First’s latest public forum, “Sex Workers, Clients and the Law,”

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VANCOUVER: Ever wondered why men buy sex? Ever wondered what sex workers think about men who buy sex?

FIRST?s latest public forum, ?Sex Workers, Clients and the Law,? scheduled for November 23rd, promises to answer those questions, and more.

?Our forum focuses on the men who buy sex, the experiences of sex workers with their clients, and makes clear why criminalizing sex workers or their clients will only make things worse for sex workers,? said forum moderator Scarlett Lake, a madam who has been involved in the sex work industry for over 20 years.

Chris Atchison, Simon Fraser University criminologist, will lead off the FIRST forum reporting on his ?Johns' Voice? study. With almost 1000 respondents, it represents the largest study of Canadian sex buyers ever completed.

?The study opens what has been a tightly closed door?, said Atchison. ?Men reveal their experiences in the sex industry: they talk openly about their attitudes and beliefs.?

Atchison?s research reveals that the nature and scope of 'violence' perpetrated by sex buyers against sex workers appears to have been over-stated.

?The vast majority of sex buyers who participated in my research indicated that they have not, and would not, resolve conflicts with sex workers by resorting to violence,? he said.

Former sex worker, Jody Salerno, speaks on how her family and the child welfare system -- what could be considered our society?s decriminalized systems of care for children and youth -- failed her, while the men she sold sex to always honored their agreements.

?The men who paid me, asked permission to spend time with me and negotiated with me,? Salerno said. They asked for and received my consent. They were respectful and honored their agreements. These men were not the criminals.?

Sponsored by FIRST, the ?Sex Workers, Clients and the Law,? public forum will be held on Monday, November 23, from 7 ? 9 p.m at the Central Branch: Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street.

FIRST Contacts: Tamara O?Doherty: 778.772.2998

Esther Shannon: 604-254--9963

 

FIRST is a national coalition of feminists that advocates for the complete decriminalization of sex work, for both sex workers and clients. We argue that Canada?s prostitution robs sex workers of their livelihood and prevents them from creating safe and empowering working conditions. www.firstadvocates.org

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

nice find. Will there be a published report to follow this up? I'd love to read it.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

nice find. Will there be a published report to follow this up? I'd love to read it.

 

Regarding the John's Voice Survey itself, the website states that "preliminary results from our analysis" will be posted there "at the end of December 2009": http://www.johnsvoice.ca/

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

Thanks Wrink...I wish I had known about this in advance...I would have participated.

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I heard it went very well. Did anyone from cerb go?

[Susie 1472]

it was awesome! i spoke i annie temple's place, she wasn't feeling well!!there were probably 100 people there, dr.john lowman(sfu), professor becky ross(ubc)

 

when the AWAN rape relifers tried to say "where are the women of colour", a bccec member of colour stood up and explained she was the founder of the BCCEC and how we, in general do not racialize ourselves in terms of sex worker rights.

 

the woman was so mad, she left!!yes....and then the crazy old lady wagging her finger calling young men who had experienced sexual trauma as children deviants...what a weirdo....she kept moving closer and closer to the panel.

 

and the "reformed trick" yelling about immigration canada being the biggest pimp in the nation....god!

 

and of course, always,still..... the olympic brothel bullshit. i can't believe how long this shit is gong on!!oh well, i don't think they thought we would stick it out, think they thought we would give up. at least another large group of people now know the truth about the coop and our plans.

 

it felt really good to speak again, it's been awhile. i guess the feminism forum wars on babble have kept me sharp. 2 abolitionists were banned from the site because of publically attcking me.it's like a thousand posts or something, i may print it off just to look at it in terms of paper.

 

love susieXXXO

 

ps-hi cookies!!:bowdown:

[MandalayBay 575]

Good for you Susie! Thanks for the report.

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Thanks Susie! Glad it went well. I went to a sex worker variety show in TO, and some one on stage was talking about how all the sex worker org.'s in Vancouver are all buddy buddy, working together and have the coop brothel. I had a chuckle to myself.

Then i found a sex worker's essay and they refer to the current coop brothel in Vancouver. I was like...hmmm someone needs an update.

It's either the Olympics brothel or the Coop brothel...but apparently it exists and we all are getting along great.

