Joyless Joy

Last week Kathleen Wynne very boldly challenged Stephen Harper by asking her Attorney General, Madeline Meilleur, to give her opinion of the constitutionality of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEP).

Naturally, the learned men of the Conservative Party wouldn’t let this uppity sapphist’s contemptuous behaviour go unchallenged. Harper could have attacked Wynne, but Mafioso dons like to keep their hands clean, which is why Harper usually keeps his mouth shut. Peter MacKay could have made a statement, but he stepped into another pile last week so they’re keeping him away from the microphone for now.

So it was up to Canada’s favourite condescending anti-sex harridan, Joy Smith, to read the script.

Notice how Smith shakes her head disapprovingly at the very idea of Kathleen Wynne, her face contorting as though a bad smell just hit her, while reading what someone, somewhere, thought was a sharp attack. Meanwhile, in the background, Michelle Rempel does her best to not burst out laughing.

“It is deeply disappointing,” Smith concludes, “that Kathleen Wynne and the leader of the Liberal Party appear to disagree with Canadians and support the legalization of prostitution!”

“Hear hear!” a man from the Conservative bench shouts as Smith finishes her scripted statement, proud of her for passionately defending the government’s legislative assault on sex workers’ lives, safety, and bodies.

There is so much garbage in her statement it’s unbelievable; most if it I don’t have to explain to you because if you’re here reading me you already know. She plays the emotion card and hits all the notes in the Conservatives’ playbook, telling two lies for every one breath.

But the most telling thing is what she didn’t say. Not once does she discuss constitutionality.

So many provisions in PCEP are unconstitutional and will be struck down because, according to Conservative Senator Don Plett, the purpose was to deliberately make sex workers’ lives unsafe. Constitutionality was the rationale for Wynne asking AG Meilleur to assess these new laws, and that was what Smith completely ignored.

Just for the record, this isn’t the first time Joy Smith attacked Kathleen Wynne, but this is the first time she attacked her directly. The last time she attacked Kathleen Wynne was indirect; it was an attack on Wynne, her (now) wife, and thousands of LGBTQ Canadians who wanted marriage equality.

Back in 2005 there was a bill before Parliament, The Civil Marriage Act, to make marriage equality legal in Canada. It passed, but Smith attacked both it and the idea of gay marriage then. “I believe in the definition of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others,” she said in a speech in the House.

The words she used then to attack marriage equality are stunning in light of what she has done to attack sex workers throughout this whole ordeal we’re going through today – not to mention ironic. What she said to attack marriage equality in some parts can actually be used to defend the rights of sex workers today.

“This issue should not be before Parliament today…. This issue has become too political,” she said. “This is about democracy. In our great nation we have the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the freedom to live the kind of lives that we choose to live. Making a law that will cause marriage to just go away with the stroke of a pen late at night and probably sometime this week is wrong. It is wrong to do that. I am baffled as to why [this Bill] is before Parliament.”

You can just swap out “marriage” in that sentence with “sex workers” and see just how much of a confused wreck her mind must be at times. By parliament not recognizing what her personal definition of what a marriage is then we are as a nation ending all marriage. That makes absolutely no sense, but that’s precisely how she thinks. She centred herself in her own personal universe then, as she does now, and would like to use the power of the state to legislate her own precious personal feels into law.

Other parts of her speech though are consistent to her position on sex workers. She doesn’t dislike LGBTQ persons per se. She’s no bigot, she’ll have you know! Sure, they deserve rights, but not all the rights. LGBTQ persons don’t deserve the freedom to marry, but they can live together if they want. Just like how sex workers don’t deserve to have safety or security or an income, but they can still call themselves sex workers if they like. Joy Smith will gladly partake in removing your rights in a delicate and genteel way if it means it makes her feel warm and fuzzy about herself.

Her warped logic that marriage equality was an attack on freedom came to a crescendo wherein she invokes the image of a Canadian soldier, her father, fighting against the German war machine in Europe:

“My father went to war during the Second World War and defended our country. He did not come back to tell people how to live. He did not come back to say that there had to be rules and regulations. I am appalled that the bill is before Parliament today because it is not a bill about equality. It is a bill about discrimination against people who are now married and have been married for years.”

If that ended with “it is a bill about discrimination against people who are sex workers and have been sex workers for years” we’d have a bang-on analysis of PCEP. Joy, if what you claim about your father is true, your father would have hated PCEP… and your past attacks on marriage equality.

If a notorious homophobe is the Conservative Party’s only card to play against Kathleen Wynne in the fight for sex workers’ rights, then keep at it Conservatives. Have Smith speak every single day.

 RELATED: Allies: We Need You

Allies: We Need You

In 1969, Canada decriminalized homosexuality. Sex workers, some of whom were homosexual, rejoiced; sex workers helped in the fight, and it was a fight that was won. The right of homosexuals to their own bodies – their liberation – is tied to the rights and liberation of sex workers.

