PAN has added our name to the list of organizations signing this solidarity statement, that is being circulated by Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights (a progressive, pro-choice charitable organization committed to advancing and upholding sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada and globally) and the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform.
The solidarity statement is being circulated in recognition of the fact that sex workers—people who exchange sexual services for money or goods—are criminalized, disproportionately surveilled, overpoliced, and denied their fundamental rights. Sex workers who live intersecting discriminations due to poverty, their visible presence in public spaces, their racial and social positioning, and their gender identity are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement and institutional, legal and societal violence. Much of this treatment results from the stigmatization of sex work itself and a lack of recognition for the agency that sex workers exercise in their daily lives.
We encourage PAN members to consider adding their names on this statement:
Statement of Solidarity
We are opposed to federal, provincial and municipal laws that disproportionately regulate and criminalize bodily autonomy, sexuality and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
We call upon the government of Canada for the total decriminalization of sex work as a first step to protecting and respecting the human rights of all sex workers—this begins with the removal of criminal and immigration laws that criminalize sex work.
We call for the recognition of sex work as meaningful and valuable work that provides economic opportunity for people selling and trading sex.
We call for equal and non-discriminatory access to health, education, occupation, housing, and economic opportunities and rights.
We affirm that sex workers are not criminals to be stigmatized, but rather members of an often exploited and under-protected working class.
We stand in solidarity with sex workers demanding rights, the recognition of sex workers’ agency and decision-making capacity and safe working conditions.
We, the undersigned organizations, pledge to promote the rights of sex workers and to create spaces for sex workers to take leadership and be centered in sex work law reform discussions.
Please sign at this link: https://secure.actioncanadashr.org/solidarity-sex-workers-rights