Police try again against oldest profession
In advance of Grand Prix weekend we see two sides of the coin on this story: police have devised a new plan nominally to counter sexual exploitation by encouraging taxi drivers and hotel workers to speak up if they think they’ve seen signs of it.
CBC makes the process sound benevolent, but Metro speaks to a sex worker spokeswoman who’s livid, saying the plan will turn everyone into a snitch and make relatively safe places for sex work – notably hotels – off limits.
Blork 17:36 on 2019-05-30 Permalink
This is why we can’t have nice things. The RADAR plan is supposed to target sexual EXPLOITATION, not sex work. The difference should be apparent to anyone who’s been paying attention.
But I suppose it’s not just a matter of some random hotel worker or taxi driver not knowing the difference. In “real world” situations it might not be obvious (a 20 year old sex worker might look like she’s underage, for example). The article says RADAR is about reporting “possible” cases of exploitation. I don’t know if that’s the SPVM’s specification or just CBC’s terminology. The point being that it gets very fuzzy when people report things based on possibilities or “suspicions.” Hopefully this program includes some training on what to actually look for.
Chris 19:46 on 2019-05-30 Permalink
In some people’s view, sex work is by definition exploitation.
Blork 11:58 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
True, but that’s a moral perspective not a legal one.
Ian 13:52 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
All work is exploitation in some sense, Chris. Whether you are performing as a dom or working at a knitting mill, somebody benefits, which is why you get paid. The question is who has agency, and by default, people being exploited in wage slave settings are seeing as not being exploited, legally, and sex workers are by default being exploited – which is hypocritical to say the least.
Chris 19:47 on 2019-05-31 Permalink
Ian, agreed. I believe it’s largely an artifact of puritanical Christian views of sex. Thankfully in recent decades we’re finally getting farther and farther away from that.