Hello.

Peers Victoria Resources Society is a local grassroots organization for sex workers in greater Victoria. Since 1995 we have offered outreach, drop-in, housing, health, violence prevention, small business training, peer support worker training services and more. We serve about 650 unique individuals a year.

We believe strongly in the experiential voice—that our community knows best how to take care of ourselves. As such, two-thirds of our staff have current or former experience in sex work.

We come to you from the traditional territories of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt nations.

The PCEPA severely undermines health and justice for sex workers. Because of the criminalization of the stopping of traffic for the purpose of selling sexual services and the criminalization of the purchase of sexual services, sex workers are forced into rushed and clandestine negotiations with clients, with a reduced ability to screen clients or assert their boundaries. Further, street-based sex workers are forced to work in isolated areas further away from public spaces.

Much research has shown that criminalization of any group in society, including sex workers, increases social isolation, poor health outcomes and reduces access to public supports.

Escort agencies offer much-needed work-setting options for sex workers, particularly those newer to the work, because they offer safer group spaces and peer mentorship. However, these spaces are prohibited by sections 236.2, 236.3 and 236.4. In our community these businesses are all women-run, long-term establishments that offer a desirable work setting for many of the sex workers served by our organization.

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