Thank you so much for having me.

Each of the following paragraphs are comments garnered from the sex worker community of Peers Victoria Resources Society when asked how the law and stigma impact one's life. These are all quotes.

“One view is you feel unsafe in your outside environment, living with daily effects of stigma.”

“Your entirety as a human being is discarded by what you do to pay your bills.”

“I am a good person. My house is clean, I am clean. I give love and I care. For a living. How bad could I be?”

“It keeps me stuck in my situation and unable to move into different things even if I'm making every effort to do so.”

“I can get an education and still be haunted by the stigma of having been a sex worker.”

“My life would be a transformed experience of great significance, under decriminalization.”

“Current Legislation isolates the marginalized, vulnerable communities, women, indigenous people, indigenous women, LGBTQ community members, who are human too, the law is perpetuating violence on the basic human rights of those people.”

“It builds hatred, separation, isolation, addiction, hopelessness and mental health issues.”

“Sex work stigma has distanced me from my family.”

“If our society respected us and our work and as human beings too, that would set a different tone. To families and among one another. On the micro level.”

“It is impossible to find housing without lying on rental applications. Landlords will not rent to sex workers—if I do manage to secure housing by lying, I am constantly at risk of homelessness if my landlord finds out.”

“Being an 'out' sex worker has lasting consequences, like being unable to secure another job due to involvement in the sex trade.”

“Stigma has made it difficult for me to access a legal representative to incorporate my business—every lawyer I have reached out to won't touch me with a ten-foot pole. It's so frustrating knowing that I am operating legally but am unable to hire legal counsel, a driver, security, etc., because they're criminalized under the current law. I'm trying to play by the rules of running my business but am always tiptoeing around my bank, landlord, etc.”

“Impacts caused by laws: risk of being banned by other countries when travelling abroad for simply being a SW, even with no proof of any plans to work in another country.”

“No housing protections, if a landlord discovers what I do, I can be evicted with only suspicion.”

“The assumption is that sex workers would choose this work intentionally, not just as a last resort, ignoring the many voices of the people who do what they do.”

Thank you.

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