A couple of months ago we ran a story about an angry woman who claimed her husband had gone to a local massage parlour and came home with a sexually transmissible disease (STD).
Her payback was to marched into the parlour with his photo, demanding that they refuse his patronage in the future.
She also contacted the city to report the facility, which prompted bylaws officers to investigate. Although, after a surprise visit, they said there was nothing to report.
After the we ran the "angry wife story," I received a number emails from advocates and others. Alison Clancey, the executive director of SWAN, took a particularly large strip off me.
Her organization advocates for migrant sex workers.
She said our story fueled all the stereotypes about sex workers: that they carry disease, are home wreckers and are victims of trafficking.
Fair enough, it probably did. Although I don’t actually regret running the story. We verified the facts and reported something that was happening publicly in our community.
However, I agree that our’s was not the whole story. Then again, no news story is.
What I appreciated about the conversation was that Clancey didn’t, like others, suggest we take down the story, rather she suggested we write a follow-up. (See follow-up story here)
I appreciate that because, in my mind, that’s how journalism should work — reporters report on things going on in the community, some of those things spark conversation and so we write more reports.
Besides, if we presented a stereotype, it’s one that’s widely held. We’ve heard similar claims from politicians, speakers and the general public. If that’s a “false narrative” here’s a great chance to correct it, or at least bring in other voices.
A couple of those “other voices” included in our follow-up are two women currently working in local massage parlours.
Their key message is that they are just people like the rest of us trying to earn a living. More importantly, they are not victims of human trafficking. That’s a message they articulate loud and clear because, to believe otherwise encourages authorities to swoop in under the auspice of protection. But that protection only backfires.
For fear of a police raid, and possible deportation, sex workers end up working outside of an establishment, often alone in an apartment, where they’re far more likely to be victims of violence.
Ultimately, we just need to get over our squeamishness and accept the fact that the “oldest profession” is not going anywhere. If we can do that, we can then treat the industry like any other and deal with the real issues workers face regarding health and safety.
While authorities often turn a blind eye to sex work, it’s still illegal. Well, kind of. It’s illegal, but if you’re caught you probably won’t get charged, or you might not…because that’s consistent.
And when those city bylaw officers entered the body rub in question, what exactly were they looking for? Not sex, presumably, because sex work falls under federal laws, said city spokesman Clay Adams.
Rather they just wanted to ensure the business was in compliance with city bylaws, said Adams. But what other business has a bylaw requiring workers wear clothing from the neck to the knee and with sleeves below the elbows?
Again, this is just another one of those twisted “yes, but no” games we’re playing.
As Clancey said, it’s time we have a “grown-up conversation” about sex work in our community. It’s here, it’s not anywhere. We need to listen to the frontline workers to learn how to make it as safe as possible.
