March 24th, 2008
As submitted to The Ryersonian newspaper
By: Jeffrey MacNeil, Margarita Awe, Tess McPhie, Titus Lo, Virginia Lang
Ryerson University, located in the heart of downtown Toronto is the home to many students for eight months of the year. For many students this begins in September when they unload their luggage, say goodbye to their parents, and move into residence. During this time, the many individuals who call Jarvis and Gerrard their workplace are asked by the Police to leave the area temporarily. As the school year continues each student becomes familiar with what is referred to as “Hooker Harvey’s”, the place of business for local prostitutes or sex workers. Prostitution is one of the oldest professions and individuals from every walk of life can end up in this field of work. For some, they were nannies who came here to work but with no papers to return home, stay here and work as sex workers. For others, they are refugees who dance in clubs and walk the streets to survive. Sex workers are thought to be homeless, uneducated, and drug abusers however, this is not always the case as they can be students living and learning with us. Throughout the school year the students of Ryerson interact with sex workers at a distance, by calling them names and throwing rocks at them. However, what students are unaware of is that these prostitutes may be sitting beside them in a lecture or teaching a tutorial. Valerie Scott, the Executive Director of the Sex Professional of Canada (SPOC) and sex worker states that “some of her co-workers are Ryerson University students who take advantage of the flexible hours and good paycheck.” In addition, Amy Lebovitch, a spokesperson for SPOC, prostitute, and past student states that “everyone assumes we are uneducated.” A past part-time journalism instructor of Ryerson University, Gerald Hannon, was fired once his other profession, a sex worker was revealed.
STIs, drugs, and jail are not the only the issues faced by sex workers. Violence is presumed ‘part of the job’ but in fact, it is their most important health issue as confirmed by Valerie Scott and Rhonda Collis, a Community Development Worker from Peel Public Health. Each individual has the right to be free of daily rape, abuse, and murder including sex workers. SPOC states that the reason for the high incidence of violence is because of the current laws in place. Currently, prostitution in Canada is legal however, a sex worker can be criminally charged with activities associated with the profession. SPOC is challenging the Canadian Criminal Code to remove three laws: (1) bawdy houses (a.k.a. brothels), (2) living off the profits of prostitution (“the pimping law”), and (3) communication for the purpose of prostitution. Since these laws have been instated, Scott states that “there has been hundreds of sex workers either confirmed murdered or missing in Canada. That’s an astronomical amount of women gone missing and this is really a direct result of the law.” A well known example is that of Robert Pickton, a British Columbia farmer who murdered twenty-six sex workers in the Vancouver area. Scott commented on the Pickton case as “it must be remembered that this horrific story is not an isolated phenomena.” Violence occurs for these women on a daily basis. “Women are forced to work alone — not in pairs, not in threes, alone — so no one knows what kind of car they’re getting into … they are alone with someone and no one knows where they are. As a result of this, the body count is rising” states Scott.
In addition, when violence does occur, sex workers may be reluctant to report it to the police or seek medical care because they fear being charged and arrested. In particular, seeking help can be even more challenging for those sex workers who are illegally living in the country because they fear deportation. Shame or embarrassment can also play a role in preventing sex workers from finding the help that they need, especially for students and undocumented workers such as refugees. Coming to a new country is an isolating experience in and of itself with no family or friends and a new language and culture to learn. However, with a profession that is already isolated by society, accessing care and support is that much more difficult. Scott commented that once she disclosed her profession to a doctor at a downtown hospital, she noticed an immediate change in the way that he spoke to her and treated her. Another example is when a local sex worker reported a violent act from a client to the Toronto Police, in which the officer responded by saying “isn’t that part of your job?” The negative view of prostitution keeps the cycle of violence in motion as these individuals to turn to.
As Ryerson is located in the heart of downtown Toronto prostitution affects students, teachers, and our community. Abuse does not just occur between a sex worker and their client. It occurs when students throw rocks at them and yell vulgar comments. It reaches to emotional and verbal abuse that can occur when teachers or students bad mouth the profession. As Ryerson is a diverse community we strive to be inclusive by religion and sexual orientation, why should this not include this line of work? The student who cracks a joke about ‘working the corner’ could be offending a professor of fellow student. A professor could also insult a student while commenting on the profession in a negative way during a lecture. As a society, inside and outside of Ryerson, we need to open to eyes and minds to the profession of prostitution. Next time you find yourself at Hooker Harvey’s hopefully you will remember that prostitution is much more than just sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll!