June 2 is International Sex Workers Day. In 1975, around a hundred sex workers occupied the Saint-Nizier church in Lyon, France, to express their anger at the criminalization and exploitation of their living conditions. This is one of the times when sex workers fought for equality and an end to criminalization. June 2 is also the date of the 4e World Congress for the Abolition of Prostitution, which will be held in Montreal from 1er to June 3, 2024. This congress promises to provide a discourse explicitly defending the eradication of sex workers and promoting repressive policies against some of Montreal’s most marginalized communities.
Prohibitionist ideology has a significant impact on the health, safety and human rights of people who sell or trade sexual services. It promotes criminalization and the presence of the police in the lives of the most marginalized women in our communities; it silences and denigrates the voices and experiences of people who work in the sex industry; and it contributes to social and institutional violence and stigmatization, which results in discrimination against sex workers in health, social, legal and other institutional services that they may need to access to perform. in the face of these oppressions.
Any action aimed at “abolishing” the existence of sex workers is incompatible with the objective of improving living and working conditions, putting an end to violence and all forms of exploitation.
This gathering brings together some of the biggest names in the prohibitionist and pro-carceral movements, a mix of religious extremists and anti-trans feminists. As national and local feminist and rights organizations, we cannot accept our city being used as a strategy to silence and harm women. Sex workers are important and valuable members of our communities who deserve their rights protected, not eradicated.
We, feminists and defenders of equality within national and Montreal organizations, believe in true equality: the active inclusion of marginalized communities who experience violence, even when it calls us into question or pushes us to adapt our practices; listening to those affected; placing the needs of the most marginalized people at the center of our concerns; and the fight against the harms of the prison system against women, who are over-supervised and under-protected.
We believe in supporting women where they are at and not excluding them from services because of the way they earn their living. We believe in removing barriers that prevent marginalized women from accessing employment, housing and other opportunities.
We want to send a clear message to all women who sell or have sold sexual services, whatever the circumstances, to tell them that we stand in solidarity and that we denounce all forms of violence, including those encouraged by events such as the one coming to Montreal.
* Co-signed this letter, nationally: Abolition Coalition; Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights; Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform; Canadian Public Health Association; Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment; DAWN Canada; Egale Canada; Enchanted Network; Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF); Legal Action and Education Fund for Women (LEAF/FAEJ); Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW) Canada; Law and Society Association: Sex, Work, Law and Society Collaborative Research Network CRN6; Doctors of the World Canada; HIV Legal Network; The Society of Queer Momentum. And in Quebec: Action santé transvestites et transsexuals du Québec (ASTTeQ); LGBTQ+ Action with Immigrants and Refugees (AGIR); Alterhero; Quebec Association for the Promotion of the Health of People Who Use Drugs (AQPSUD); Blitss; Cacti; West Island CALACS; South Asian Women’s Community Center; La Marie Debout women’s center; Center for the fight against gender oppression; Lesbian Solidarity Center; Center sida action Montréal; Cirque Hors Piste; Coalition of Quebec community organizations fighting AIDS (COCQ-Sida); Autonomous Sex Work Committee (CATS); Dopamine; Emissary; Federation of Quebec Women (FFQ); Women of the world in Côte-des-Neiges; Montreal Pride; Geipsi; House of Barbara; Iris Estrie; The Dispensary; The Marguerite House; The Estrie Replica; The ROSÉ.S Center from Abitibi-Témiscamingue; The local intervention service; The Piamp; Maison Plein Coeur; Maison Ré-ne Inc; Honeys Quebec; Montreal Native Women’s Shelter, Iskweu Project; Passages; Landmarks; Quebec HIV/AIDS portal; Support Network for Single and Homeless People of Montreal (RAPSIM); Quebec Sexual Health Network for the Deaf (RSSSQ); Rezo; Sexual Assault Center of the McGill Students’ Society (SACOMMS); Sidalys; Solidarity without borders; Street Spectrum; Sweet Like Honey; Tandem Mauricie; Toxic-Actions; Concordia University; Simone de Beauvoir Institute.