in anger;

Build positive relationships;

Think of others and limit disputes;

Attend meetings ready to work and ready to contribute: alert and present in mind and body. Those on medication or using harm reduction

strategies must employ drug management strategies;

No cross talking and ensure that all have an equal opportunity to speak

and contribute;

Honour everyone’s opinion and be inclusive of a range of opinions;

No hijacking of agenda;

Be mindful and accepting of diversity and varying capacities: honouring

individual members opinions, choices, experiences and knowledge;

Respect meeting space- from set up to clean up;

Zero Tolerance to Violence: verbal abuse, physical abuse and threats will lead to revocation of membership in CAEC.

No personal politics, leave outside issues outside and leave the street on the street

 

Confidentiality

Events that happen at meetings stay at meetings;

Project membership and personal identities of members and their

contact information must remain confidential;

Intellectual property and details about projects, strategies and plans are not to be shared with outside entities or individuals except when in the form of a communication strategy that has been designed and approved by the members of CAEC;

Confidentiality extends even after leaving CAEC and must respect the

sex industry stakeholders rights of movement and the anonymity of those involved;

Breach of confidentiality will lead to the immediate revocation of

membership from CAEC.

All existing and new members must sign a confidentiality agreement and sign on to the most current Terms of Reference.

 

Decision-Making

Decisions will be made through a consensus model. All members in good

standing are voting members and will enter any of the following 5 responses to issues that are being considered:

1. Agree,

2. Disagree,

3. Disagree but can live with the decision,

4. Disagree and can’t live with the decision and will resign my

membership (Last resort)

5. Abstain

Note: if members choose option four, the issue at hand will be revisited and opened for discussion. Another vote will be posed to the membership.

 

Conflict Management

The complainant should attempt to reconcile differences informally unless it is considered unsafe for the individuals to undertake this first step.

The complainant shall submit a written complaint to CAEC Board of Directors regarding the allegation. Upon receipt of the complaint, a committee of three people including a CAEC member and representative from the Board of Directors will engage in a process of investigation. This investigation will include interviewing all individuals affected by the incident and will result in a report to the Board of Directors. The committee will submit a report to the Board of Directors including recommendations for how to proceed on the matter. The Board will make the final decision on the status of the Board/staff/ volunteer or member.

If the matter remains unresolved, the Board of Directors will solicit the

support of an external mediator and engage in further negotiations or

appeal.

 

Meeting Structure-Minutes

Agenda and previous meeting minutes circulated via email prior to

meetings.

Action column and recommendations will be read at the following meeting.

A rotating chair will facilitate meetings or an external facilitator may be

hired.

The CAEC recognizes that the

meeting procedures and minutes may be available to the public but will

refrain from identifying members.

 

Communications/ media

All may speak about their own lived experiences but must also respect

that our collective position may differ;

Communications will be very important within the CAEC, between programs

and with the outside world. Position statement will be collectively constructed and delivered by an authorized representative.

A communications sub committee must be struck to work on messaging

and communications.

 

Partnerships

Partnerships with CAEC will be determined and approved by the membership;

Partners must sign and uphold a Memorandum of Agreement which

details the partnership and expected outcomes, risks and benefits.

[YoungStud 468]

Hey Erin, what do groups like POWER think about CAEC?

[Susie 1472]

i can tell you what the BCCEC and west coast coop think of POWER....

 

they rock!!!!!

 

we hope groups like POWER,STELLA,BCCEC,WCCSIP,CNCEW,MAGGIES will all join together and run locals.

 

each local is really already there as these great orgs. it's a matter of us all collaborating on some labor issues and supporting each other from across the country. during the labor on the margins project we realized that we must stabilize the industry in order to stabilize the workers.

 

we are currently almost done creating standardized occuptional health and safety training for sex industry workers in line with the recommendations below.

 

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.

[Susie 1472]

"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.

[YoungStud 468]

Are you the Susie that was in that CTV documentary about the industry a few months back?

[Susie 1472]

yesie!!!!LOLXXXO:oops:

[YoungStud 468]

Cool! You were great in that. Knowing it was you, for those of us who've seen it, gives some context for your current posts.

[Susie 1472]

right on!!!

 

there have been raids in halifax and in winnipeg and we are expecting raids before the Olympics out here so we are hoping to get some kind of unified way to support one another.