In 1988, the Supreme Court struck down laws that hindered a woman’s access to abortion. Sex workers, most of whom were women, rejoiced; sex workers helped in the fight, and it was a fight that was won. The right of women to control their own bodies – their liberation – is tied to the rights and liberation of sex workers.

In 2012, “gender identity” and “gender expression” were added as grounds of discrimination to the Ontario Human Rights Code. Other provinces are catching up. Sex workers, many of whom are transgender, are rejoicing with each victory; sex workers are helping in the fight, and it is a fight that is being won. The right of transgender and non-binary people to control their bodies – their liberation – is tied to the rights and liberation of sex workers.

Each of these victories did not come without a battle. Each of these victories were hard fought and deservedly won, because they were just fights and good fights.

In each case, the fight was against the same group of people: social conservatives who believe straight white men are at the top of the food chain and will fight any attempt to subvert their control over society, even if it means ruining lives in the process.

Each time their attack is the same: marginalize, belittle, and be sanctimonious. They’ll find someone from the group they’re attacking to side with them. They’ll find an “ex-gay” who will say homosexuality is bad and can be “cured”. They’ll find a woman who regrets having an abortion and wants the practice ended. They’ll find a fake feminist who says transgender women are not real women, so don’t give them the dignity of human rights.

Why social conservatives are fighting so hard against sex work? Why are Peter MacKay’s new laws so deliberately punitive as to result in violence against sex workers?

It’s because on every major civil rights issue social conservatives have lost. They lost on woman’s rights. They’ve lost on gay rights. They’re losing on transgender rights. This is their final battle. All the anger they experience each time a woman gets an abortion, each time a gay couple marry, each time a transgender person is not fired, has built up into a steaming kettle of rage – and they are looking for someone to burn.

They’ve learned from past “mistakes” of allowing the targets of their violence a voice; this time around their targets were shut down if not ignored completely. Senator Plett even admitted the purpose of C-36 is not to make sex work safer, as that would mean sex workers would continue being sex workers when the goal is their annihilation.

This is why allies are important. This is why you, reading this right now, are important.

December 6 the day bill C-36 comes into force. It is also the day, recognized nationwide since 1991, as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. It is a sick, perverse joke by a cruel and indifferent group of men that a day to commemorate the memories of women murdered in the Montreal Massacre is the day “we don’t want to make life safe for prostitutes” – the majority of whom are women.

Allies – women, gay, trans, and more – we were with you in your fights. We won together. Now we need your help.

This December 6, remember and say aloud not just the women murdered by Marc Lépine, but the women murdered by Robert Pickton.

These laws will mean a lot more victims of violence against women. These laws must be fought. We’ve fought with you in the past; need you in this fight now.

Open letter to Kathleen Wynne

The Honourable Kathleen Wynne,
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1

 

Dear Premier:

On November 5 2014, in support of UN Women’s “He For She” gender equality campaign, you said “Discrimination does not just crush the potential of its victims. It harms the potential of entire societies.”

Ms. Wynne, I could not agree more with you. It is a self-evident truth, so succinctly worded that the simplicity of it almost hides the importance and the passion behind it. Discrimination is a thief, stealing the potential of tomorrow for benefit of prejudice of today.

I am a business owner in Toronto. Over these past few months, I have been a victim of discrimination. My workers and employees have been victims of discrimination. Clients of the business I operate have been victims of discrimination. This discrimination has been out in the open, proudly crowed by media pundits, self-appointed moralists and even encouraged by elected politicians. And I worry that, beginning next month, the discrimination against us will turn violent.

The discrimination we face has been codified into law in the recently passed Bill C-36, the “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act”. It is a bill that perpetuates stigma against sex workers and arguably encourages violence against them by forcing us into the shadows. This bill was predicated on the paternalistic belief that sex workers of all genders are incapable of consent, so the state must assume ownership over their bodies. It seeks to crush the potential of its victims – sex workers – by removing all protections against workplace violence. After the bill is enacted and becomes law next month, if sex workers are harmed, abused, victimised or murdered by consenting to use their own bodies in a way the government doesn’t approve of, the gist of the law is “well, so be it.”

I have owned and operated Cupid’s Escorts over the past 10 years, where I’ve provided screening and security for at least 600 escorts; currently, 40 avail themselves of my agency. Each one of them have shared a different reason for wishing to work as escorts – for some it was a sense of adventure, for others a form of expression – but ultimately, all of them work for the same reason every single one of us works: we live in a society built on earning and spending money in order to survive.

A significant amount of escorts were and are working their way through post-secondary education, which can be costly, especially in highly specialized fields. Escorts have been and are studying to be nurses, doctors, business majors, writers, lawyers – any job that you can imagine. Of past escorts, many of them have been successful. Many of them are still in touch with me. Many of them have become close friends. Their past of being an escort is part of who they are today as a successful, functioning member of society.

Imagine, if you will, those 600 women over the past 10 years having no workplace protection. Imagine all their safety was removed from them by the very government that is supposed to protect them. Imagine none of them were able to screen potential clients, instead falling into a predator’s trap. Imagine if all 600 of them had to work under the conditions in British Columbia when Robert Pickton was free and committing his terror in the shadows, a terror that was very real for his victims but virtually ignored by an indifferent public and police, because, well, “they’re just hookers”.

After December 6 2014, when Bill C-36 becomes law, this won’t be an uncomfortable thought. It will be a vicious reality.

On that day, the 40 escorts who I provide screening and security for will have no safety net. There will be no security protocol in place. There will be no driver to ensure support is just seconds away. All of them, at the stroke of midnight, will turn from law-abiding, taxpaying citizens to criminals just by doing that which they’ve been doing for months and years. They will be pushed into the margins of our society, dehumanized and stigmatized, instead of being treated with the basic decency that all persons within our country deserve.

Clients, who are caring and non-violent people, will disappear. They will be replaced by predators that will have a slew of potential victims, courtesy of the Conservative federal government.

In addition to your position of Premier of Ontario, you are also leader of the Ontario Liberal Party. I would hope that your views on the matter of C-36 align with those of the Liberal Party of Canada. In a statement issued on June 12 2014, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s office released a statement that read in part, “The Liberal Party of Canada is opposing C-36. We have serious concerns that this legislation fails to comply with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the requirements outlined by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Bedford decision. We are also concerned that this legislation fails to adequately protect the health and safety of vulnerable people, particularly women.”

As both a woman and the owner of Cupid’s Escorts, I take the issue of violence against women very seriously. It is a deeply personal issue to me. The escorts for whom I provide screening and security services trust me with a very serious responsibility. I have not and I will not let them down.

I agree with you, Premier Wynne: “discrimination does not just crush the potential of its victims. It harms the potential of entire societies.”

Your words are why I have written to you today. Your words are words of hope, care, and love. Your words are based in empathy and principles, and can serve as a guiding ethos not just for gender equality but for our province.

Those words are why I am asking you to refer Bill C-36 to the Ontario Supreme Court, and to instruct Crown Prosecutors to not lay any charges under this bill.

 

Yours,

 [signed]

Jillian Hollander

A difference a year makes

In August 2013, I wrote a post about how the internet has changed the way the sex industry operates.

I was so happy when I wrote it. I explained how liberating the Internet has been for sex workers. The Internet was designed as a medium to exchange information, and using it for that purpose has allowed sex workers to learn about their clients before face-to-face interaction. “Is he a client, or is he a predator?” It’s hard to tell in a few seconds in an out-of-the-way place; indeed, non-sex workers on a regular date with a man may not realize they’re with a predator until after a few hours of drinks.

As I said in the blog, sex workers control the transaction; sex workers have all the power. Clients consent to this, just as any client of any service consents to terms of conduct. Clients want sex workers to be safe, and sex workers want clients who wish for them to be safe.

It was one of the first blog posts I made to this site. It was made before the December 2013 Bedford decision, a Supreme Court that brought so much joy and liberation to sex workers in this country.

The post was made before Conservative Justice Minister Peter MacKay introduced his incorrectly-named “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act”, Bill C-36.

The post was made before the summer Justice Committee hearings where women such as me and those I work with were dragged through the mud, dehumanized, and discussed as if we were either victims or simply not mature enough to realize we were victims.

The post was before Senate Committee hearings where the idea was floated for rehabilitation camps in the middle of rural Manitoba, run by churches, for us “fallen women”.

The post was made before the Governor General, a man who represents the very symbol of paternalism and colonialism baked into this country’s DNA, with a stroke of a pen officially signed into law C-36.

The post I wrote in that August 2013 is now not true.

Peter MacKay’s Bill C-36 outlaws every single thing sex workers require for their protection. Peter MacKay’s Bill C-36 says sex workers may advertise, but it outlaws the publication of those same ads. Peter MacKay’s Bill C-36 outlaws clients, leaving only potential predators. What’s more, while activists who hate sex work but claim to be all about “rescuing” sex workers (as though we were lost, mangy stray animals) talk a big game about not charging sex workers themselves, Peter MacKay’s Bill C-36 charges the very sex workers he claims are victims and gives them a criminal record!

With every measure in place to ensure us sex workers cannot protect ourselves, it’s only a matter of time before places sex workers will be forced to work become hunting grounds for violent predators.

“We live in a truly amazing world, gentlemen,” I said in that August 2013 post.

In little over a year, Peter MacKay has turned our world into one of fear, suspicion, danger, and violence.