Canadian sex workers are concerned.

 Of course, “concerned” may be an understatement when your entire industry may be ruled illegal in December.

The potential law, Bill C-36, aims to protect sex workers and prevent and penalize human trafficking.  Both of these are honorable causes for policy to focus on. Because of the nature of the nature of their work, sex-workers face high amounts of violence. Many young women, men, and trans-workers are forced into sexual slavery everyday…

Yes, this is a problem. 

But maybe the problem with the bill is that Minister McKay disregarded five years worth of research. And accidentally failed to note that the majority of sex-workers are not victims and, indeed, are perfectly happy in their work.  Oops. 

In fact, the new bill, which would prevent prostitutes from advertising and criminalize those caught in the act, in the process may further marginalizing workers and increasing violence and secrecy.

How could they overlook this?  Well, a good place to start would be the complete lack of real-life, non-imaginary, and knowledgable sex-workers at the Bill’s roundtable. 

Naturally, the best ways to prevent human trafficking and violence is very much up to debate. But, what we at USDemocrazy can agree on is that the continued  shaming, marginalization, and lack of representation that sex-workers face has to stop.

We expect this sort of behavior from twitter, who seems to think porn stars warrant their own category when it comes to domestic abuse (Highlight? “No woman deserves that, not even a porn star”)…but not inviting sex-workers to participate in a bill that mainly effects them? That’s like not inviting a friend to their own birthday party.