 

also, when the laws fall,and they will fall we need to be ready with a plan for self governance or the state will impose whatever it sees fit.

 

we have to try!!!LOL

 

susieXXXO

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Yup, you were great in the documentary!

 

Well, I'm not well versed in the political ins-and-outs of this, but there has obviously been a lot of work and careful reasoning behind this initiative. If there really is no national organization yet in this area, then the formation of a national organization of some sort seems to make eminent sense, on general principles alone.

 

From the narrow consumer perspective, I especially like the mention of goals like giving "consumers a way to determine which sex industry workers and businesses support safe and healthy work environments", allowing "consumers to distinguish ethical businesses and workers", and the "industry association seal" to allow "consumers to make ethical choices in the sex industry businesses they choose to support."

 

One end of the range of the continuum of experiences in this industry is so tainted with human trafficking, and workers who are not in a position to exercise real choice, that it personally makes me almost physically ill to think that any mis-judgement of mine in purchasing services might possibly turn out to implicitly (in practice), support, endorse and perpetuate such abominably unethical practices or situations.

 

One of the many enormous challenges in any such undertaking is of course the acknowledged fact that it "Must have continuity and members that stay around unlike farmworkers because they work for a few months and leave."

 

Obviously, this whole area is an extremely complex issue that is strewn with innumerable mine-fields, and there are many seemingly immovable obstacles in the path of any attempt at meaningful progress. My uninformed personal opinion is of course irrelevant, but it does seem to me that in principle, a well-supported and proactive national organization would have a much greater potential to make a substantial and lasting difference.

[VedaSloan 119179]

Oh man, I totally missed this thread. You stay away for a few days and things slip right by you.

 

I am all for a Canada-wide organization of whores.

[hairyblueeyes 121]

As a consumer I commend you on your efforts. At a recent social event I was talking to some other hobbyists and we were reminiscing over the old days of scouting the various local papers or cruising the market etc and how risky that was, for both parties. From my stand point my money is hard earned and sure hate getting taking for a ride, or worse yet putting my life at risk.

 

This place here is a gift. It gives me the opportunity to "research" and after quickly looking thru the faqs etc I have some faith in the mods.

 

That being said, there is always room for improvement. Having this place for the SPs to bring forth to light initiatives such as this one will show the power of "social networks".

 

Is it not for the protection of our well being, both consumers and businesses? Do we not ALL benefit from initiatives such as this?

 

My answer is a big loud YES

I will be subscribing to this thread in order to stay informed, and offer support when able.

[Susie 1472]

revised terms of reference, any more comments or edits?

 

thanks everyone!

 

here are revisions so far.....

 

Terms of Reference for Canadian Adult Entertainment Commission

Draft 2009

Sex Industry Stakeholder- A person who has experience either working within, running a business in or purchasing services/products of the sex industry.

These Terms of Reference were created to ensure localized organizing in various constituencies across Canada have a common set of goals and processes.

Vision/ Goals:

• To come together as an industry for the purpose of increased safety and stability for all stakeholders in the sex industry inclusive of workers, support workers, business owners and consumers.

• To empower and unify sex industry communities inclusive of all genres and genders to increase the security and stability of the sex industry.

• Build community relationships, forge partnerships, identify and engage allies and external expertise in pursuit of CAEC goals.

• Create a community where all sex industry stakeholders are respected and honoured for their experiences.

• To improve the occupational health, safety and capacities of sex industry professionals as employees and contractors within a legitimized profession

• To ensure consumers have access to resources, are safe engaging in sex industry consumption, can maintain discretion, are treated fairly and have clear and choices for ethical purchasing.

• To protect ethical business owners from arbitrary attacks upon their honour, reputation and livelihood by law enforcement, former employees and the system at large,

 

• Design a complaints process in partnership with all stakeholders to provide a system of self governance and enforcement for the sex industry.

• Support the formation of craft unions, business improvement associations, consumer groups or trade guilds for all aspects, businesses, consumers or workers within the sex industry.

 

Guiding principles

• Work towards safety and respect of all sex industry stakeholders regardless of their location within the industry;

• Ensure the inclusion of diverse communities, perspectives, capacities and expertise from the sex industry;

• Promote progressive thought, forward thinking and continual positive

change for the empowerment and education of sex industry stakeholders and the community at large;

• Keep harm reduction frameworks at the forefront and work toward social justice and social change to increase quality of life for sex industry stakeholders.

