In a previous post, I made reference to the fact that while truck drivers, fishers and miners had chosen risky occupations, they were respected by and large by society. But such was not the case for sex workers, who would often be criticised because they chose such a risky occupation. Indeed, our perceptions play a big role in how we attribute worth to some occupations.
Not long ago, two university professors decided to do their own research on prostitution in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. They spoke to more than 60 sex workers in Saint John and Moncton, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. Rather than ask, “Why did you choose this line of work?” which can be a rather loaded question, they asked, “What do you like about this work?” and “What do you not like about this work?” This set the stage where sex workers opened up considerably.
The professors also interviewed police officers, civic officials, healthcare and other service providers. After compiling and analysing the data, they produced a book entitled Sex Workers in the Maritimes Talk Back. If nothing else, the book provides an interesting glimpse into our perceptions of women and men who come to this line of work. Much of what follows is based on a recording of their presentation which can be found on the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women website. Where there is mention of the people interviewed, this refers to the people who took part in the study conducted by the authors of the book.
Perception 1. The vast majority of sex workers work under the direction of pimps.
Reality: Of the more than sixty sex workers interviewed by the two professors, not one worked for a pimp at the time of the interview. One of the professors would go on to say that an initiative by police to catch the pimp rather than the sex workers ran into trouble when there were too few pimps to be found.
Perception 2. They are feeding a drug habit.
Reality: A great number of the people interviewed did not have any addiction.
Perception 3. Sex workers are forced into that profession through a series of bad choices or due to exceptionally difficult circumstances.
Reality: This presumes they didn’t really have a choice and denies them any kind of agency. While it may not have been their first choice, some actually came to prefer it because the money was good, the hours were flexible, and there was no boss yelling at them and putting restrictions on how many times they could call home to check on a sick parent or child.
Perception 4. They had no other possible source of income.
Reality: We assume that they had no other avenue for money. But it’s not that simple. Those who had been on social assistance said sex work is a better option because it is less demeaning and controlling.
Perception 5. Prostitution is linked to organised crime.
Reality: It might the case in some circumstances and in some cities, but not in the cases related in the book.
Perception 6. Prostitution is the result of human trafficking.
Reality: While it’s true that many abductees are forced into prostitution by their abductors, the people interviewed in the book did not become sex workers as a result of abduction.
Perception 7. Why don’t these women go and work at (name of a popular donut and coffee shop)?
Reality: Why don’t YOU go work at (name of a popular donut and coffee shop)? Why work your butt off and get yelled at for only eight dollars an hour (or whatever the minimum wage is in your area)?
Perception 8. We must keep prostitution illegal because it’s so dangerous!
Reality: So are fishing, mining, truck driving, construction, and many other professions. In fact, nurses are assaulted at least as often as sex workers, if not more. Should we make nursing illegal? Footnote: If a nurse is killed, every effort is made to bring the criminal to justice. If a sex worker is killed, the case may never become a priority. Remember the Robert Pickton murders.
Perception 9. Sex workers don’t lead a moral life.
Reality: Even if this were true, does this give the rest of society the right to rape, beat and kill them? Does this give us the right to abduct them, drive far away from the city centre and just drop them off with no way of getting home? Must we see them as disposable trash?
Perception 10. Sex workers are risking their health due to transmissible disease.
Reality: Health workers see disease as the health and safety issue in sex work. Sex workers say the greatest threat to their health and safety are the clients who become violent. Police would rather arrest sex workers than protect them from those who would assault them, and health care workers tend to dismiss their valid health concerns because of what they do for a living.
Perception 11. Why another book on prostitution? Everything we need to know is already known.
Reality: The point of view of the sex worker is rarely sought out or taken into account when studies, royal commissions, academic research and other such initiatives take place.
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