Understanding Sex Work

( understanding ) sex work: a health research & community partnership

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Research in Action

The largest research project in Canada examining sex work and prostitution law.

Overview
Project and Team
Sex work in Canada
Moving forward
Updates

Learning more about people and their experiences in the Canadian sex industry is the goal of this research project funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

We have conducted further research on the impact of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (Bill C-36) on the health and safety of sex workers.

 The sex industry, like other industries, is often more significant, complex and misunderstood than people realize. It involves a range of services and different types of relationships between people from various ethnic, economic and educational backgrounds. Yet unlike most other types of work, sex work carries the enormous burden of social stigma, safety concerns and legal issues, making the health and well-being of workers—and their families, managers and clients—difficult to achieve and maintain.
 
The project involves a variety of Canadian community organizations and an international team of researchers headed by Cecilia Benoit, a sociologist located at the University of Victoria. The team aims to understand better what our society can do to help improve the environments and lives of people associated with Canada’s sex industry.

Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles, Reports and Webinars

Benoit, C., Mellor, A., & Premji, Z. (2022). Access to sexual rights for people living with disabilities: Assumptions, evidence and policy outcomes. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02372-x (article)

Jansson, M., Smith, M., Benoit, C., & Magnuson, D. (2022). Challenges and benefits of disclosure of sex work to intimate partners. The Journal of Sex Research. doi: 10.1080/00224499.2022.2092587 (article)

Benoit, C., Unsworth, R. (2022). COVID-19, Stigma and the Ongoing Marginalization of Sex workers and their support organizations. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 51, 331–342. (article)

Benoit, C., Jansson, M. Phillips, R., Hallgrimsdottir, H. & Vallance, K. (2022). Social determinants of injection drug use among a community sample of sex workers: Intersections of structure and agency across the life course. In C. Varcoe, O. Hankivsky & M. Morrow (Eds.). Women's health in Canada: Critical theory, policy and practice (2^nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Benoit, C., Atchison, C., Casey, L., Jansson, M., McCarthy, B., Phillips, R., Reimer, B., R., Reist, D., Shaver, F. (2022, updated). Working paper for building on the evidence: An International symposium on the sex industry in Canada. (working paper).

Benoit, C. (Ed.). (2021). Understanding Exploitation in Consensual Sex Work to Inform Occupational Health & Safety Regulation. Basel, Switzerland, MDPI. (book)

Benoit, C. (2021). Editorial: Understanding Exploitation in Consensual Sex Work to Inform Occupational Health & Safety Regulation: Current Issues and Policy Implications. Social Sciences 10, 238. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10070238 (article)

Benoit, C., Unsworth, R., Headley, P., Smith, M., Jansson, M. (2021). Centering Sex Workers’ Voices in Law and Social Policy. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-021-00576-9 (article)

Smith, M., Benoit, C. (2021). Chapter 5: How Social Inequities in Maternity Care Impact Marginalised Groups. The FIGO Continuous Textbook of Women’s Medicine. Volume 1: Pregnancy and Society. London, King’s College. (article)

McCarthy, B., Benoit, C. & Jansson, M. (2021). Job attributes and mental health: A comparative study of sex work and hairstyling. Social Sciences. 10(2):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10020035 (article)

Orchard, T., Salter, K., Bunch, M., Benoit, C. (2020). Money, agency, and self-care among cisgender and trans people in sex work. Social Sciences. Special Issue "Understanding Exploitation in Consensual Sex Work to Inform Occupational Health & Safety Regulation". https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/1/6 (article)

Benoit, C. (2020). COVID-19 benefits exclude sex workers in Canada. Options Politiques/Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2020/covid-19-benefits-exclude-sex-workers-in-canada/ (article)

Benoit, C., Unsworth, R. (2020). Early assessment of integrated knowledge translation efforts to mobilize sex workers in their communities. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01778-9. (article )

