With the yearly occurrence of International Women’s Day (March 8th 2008), it is easy to focus on a variety of issues pertaining to the equalization of women’s rights in North America, including, among others, working conditions and issues of income. While discussing these issues, it is easy to focus on the glass ceiling – on the female C.E.O. and whether or not she makes as much as her male counterpart. Often left out of discussions on equitable pay and acceptable working agreements are workers in a less politically-correct field: the sex industry. More specifically, prostitutes are rarely numbered among the female workforce in such analyses. Although prostitution is not limited to females, a proportionately lower number of them are male, meaning that issues pertaining to the business of sex have a particular significance for women.

A preliminary study conducted by Freakonomics author and University of Chicago professor, Steven D. Levitt and his colleage, Professor Sudhir Venkatesh of Columbia University’s sociology department, used rate information from their 160 prostitute participants to calculate the expected annual income of a full time prostitute in Chicago at $20 000. This is notably low in comparison to the 2001 Census Report data released by Statistics Canda, indicating the average incomes for Canadians at $29 679 USD. Criticism of this study can be derived from its observations being based in two small and specific areas in Chicago and because of its limited sample size.

With so little income to be had, it is easy to question why anyone would choose to enter the sex business. Although it is possible that some prostitutes may well enjoy their profession for various reasons, the impact of poverty cannot be ruled out as a motive for engaging in the sale of sex for money. The link between poverty and prostitution is widely acknowledged by researchers, including in a 2002 article authored by Lena Edlund and Evelyn Korn and published in the Journal of Political Economy. With a strong correlation documented by the World Bank connecting high poverty with low levels of education, it is easy to see how poor women could be forced out of our continent’s increasingly competitive “normal” workplace.

Some self identified sex workers, such as Scarlet Lake, a high class escort featured in director Carolyn Allain’s Canadian documentary, A Safer Sex Trade, reported income above that of the average prostitute, and appeared to conduct her business in a way more comparable to an accountant than a street walker. Lake even went so far as to state, “The sex trade is a valid career option.” Although cases such as Lake’s are documented, they appear to be largely out numbered by reports of prostitutes in more dire situations, affected deeply and negatively by issues surrounding poverty.

Such an example exists within the same documentary that Lake herself participated in. Her less fortunate counterpart, a former homeless prostitute named Jennifer who now works with Vancouver advocacy agencies to to aid prostitutes working on the streets . When interviewed for A Safer Sex Trade, Jennifer described many dangers of the sex trade, placing an emphasis on sex workers’ vulnerability to crime. When taking into consideration the poverty and consequentially low educational achievement of a large number of prostitutes, it is not surprising to learn that they are often socially marginalized. This precarious status on the fringe of society appears to be both supported by, and supportive of, the ambiguous legal status that many North American prostitutes endure.

The direct sale of sex for money is not illegal in Canada, with prostitution-related laws focusing on surrounding activities such as the preceding act of soliciting a prostitute for sex, or owning or operating what the legal jargon refers to as a “bawdy house” — a place for prostitution to take place. In America, state laws differ, allowing prostitution to be legal in some locations, perhaps most notoriously Nevada, while applying varying degrees of legality in others. It is interesting to note that the Levitt and Venkatesh study stated that prostitutes were arrested more often than their customers.

With prostitutes facing a clear economic disadvantage, resulting educational barriers, and, in most cases, the shadow of criminality and social ostracism, it is unsurprising that prostitutes appear to be at a greater risk for work-related harm than other, more formally accepted professions. In addition to concerns surrounding safe sex practices, the Levitt and Venkatesh study reported that, on average, prostitutes reported being beaten once a month. Media reports, such as the recent reports on the Robert Willie Pickton trial, highlight the fact that prostitutes are at a high risk of assault. Pickton was charged with the murder of twenty-six women and was eventually convicted of second degree murder in the deaths of six Vancouver sex workers. This elevated risk of violence may further the traditional societal stigmas and stereotypes that affect sex workers, and it may also be caused or at least heightened by these views. Take, for example, a February 19, 2008 comment posted on a yahoo.ca online publication of a Canadian Press story covering the Pickton trials: “Drug-addicted prostitutes are killed by pimps all the time.” This non-chalant response to the death of Pickton’s victims highlights the complacence that many members of society feel toward the violence enacted upon the prostitutes.

These apathetic and more than occasionally disdainful views of sex workers undoubtedly influence the political impetus to address the disadvantages they face. Another comment on the above mentioned yahoo.ca web page contradicts the first, reading, “The laws need to be changed so that [prostitution is] legal and can be regulated.”

Although an essay by Gert Hemka suggests that the stigma surrounding the sex trade remained a part of prevailing Dutch culture even after it was legalized in the Netherlands, proponents of the legalization of the sex trade feel that the process will lead to improvements in the safety and perception of prostitutes. In 2005, then-Vancouver Island Liberal MP Keith Martin was quoted as saying “It should be legalized and regulated for the sake of people who are working in the industry…” in reference to the possibility of getting rid of solicitation laws. Proposals for the legalization of the sex trade have been offered from various sources. In 2006, the Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver stated that the sex trade should be legalized by 2010.

In an article by Ian Mulgrew of the Vancouver Sun, the legal committee reported that by 2010, they want to see Canadian sex workers that are able to collect unemployment cheques, take maternity leave, and even go on strike.” Activists for the legalization of the sex trade have not been waiting for their dreams of unions to come true to hit the strike lines. The Alliance for the Safety of Prostitutes, based in Vancouver, held a large demonstration at the City Hall in April of 1983, and repeated the process in July of the following year by occupying a church to protest what they viewed as tough legislation against the sex trade. Similar protests have taken place in France.

A number of legalization supporters frame their argument in terms of labour organization and business ethics, requesting recognition of the sex trade as a legitimate business endeavour. In the Levitt and Venkatesh study, prostitution appeared to parallel more readily recognized types of business, with reports of repeat-customer discounts and predictable patterns of “busy days”. Mondays were the slowest, Fridays were the busiest, and business boomed on holidays like Independence Day. Through this lens, prostitution can appear more like a home business than a crime, a view that challenges the complacency seen in some public responses to the risks that many sex workers bear in their day to day work. This is the sort of framework that has been adopted by the International Union of Sex Workers, who offer workers help on issues, and a collective community of support while campaigning for “sex workers’ rights at a local, national, and international level to decrease stigma and violence against sex workers, improve working conditions and create a clear and fair sex industry.” The logic in these types of approaches is clear: If prostitutes are engaging in a legitimate business, they should be afforded the same of rights that are afforded to workers in other industries, including safe working conditions, health and safety compensation, and unemployment insurance. Imagining a future implementation of these ideas can lead one to envision prostitutes with a regulated price scale, contributing income taxes, and organizing into local unions. Many argue that these ideas make sense, both from human and civil rights and economic perspectives. Additionally, some supporters of legalization feel, in contrast to the Hekma study, that this sort of formalization will change the social perceptions of prostitutes and afford them greater acceptance within the greater community.

With Canadian society’s emphasis on the pursuit of human rights and an inclusive social fabric, it is important to consider the fit between the consequences of Canada’s current laws and these guiding principles. Additionally, given the particular gender demographics of the sex trade, it will be interesting to see if this year’s International Women’s Day observations will address the issue. The International Union of Sex Worker’s website lists plans for members to form a contingent and march in the International Women’s Day March in London, England.

– with files from Veronica Zaretski