 

Membership/composition:

 

• Members must be active or former sex industry stakeholders , inclusive of but not limited to; street level, bath houses, massage parlours, ads/ internet, dancers, adult film, off street, phone sex, web cam etc customers, support staff and business owners

• Organizations who provide services for, are run by or have a vested interest in the sex industry may become members.
  
• Must be 19 years and over;
  
• vouched for by another stakeholder ;
   
  Confidentiality
  

• Events that happen at meetings stay at meetings;
  
• Project membership and personal identities of members and their
  
• contact information must remain confidential;
  
• Intellectual property and details about projects, strategies and plans are not to be shared with outside entities or individuals except when in the form of a communication strategy that has been designed and approved by the members of CAEC;
  
• Confidentiality extends even after leaving CAEC and must respect the
  
• sex industry stakeholders rights of movement and the anonymity of those involved;
  
• Breach of confidentiality will lead to the immediate revocation of
  
• membership from CAEC.
  
• All existing and new members must sign a confidentiality agreement and sign on to the most current Terms of Reference.
  

Decision-Making

Decisions will be made through a consensus model. All members in good

standing are voting members and will enter any of the following 3 responses to issues that are being considered:

1. Agree,

2. Disagree

4. Abstain

 

Meeting Structure-Minutes

• Agenda and previous meeting minutes circulated via email prior to

meetings.

• Action column and recommendations will be read at the following meeting.

• A rotating chair will facilitate meetings or an external facilitator may be hired.

• The CAEC recognizes that the meeting procedures and minutes may be available to the public but will refrain from identifying members.

Code of Conduct for meetings

• Never speak in anger; Try to limit disputes;

• Attend meetings ready to work and ready to contribute: alert and present in mind and body. Those on medication or using harm reduction

strategies must employ drug management strategies;

• Honour everyone’s opinion and be inclusive of a range of opinions;

• Be mindful and accepting of diversity and varying capacities: honouring individual members opinions, choices, experiences and knowledge;

• Respect meeting space- from set up to clean up;

• Zero Tolerance to Violence: verbal abuse, physical abuse and threats will lead to revocation of membership in CAEC.

• No personal politics, leave outside issues outside and leave the street on the street

[hairyblueeyes 121]

"Decisions will be made through a consensus model. All members in good

standing are voting members and will enter any of the following 5 responses to issues that are being considered:"

 

Not sure if you want any comments on content or form, but here is goes fwiw.

 

In the above you mention 5 responses but only list 4.

 

Response # 3 "can't live with the decision, will resign.." leaves the ability for a member to "coerce?" other members by the threat of resigning. Also in my opinion this is somewhat redundant as the decision is only made after the vote is tallied.

 

Also if the decision is not in their favor, are they forced to resign based on their vote?

 

I would just go with the standard 3; yes, no and abstain.

 

Of course only my 2 cents worth

[Susie 1472]

thanks for your comments!

i think you are right i will edit approproiately.

love susieXXXO

[hairyblueeyes 121]

Here is another area to look at:

• To ensure consumers have access to resources, are safe engaging in sex industry consumption, can maintain discretion, are treated fairly and have clear and choices for ethical purchasing.

Not sure what this means, unless it is a typo.

If you like I can contnue to proof. Just let me know.

I must say it is awsome that the customer is able to join and participate as well, although at times it might get a little distracting for us if we attend a meeting :mrgreen:

 

Some xxoo right back at ya, HBE

[Susie 1472]

tanxs babe! definitely a typo....dang i just uploaded it to coop web site...

 

http://www.wccsip.ca/caec.html

 

i will e-mail my aunt and ask her to fix it....

 

i am putting together a membership package and we will have a nationally viable occupational health and safety training- trade secrets ready in the fall.

 

700 people reviewed and contributed to the terms of reference and BCCEC members have formalized what will be known for now as the Canadian Adult Entertainment Commission or CAEC.

 

It has been acknowledged these “Temporary/ Draft Terms of Reference” are an emergency measure intended to support workers and businesses who are under scrutiny and that and a far more detailed description of governance and conflict resolution will be necessary to attain our goal of self governance for the sex industry.

 

love susieXXXO