Card, K., Selfridge, M., Greer, A., Hepburn, K., Fournier, A., Sorge, J., Urbanoski, K., Pauly, B., Benoit, C., Lachowsky, N., Macdonald, S. (2020). Encounter-level outcomes of police interactions with young people who use drugs in three non-metropolitan cities across British Columbia, Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy. (article)

Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Healey, P., Magnuson, D. (2020). The relative quality of sex work. Work, Employment & Society. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017020936872 (article)

Stockwell, T., Benoit, C., Card, K., Sherk, A. Problematic substance use or problematic substance use policies? Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.40.5/6.01 (article)

Greer, A., Sorge, J., Selfridge, M., Benoit, C., Jansson, M., Macdonald, S. (2020). Police discretion to charge young people who use drugs prior to cannabis legalization in British Columbia, Canada: a brief report of quantitative findings. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy. DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2020.1745757 (article)

Benoit, C., Maurice, R., Able, G., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Healey, P., Magnuson, D. (2019). “I dodged the stigma bullet”: Canadian sex workers’ situated responses to occupational stigma. Culture, Health & Sexuality. 22 (1), 81-95. (article)

Orchard, T., Bunch, M., Katherine Salter Benoit, C. (2020). Balance, capacity and the contingencies of everyday life: Narrative etiologies of health among women in street-based sex work. Qualitative Health Research. 30 (4), 518-529. (article)

Ivsins, A., Benoit, C., Kobayashi, K., Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Boyd, S. (2019). From risky places to safe spaces: Re-assembling spaces/places. Health and Place. 59, 102164. (article)

Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Healey, P., Magnuson, D. (2019). Effectiveness of anecdotes and logically false arguments to refute analysis based on systematically collected data. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 48:1903–1904. (article)

Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Healey, P., Magnuson, D. (2019). Unlinking prostitution and sex trafficking: Response to commentaries. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 48 (7), 1973–1980. (article)

Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Magnus, S, Maurice, R., Flagg, J., Reist, D. (2018). Canadian sex workers weigh the costs and benefits of disclosing their occupational status to health providers. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. 16 (3), 329–341. (article)

Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M. et al. (2019). “The Prostitution Problem”: Claims, Evidence, and Policy Outcomes. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 48 (7), 1905–1923. (article).

McCarthy, B., Carter, A., Jansson, M., Benoit, Finnigan, R. (2018). Poverty, material hardship, and mental health among workers in three frontline service occupations. Journal of Poverty (article).

Orchard, T., Murie, A., Elash, H., Bunch, M., Middleton, C., Sadakhom, D., Oiamo, T., Benoit, C. (2o19). “People like us”: Spatialized notions of health, stigma, power, and subjectivity among women in street sex work. Culture, Health & Sexuality. 21(4), 478-494. (article)

Benoit, C., Belle-Isle, L., Smith, M., Phillips, R., Shumka, L., Atchison, C., Jansson, M., & Loppie, C. (2017). Community Empowerment and Transformative Learning among Sex Workers: From health educators to health advocates. CISUR Bulletin #17, Victoria, BC: University of Victoria. (bulletin).

Benoit, C., Jansson, M., Smith, M., Flagg, J. (2018). Prostitution stigma and its effect on the working conditions, personal lives and health of sex workers. Special issue: Annual Review of Sex Research. Journal of Sex Research. 55(4-5), 457-471. (article).

Benoit, C., Belle-Isle, L., Smith, M., Phillips, R., Shumka, S., Atchison, C., Jansson, M., Loppie, C., Flagg. J. (2017). Community Empowerment and Transformative Learning among Sex Workers: From Health Educators to Health Advocates. International Journal for Equity in Health. 16:160 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-017-0655-2 (article).

Evans, E., McCarthy, B., Benoit, C., Jansson, M. (2017). Early trauma, long-term consequences: Does family instability keep people from doctors? Social Science Quarterly. 99, 599-615. (article).

Benoit, C., Jansson, M., Smith, M., Flagg, J, (2017). ‘Well, it should be changed for one, because it’s our bodies: Workers’ views on
Canada’s punitive approach towards sex work. Social Sciences. Special Issue "Sex Workers’ Rights: Looking toward the Future". , 6, 52. (article).

