Vancouver Foundation

To support important projects like this, call Calvin in Donor Services at 604.629.5357 or visit vancouverfoundation.ca/give 1 9 4 3 - 2 0 1 8 | V A N C O U V E R F O U N D A T I O N . C A | 2 1 prevention/education, harm reduction/intervention, existing services, and legal responses were imple mented in a project in the Renfrew-Collinwood neighbourhood of Vancouver. "For the two-year demonstration project we undertook a number of public education and street outreach events where people could talk about their concerns. Most often people are operating out of ignorance, and what people don't understand, they tend to fear. At the beginning of the project there were almost 100 complaints a year to the local community policing centre about sex work. In the ƒnal year that was down to two," explains Kerry Porth, Community Developer at LIC and former sex worker. In 2009, LIC started working with Vancouver City Council and two years later the City of Vancouver passed a report called Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Protecting Vulnerable Adults & Neighbourhoods Aected by Sex Work: A Comprehensive Approach and Action Plan. The following year this plan was put into action. "Other communities were encouraged to implement a similar stratey, and in 2014 we updated the plan and began working with other neighbourhoods and cities not just in Vancouver but Surrey, Prince George, Nanaimo, and St. John's, NL, as well as at the provincial level," says Gibson. Funding from organizations, including a $150,000 grant from Vancouver Foundation has helped LIC continue with its mission to create communities that are healthier and safer for everyone in relation to sex work. "We have a responsibility as a society to care for those people who are most marginalized. Sex workers are mothers, fathers, sisters, sons… they are human beings who have got into the profession for a variety of reasons. Sex work isn't their entire identity," says Gibson. H ealth and safety are basic human rights; no matter what your race, sex, religion, or occupation. Imagine then visiting a doctor with a suspected sprained ankle only to be told you will need to have an STI test. This example is common among sex workers, and an issue that the Living In Community (LIC) initiative is working to overcome. "Sex workers are among the most marginalized and vulnerable groups in the world. They are often denied their most fundamental human rights. In essence they are considered throw-away people. You can have a moral debate about it, but at LIC our goal is to be more pragmatic and to respond to today's needs through systems and policy change," explains Lisa Gibson, Director of Community Development at LIC. Since it started 15 years ago – following the tragedy of the missing and murdered women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside – LIC and its steering committee have managed to shape policy at both a local and national level to improve the health and safety of not just sex workers, but the communities in which they work. "Collaboration was key to change; so resident groups, neighbourhood houses, business improvement associations, community policing centres, government agencies, non-proƒt organizations, and sex workers came together under the understanding that immediate changes were required for the safety of everyone," explains Gibson. While there was con£ict at the beginning, through education, an openness to di¤erent perspectives, and trust, great changes started happening, and continue to happen. In 2007 the Living in Community Action Plan was released following an extensive community consultation process. The plan's 27 broad-based recommendations to make communities healthier and safer through Finding healthy and safe solutions for sex work communities BY NATALIE BRUCKNER-MENCHELLI through systems and policy change," similar stratey, and in 2014 we updated the plan and began working 77 percent of sex workers identify as women; 17 percent as men; and six percent as other genders. In Canada, approximately five to 20 percent of sex work takes place on the street. The experience of sex workers varies widely due to circumstances such as poverty, homelessness, illicit substance use, and the location of work. Sex work involves individuals who consent to an exchange of sexual services for money.

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