Why Enforcement Guidelines Don't Work in Criminalized Environments

        Since the 1980’s, several surges of HIV transmissions were observed in Vancouver, first attributed men who have sex with men, and later to intravenous drug users and street-based sex workers (McInnes et al. 1). In fact, McInnes et al.’s 2009 report on the growing HIV epidemic in the Canadian city shows that female sex workers are the most at-risk group for contracting HIV (4) despite modern methods of testing, treatment and prevention. Furthermore, due to the criminalization of many aspects of their labor, sex workers are significantly more exposed to violence (McCann et al. 4).

        In 2013, the Vancouver Police Department created a series of enforcement guidelines to prioritize
sex workers safety while enforcing appropriate legislation. It is important to acknowledge that the VPD’s primary goal is to address Vancouver communities’ complaints and respond to violations to Safe Streets Act of the criminal code (McCann et al. 3). However, new approaches would be employed to prevent violence and further deterioration of sex worker-police relationships. These measures included: prioritizing sex worker safety during investigations, rebuilding interpersonal associations between workers and law enforcement through awareness trainings, education, and the use of liaisons for communication. Furthermore, the VPD would encourage respect and professionalism, protect exploited peoples, crack down on human trafficking, and collect data from the streets to determine potential amendments to these guidelines or to appropriate policy (McCann et al. 5-6).

    

    Despite the emphasis on treating sex workers as equal to any other citizen, the Vancouver Police Departments priorities remain monitoring and investigating potentially illicit sexual labor activities, and enforcing laws criminalizing demand for sex work (Krusi et al. 3). Unfortunately, when interviewing Vancouver-based trans and cisgendered sex workers of various ethnic origins, it is evident that the city’s sex work policing guidelines alienated sex workers and exacerbated the risks they were regularly exposed to. Continued criminalization of sex buyers does not prevent street-based sex work and encourages sex workers to concentrate operations in areas with minimal police presence, consequentially limiting safety strategies available such as client screening and STI prevention methods (Krusi et al.4-5). Due to the further isolated nature of sex work after the implementation of these policing guidelines, working women are more exposed to sexual violence and HIV transmissions.

        Additionally, studies globally suggest that criminalizing the client is an attempt to eradicate prostitution rather than help sex workers (Krusi et al. 8) develop safety strategies or abandon the sex-trade altogether. These policy choices disproportionately affect indigenous women and women of color from lower socio-economic statuses (Krusi et al. 9). Furthermore, they reinforce existing risks to police and client brutality, and HIV transmission alike. After the implementation of the VPD’s enforcement guidelines the city of Vancouver experienced an increase of 71 sex-work related arrests, from 47 in 2012, to 118 in 2013, with no decrease in violence against sex workers (Vancouver Sex-Trade Policy, 2014). Finally, the need for legislative changes such as decriminalization is necessary to effectively curve, and potentially end, street-based sex work, violence against sex workers and sex-labor related HIV transmissions.

Works Cited

CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 4 June 2014, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/vancouver-sex-trade-policy-a-model-for-what-not-to-do-across-canada-advocates-1.2664313.

Krusi, A., et al. “Criminalisation of Clients: Reproducing Vulnerabilities for Violence and Poor Health among Street-Based Sex Workers in Canada--a Qualitative Study.” BMJ Open, vol. 4, no. 6, 2014, doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005191.

McInnes, Colin W., et al. “HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, British Columbia: A Growing Epidemic.” Harm Reduction Journal, vol. 6, Jan. 2009, pp. 1–5. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/1477-7517-6-5.

McCann K., et al. SEX WORK ENFORCEMENT GUIDELINES. [Vancouver.] [Vancouver Police Department], 2013.

“Panoramic of the City of Vancouver .” Vancouver.ca, Sept. 2015, vancouver.ca/files/cov/sex-work-response-guidelines.pdf.