Glad you are finding it worthwhile with the Babble stuff. T'was too redundant for me. I posted the same thing 3 times in one thread and said fuck it! I guess it's fun if you want to argue with the abolishinists.

I was hoping there would be some good points made at the forum, go Rave! Glad you stood in for Annie. Sounds like all is good in the hood.

I shall make my way back in Dec. cheers

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Mark Hasiuk for the Vancouver Courier, 25 Nov 2009:

 

http://www2.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/opinion/story.html?id=c8635c5c-fe88-4b93-993d-9fdd775d002b

Forum paints pretty picture of men who buy sex

 

SFU instructor details litany of offences perpetrated by prostitutes on johns

 

Last Monday evening, deep inside the bowels of the Vancouver Public Library's central branch at Homer and Georgia, more than 100 people packed into a modest-sized conference room for a public forum about men who buy sex, also known as johns.

 

While longstanding problems in Vancouver, the issues of prostitution and human trafficking have come under increased scrutiny as the 2010 Winter Olympics draw near. A movement, led by feminist and church groups, want to help women escape the indignity, drug addiction, abuse and death endemic to the sex trade.

 

But inside the library conference room last Monday, there was no such talk.

 

This was the realm of legalization advocates.

 

FIRST, an organization bent on removing all Criminal Code violations relating to the sex trade, staged the event and packed the speaker's list with kindred spirits.

 

From a lectern at the front of the room, event emcee Scarlett Lake, the bleach blond 50-something owner of Scarlett's House escort service, introduced a familiar cast of local advocates who trumped the virtues of legalization.

 

However, the evening's star attraction was Chris Atchison, a sociology instructor at Simon Fraser University and founder of John's Voice, a study of men who buy sex.

 

Tall and fresh-faced, wearing a striped sweater over a collared shirt, Atchison looks more like a fraternity brother than a university instructor.

But during a three-year period, he recruited--through online chatrooms and word of mouth--922 men for a survey and interview study on the sex trade.

 

The results, he said, "shattered the mythology of the sex buyer as degenerate, violent and disease-spreading" and revealed a kind, gentle community of men looking for companionship.

 

"It's not about getting off," said Atchison. "It's having someone to connect with."

 

Throughout his 20-minute PowerPoint presentation, Atchison unfurled a stream of statistics and percentages gleaned from his 922 study participants.

 

According to his data, only two per cent of participants told Atchison they robbed a prostitute. Additionally, a mere 1.9 per cent admitted to physical attacks, and a minuscule one per cent fessed up to a rape. (That's 9.22 confessed rapists, in case you're keeping score.)

 

"But what about the other 98 per cent?" asked Atchison, with his hands held high in the air.

 

Atchison's baffling logic subdued the once lively crowd. Even the hardened pro-prostitution supporters looked on quietly as his applause lines fell flat.

 

He made no mention of pimps or drugs or the horror of the Pickton farm, yet detailed the litany of offences perpetrated by prostitutes on johns.

 

According to his data, 18 per cent of johns had been verbally abused, 14 per cent had been robbed and four per cent had been physically assaulted by prostitutes.

 

In conclusion, Atchison left onlookers to ponder one final statistic--a whopping 43 per cent of johns paid for services they never received.

 

After thanking Atchison and returning to the lectern, Scarlett Lake stamped the SFU instructor with her seal of approval.

 

"Those longstanding stereotypes are, yeah, in the toilet. Thanks again, Chris."

 

While each speaker received polite applause at the end of their presentation, dissenting voices existed in the crowd.

 

During a lull in the action, Marc Lawrence, a 54-year-old construction worker, disputed Atchison's claims that johns seek companionship above all else.

 

"Most guys, the older they get, the younger women they want," said Lawrence, a tall imposing figure with a black goatee and matching leather jacket. "They just want to get their rocks off."

 

Lawrence says he used to use prostitutes but doesn't anymore. "It's too much of a con game," he said, attributing prostitution's popularity to the frustrations of modern man. "They're pissed off at the feminist movement and women being so pushy."

 

Two rows away, seated among her fellow Douglas College criminology students, Joanna Shultz had a different take.

