SEX WORK TOOLKIT

Tools for Building Community

Values for a Healthy Community

Living in Community is guided by the following values:

  • We ensure that the diversity of sex workers’ experiences and perspectives are at the centre of our work and inform every aspect of what we do.
  • We believe that everyone has the right to health and safety, regardless of their social location and lived experience. However, we recognize that, due to differing levels of power and privilege in society, individuals experience inequitable access to health, safety, justice, and other services and supports. We address the systemic root causes which include colonization, criminalization, racism, discrimination, capitalism, and more.
  • We are committed to engaging in ongoing learning about how to truly practice decolonization in our work.
  • We use an evidence-based harm reduction lens on sex work to address the impacts of stigmatization and criminalization of sex workers.
  • The foundation of our work is being open to listening and seeking understanding of different perspectives in order to find common ground. We value understanding the perspectives of residents, businesses, and other community stakeholders in regard to the challenges they may have in addressing sex work-related issues.

In working to build relationships in the community based on these values, our work is guided by the following statements and assumptions:

  • Residents, businesses and sex workers can be negatively affected by the lack of policies, funding of services and a coherent, co-ordinated strategy within government and the community to address sex workers’ safety and rights.  
  • The root causes of poverty, substance use, mental illness, lack of safe and affordable housing, criminalization of the activity of sex work, discrimination and stigmatization must be sustainably addressed so that individuals are able to make healthy, safe and informed choices in their lives.
  • The status quo is not working. Current laws continue to contribute to violent, unsafe and unhealthy conditions for all community members. There is an urgent need for immediate action.
  • Survival sex work occurs when the only work accessible to people experiencing extreme basic needs scarcity is in the sex industry. Survival sex work often involves workers choosing from among fewer choices available to them.  Everyone deserves freedom from systemic oppression and violence, and to have their basic needs met.
  • Indigenous people are over-represented in survival sex work due to the ongoing impacts of colonization, residential schools, discrimination, systemic racism and the lack of culturally relevant services.
  • Services to meet sex workers’ needs should be located in the communities  where sex workers live and work.
  • Sex workers are part of the community and should be included in all discussions, because the negative effects of the current situation and the instability of the sex industry directly affect them.
  • BC has a very diverse multicultural population. Immigrant, migrant, and racialized populations need culturally appropriate programs and health and safety services and resources in their own languages.

Building Relationships

Sex workers work in many different neighbourhoods. In some cases, people in these neighbourhoods feel discomfort and aren’t aware of how to engage with sex workers respectfully. Some sex workers experience extreme acts of violence and shaming, and as a result can have little or no trust in others.

Below you will find suggestions for how to initiate a dialogue between two people, one being a sex worker and the other a resident or business owner. Please keep in mind that this is a process; it requires commitment and good intentions. Relationships take time and both parties need to feel safe. Also, sex workers, just like anyone, may not want to engage with anyone. Try not to take it personally if they do not respond.

If you would like to try to get to know a sex worker in the same area as you, here is a suggestion on how to start:

People come and go in neighbourhoods, but you may see some regular faces. Start by reading the person’s body language, like you would anyone else’s. Does it seem like they might want to be approached? Keep in mind that sex workers have to work within laws that prohibit how much they can say to people about their jobs. 

Consider smiling and saying “hello”, and introducing yourself as someone who lives/ works in the area. It is helpful for sex workers to know that you are not approaching them for services, or that you are not surveilling them or might be undercover police. 

Try not to expect a specific response, and keep in mind that people who are working on the street may not have access to basic needs. This means that they might not have slept in a safe place recently, eaten, had water or access to medication, and might not have bandwidth for casual conversation with someone else. However, if you approach people who are open to connecting with respect, openness and kindness, it is possible to create trust. 

Additional tips:

  • If you see someone in distress, don’t be afraid to ask if they are OK.
  • Never offer something that you can’t give. If you would like to offer someone something, keep it simple like coffee, water or the use of your washroom.
  • Never expect sex work services in exchange for the use of your phone, washroom etc.
  • Know your neighbourhood and ask if sex workers would like you to help keep an eye out for them. 
  • Remember that sex workers are the eyes in your community when no one else is around. In some cases, their presence can lower the chances of vandalism and break-ins.
  • Leave your lights on. Lit alleys will be safer for sex workers too.
  • Do not assume that drug paraphernalia or garbage that is discarded in the street belongs to sex workers. If you are concerned about garbage, pipes, needles, etc. in your area, contact a harm reduction organization to organize a solution. 
  • The police aren’t always the best people to call in cases when no crime has been committed. Mobile services are available in many communities to assist sex workers if no other options are available. Find the organizations in your community, and keep these numbers handy. You can use our Find A Service tool to locate sex worker-serving organizations in your region.