Benoit, C., Reist, D. (2017). “I’m a prostitute, so, can you check me?” Exploring sex work stigma in health care. Webinar. Canadian Public Health Association (slides) (recording)

Benoit, C., Ouellet, N., Jansson, M., Magnus, S., Smith, M.. (2017). Would you think about doing sex for money? Structure and agency in deciding to sell sex in Canada. Work, Employment & Society. (article)

Roth, E. Benoit, C., Hallgrimsdottir, H., Jansson, M. (2017). Public drinking venues as risk environments: Commercial sex, alcohol and violence in Nairobi, Kenya. Human Ecology. An Interdisciplinary Journal. 45: 277-283. (article)

Benoit, C., Smith, M., Jansson, M., Magnus, S., Ouellet, N., Atchison, C., Casey, L., Phillips, R., Reimer, B., Reist, D., Shaver, F. (2016). Lack of confidence in police creates a ‘blue’ ceiling for sex workers’ safety. Canadian Public Policy/Analyse de politiques. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2016-006 (article)

Casey, L., McCarthy, B., Phillips, R., Benoit, C., Jansson, M., Magnus, S., Atchison, Reimer, B., Reist, D., Shaver, F. (2017). Managing conflict: An examination of three-way alliances in Canadian escort and massage businesses. In Third Party Sex Work and "Pimps" in the Age of Anti-Trafficking. (chapter)

Benoit, C., Ouellet, N, & Jansson, M. (2016). Unmet health care needs among sex workers in five census metropolitan areas of Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 107 (3), e266–e271. http://journal.cpha.ca/index.php/cjph/article/view/5178

Rudrum, S., Oliffe, J., Benoit, C. (2016). Discourses of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality in Uganda’s Stand Proud, Get Circumcised campaign. Culture, Health & Sexuality. 8(10): 1-15. (article)

Atchison, C., & P. Burnett, P. (2016). The Social Dynamics of Safe Sex Practices among Canadian Sex Industry Clients. Sociology of Health and Illness. 38(6):1–18. (article)

Atchison, C., Benoit, C., Burnett, P., Jansson, M., Kennedy, M., Ouellet, N., & Vukmirovich, D. (2015). The Influence of Time to Negotiate on Control in Sex Worker-Client Interactions. Research for Sex Work. Vol. 14. (article)

Benoit, C., McCarthy, B., & Jansson, M. (2016). Occupational Stigma and Mental Health: Discrimination and Depression among Front-Line Service Workers. Canadian Public Policy, 41(Supplement 2), S61-S69. (article)

Benoit, C., McCarthy, B. & Jansson, M. (2015). Stigma, sex work, and substance use: A comparative analysis. Sociology of Health & Illness 37 (3): 437-51. (article)

Benoit, C. (2015). Modern maternity care in Canada. Transition. 45 (4), 3-6. (article)

McCarthy, B., Benoit, C. & Jansson, M. (2014), Sex work: A comparative study. Archives of Sexual Behavior 43: 1379-90. (article)

Phillips, R. & Benoit, C. (2013). Exploring courtesy stigma among frontline care providers serving sex workers. Sociology Insights on Inequities in Health and Health Care. Special issue of Healthcare Policy 9, 139-151. (article)

Roth, E., Ngugli, E., Benoit, C., Hallgrimsdottir, H., & Jansson, M. (2014). A reasoned action model of male client involvement in commercial sex work in Kibera, a large informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Human Organization.73, 174-182. (article)

Benoit, C., Ngugi, E., Roth, E., Jansson, M., Hallgrimsdottir, Sharpe, K. (2014). Benefits and constraints of intimate partnerships for HIV positive sex workers in Kibera, Kenya. International Journal for Equity in Health. 12:76 doi:10.1186/1475-9276-12-76. (article)