 

The forum, a class trip, was part of her ongoing study of prostitution and human trafficking. She recently wrote a paper critical of legalization and promotes the widely praised Swedish model of decriminalization, which targets pimps and johns.

 

"If it's legalized it could lead to more trafficking," said the bright-eyed 24-year-old. "Especially procuring, because that means people could convince other people to get involved."

 

When asked about the forum speakers, she furrowed her brow and smiled before choosing her words diplomatically. "We need more programs to help people have more options so they don't feel they have to enter prostitution."

[Susie 1472]

this guy is a moron!i notice he didn't even mention me...i threatened them with a human rights complaint so he'd better not!!!jerk!!

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

More positive press (except for the Malarek stinger at the end), together with quotes from Susie:

 

 

Article by Shadi Elien, for the Georgia Straight:

 

http://www.straight.com/article-272070/vancouver/sex-workers-defend-buyers

Veteran sex worker Susan Davis wants people to know that her ?clients aren?t the bogeymen they are made out to be?.

 

?I love what I do,? Davis told the

Georgia Straight

in an interview at the Vancouver Public Library?s central branch. ?I think the guys are the best; a lot of them are my friends. Some I?ve known for 18 years. How do you not become emotionally attached??

 

Davis, who has been in the business for 23 years, insisted that stability and security for sex workers can only come with decriminalization of prostitution.

 

FIRST, a national coalition of feminists who support sex workers? rights, hosted a lively forum on the subject at the library on November 23. Davis, who was on the panel, suggested that men who buy sex can actually help enhance the safety of those in the trade.

 

?I think that clients are our biggest resource in trying to combat exploitation, trafficking, and exploitation of youth within the sex industry,? declared Davis, a member of the West Coast Cooperative of Sex Industry Professionals, in the interview.

 

Another panellist, SFU sociology instructor and researcher Chris Atchison, echoed Davis?s sentiments. He revealed the results of an extensive three-year study?called ?Johns? Voice??that documents the relationship between buyers and sellers of sex in Canada.

 

?I wanted to understand how these men engage in purchasing behaviour and what their relationships with sex-trade workers are about,? Atchison told the audience. ?I wanted to know whether social and legal intervention such as the Swedish model is warranted by any empirical evidence.?

 

Atchison was referring to a Swedish law introduced in 1999 that criminalized johns? purchasing of sexual services, but not the sale of those services by prostitutes. At the forum, organizers screened a 10-minute video that showed many Swedish sex workers are unhappy with the law. One sex worker featured in the video claimed that things have become much more dangerous for street workers, since they no longer have as much time to negotiate with their customers.

 

Atchison was critical of the Swedish law. The men he spoke to were seeking companionship and a connection with the sex workers they patronized, he said, adding that they wanted to engage in a safe and respectful relationship. He also reported that many customers saw the same sex worker for months or years, and that 79 percent said they wished to see prostitution decriminalized and regulated.

 

?I?m not here to present a picture of the sex buyer as some wonderful guy or say that they are all great, salt-of-the-earth people,? he said.

 

The ?Johns? Voice? project showed that between one and two percent of clients have been brutally violent toward a sex worker. Those are the people the law must address, according to Atchison.

 

Jody Salerno, a former sex worker and the director of women?s services for the B.C./Yukon Society of Transition Houses, told the audience that the men who paid her for sex were not criminals or violent. ?They wanted to share my time and have consensual sex,? she said. ?If men who pay for sex are criminalized, sex workers are unsafe.?

 

She emphasized that anyone?including sex workers?who commits acts of violence against women, children, youth, or men should be arrested and prosecuted. ?When sex workers are victims of criminal acts, treat them with dignity and respect,? Salerno said.

 

Toronto author and investigative journalist Victor Malarek, a staunch critic of legalizing the sex trade, told the

Straight

in an interview earlier this year that about 90 percent of prostitutes worldwide are not doing this work by choice. ?Rather than deal with the drugs, the mental-health issues, the physical-health issues, what led these women away from their reserves and put them on the streets, the only thing these bozos [proponents of legalization] can come up with is to keep them in something they never wanted in their lives in the first place,? Malarek said.

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That guy is a total ying yang. His writing style is so opinionated and slanted. But the positive article rocks! Great photo suzie-q