Women : For Sale

I have heard it said that many women in the sex industry are there because they want to be; they do not work for anyone but themselves, they do not give a cut of their earnings to a madam or a pimp and they truly enjoy sex, so what better career choice is there?

Well I don't know that I am convinced. I say this because I have never met one woman who has worked in the sex trade who was well-adjusted, and did not experience some sort of physical, sexual or mental abuse at the hands of another while she was a child, who has not been under the influence of drugs and alcohol and did not need to fill the void of self-worth. Is there such a woman who is capable of caring for and loving herself, who is capable of going to university to become a doctor but has instead opted to work in the industry? If there is, I would really like to meet her and hear her story.

Today in Vancouver, prostitution is illegal but activists are busy at work trying to change that. There are some non-profit groups formed to help the workers get off the streets and into rehabilitation and there are support groups lobbying for the rights of sex-trade workers who are demanding safer working conditions and for their line of work to be made legal. And of course the ones arguing for the legalization of prostitution are fighting everyone else.

This is where I feel stuck at the crossroads.

I hate everything that prostitution stands for, and yet it is one of the oldest professions known to mankind, it has always existed and always will. And since I know that prostitution is here to stay as long as humans need to fulfill their sexual needs, why not then make it safer for the workers?

When I see a girl walking the street or working a corner, I cannot help but picture her as a child when she was first hurt, betrayed and violated. I hate that these women have come down such a long and hard road that has only led them to the streets selling their bodies to SURVIVE. For us folk who work nine to five jobs, survival is working paycheque to paycheque, getting by with just enough to pay the bills, feed the kids and have a place to rest our heads at night; for the ones who work the streets, surviving is picking the right 'john', hoping he won't beat and leave her for dead, hoping he will pay her the money owed for the dignity she lost years ago; survival is turning tricks for drugs, drugs that once made her feel good have taken over so much they are all that make her feel human.

I admit that I have a hatred towards men for using these women for their own gratification. I would not consider myself anti-man, but I have a feminist streak in me - how could I not with all that one can witness and read on a daily basis about a raping of yet another woman.
Rape.
I still cannot come to a place in my head where I can rationalize selling one's body as their CHOICE. Sure it may be a yes or no, but control comes from all ends, be it addiction or a pimp or even lack of self-worth, to a point where choosing to have sex or not is no longer an option for her.

I remember several years ago my family and some friends gathered together for a barbecue; my aunt and I had gone up to the store and upon our return all the men were on the front porch looking into a telescope focused on some nearby fields and cheering. I asked what it was they were looking at and was guided to the telescope and told where to look; it was there I saw two men being serviced by a prostitute.
I cannot adequately express what I was feeling, I just knew that I wanted to call the police or run down to those fields myself and beat the two men to a pulp. I was naive and am still naive to think that the police could do anything to stop it; after all these three people were consenting adults and would only be asked to take it somewhere else and I believe the stigma is real that if you sell yourself you are 'less than'.
I did a brief stint of volunteer time at a rape/womens crisis shelter, which oddly enough I had to quit because I did not feel safe alone at night when my shifts were scheduled; I remember the coordinator showing us multiple examples of newspaper clippings and news reports on the murders and missing person cases of average women. These women would be contributors to their communities, mothers, wives and pre-dominantly caucasian and would have a considerate amount of media coverage given to their story; now switch to the somewhat recent story of Robert Pickton, a man currently charged with the murders of 26 women, almost every one of them a worker in the sex trade. Prior to this ghastly discovery no mention was made to the disappearances of these ladies, they weren't given top priority for police to do widespread searching and investigating. Of course the families and loved ones of these 26 women have made it loud and clear how this needs to be changed.

I sent away for a book called "Brothel" by Alexa Albert in hopes of getting a better understanding of the lifestyles and choices of women who choose to be in this profession, and if paying taxes like every working citizen gives them a sense of professionalism. In Nevada prostitution is legal and regulated - the brothels in which these women work are carefully guarded, the visitors screened and protection is taken very seriously. Activists here in Vancouver are lobbying for prostitution to be legalized so that it can be regulated, and the women can work under safer conditions and they can be accounted for. It is this reason and for the missing women of the Downtown Eastside that I want to support legalizing prostitution; while I want safer conditions for the women, I wish prostitution could be done away with, but it will never be and some women will never see anything wrong with it and it is their opinions I want to understand. I received the book in the mail today - maybe it will at least help me get halfway there.