Marylène Lévesque, a 22-year-old woman from Quebec murdered in January 2020, was a sex worker, and that’s how she met her murderer. However, the issue of the safety of women who exercise this profession is completely obscured in the report by coroner Stéphanie Gamache, filed Tuesday, deplores an organization for the defense of sex workers.
Marylène Lévesque was stabbed 57 times by Eustachio Gallese in a hotel room in Sainte-Foy, where she had gone to offer him sexual services.
Gallese was on day parole after having served a life sentence without the possibility of release before 15 years for the murder of his wife, in 2004. He had met Marylène Lévesque in an erotic massage parlor in 2019 and had developed an obsession for her.
According to coroner Gamache, the murder could have been avoided if Eustachio Gallese had worn an electronic bracelet with geolocation.
It recommends the wearing of such a bracelet for any offender released after serving a sentence for homicide in the context of domestic violence.
For the legalization of sex work
“This recommendation makes sense in cases of domestic violence, but here it is not that: Marylène Lévesque was targeted as a sex worker in the context of her work”, denounces Sandra Wesley, general manager of the organization Stella, which defends the rights of these workers.
“In the case of Mme Lévesque, what would a bracelet have changed? I have a hard time seeing how that can be a central part of this murder. ”
For meme Wesley, the murder of the young woman shows how the criminalization of prostitution prevents sex workers from practicing their profession in safe conditions.
If a woman does not feel safe with a client, she will be very reluctant to seek help from the police or anyone else, knowing that her activity is considered criminal, she explains. “It means we’re much more at risk of being targeted by attackers,” she said. The coroner could have wondered about the role played by the criminalization of sex workers in this violence. ”
For its part, the Association of Families of Murdered or Missing Persons welcomes the coroner’s recommendation on the wearing of the electronic geolocation bracelet.
“We have been campaigning for a long time so that the wearing of the electronic bracelet is automatic for a person who has committed an act of violence against a woman”, specifies Colette Cummings, executive director of the organization. “Especially with the wave of feminicides that we have known since the beginning of the year. ”
Following the murder of Marylène Lévesque, a National Investigation Committee drew up a report on the circumstances surrounding her death. Correctional Service of Canada is committed to implementing the report’s recommendations, in particular by ensuring better supervision of halfway houses where individuals benefiting from day parole reside.