McCarthy, B., Benoit, C., & Jansson, M. (2012). Regulating sex work: Heterogeneity in legal strategies for controlling prostitution. Annual Review of Law and Social Science 8, 255–71. (article)

Ngugi, E., Benoit, C., Hallgrimsdottir, H., Jansson, M., & Roth, E. (2012). Family kinship patterns and sex work involvement among women from the informal urban settlement of Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya. Human Ecology. 40, 397–403. (artilce)

Ngugi, E., Benoit, C., Hallgrimsdottir, H., Jansson, M. & Roth, E. (2012). Partners and clients of female sex workers in an informal urban settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Culture, Health & Sexuality 14, 17-30. (article)

Phillips, R., Benoit, C., Vallance, K., & Hallgrimsdottir, H. (2012). Courtesy stigma: A hidden health concern among frontline service providers to sex workers. Sociology of Health & Illness. 34, 681–696. (article)

Jansson, M., Benoit, C., Casey, L., Phillips, R. & Burns, D. (2010). In for the long haul: Knowledge translation between academic and non-profit organizations. Qualitative Health Research,20, 131–143. (article)

Hallgrimsdottir, H., Phillips, R., Benoit, C., & Walby, K. (2008). Sporting girls, streetwalkers, and inmates of houses of ill-repute: Media narratives and the historical mutability of prostitution stigmas. Sociological Perspectives, 51(1), 119-138. (article)

Shumka, L. & Benoit, C. (2007). Social suffering and gaps in alternative health care for vulnerable women workers. Sociology of Health Care, 25, 255-278. (article)

Hallgrimsdottir, H., Phillips, R. & Benoit, C. (2006). Fallen women and rescued girls: Social stigma and media narratives of the sex industry in Victoria, BC, from 1980 to 2005. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology,Special Issue, 43(3), 265-280. (article)

Benoit, C, Jansson, M., Millar, A. & and Phillips, R. (2005). Community-academic research on hard-to-reach populations: Benefits and challenges. Qualitative Health Research, 15(2), 263-282. (article)

Phillips, R. & Benoit, C. (2005). Social determinants of health care access among sex industry workers in Canada. Sociology of Health Care, 23, 79-104. (article)

Benoit, C. & Millar, A. (2001). Dispelling myths and understanding realities: Working conditions, health status, and exiting experiences of sex workers. Sponsored by PEERS. Funded by BC Health Research Foundation, Capital Health District, and BC Centre of Excellence on Women's Health. (full report) (technical report/questionnaire)

Recent team grant releases

Science Fact or Science Fiction: Are All Sex Workers Victimized?

Throughout much of the world, sex work is often regarded as a dangerous and exploitive profession. While sex workers are more likely to experience violence and poor health than the general population, is it accurate to depict all sex workers as victims? Are violence and poor health inherent to the nature of such work, or are they the products of punitive laws and inadequate social conditions? What do we really know about the experiences of sex workers in Canada? Read more.... English French

Team Grant Working Paper Summary Report

Ouellet, N. Benoit, C. 2014. Building on the Evidence: An International Symposium on the Sex Industry in Canada. Summary Report. http://www.understandingsexwork.com. Read more English French

Team Grant Working Paper

We are pleased to present some preliminary findings from our Team Grant in our working paper. We will be discussing and ciritically assessing our findings at our symposium in Ottawa on September 22, 2014 entitled, Building on the Evidence: An International Symposiumon the Sex Industry in Canada. In the document you will find a link to provide feedback on the report. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sex Industry Legislation Perpetuates Stereotypes: Study

University of Victoria researchers have highlighted preliminary findings from the largest and most comprehensive study of the sex industry undertaken in Canada in a brief (English version/French version) to the Justice and Human Rights Committee, which is poised to begin examination of Bill C-36—the proposed legislation governing the sex industry—in Ottawa on July 7.

Feedback

Please forward your questions and feedback on the Team Grant working paper to the Understanding Sex Work research team.

Project and Team

This CIHR-funded research program focuses on reasons for variability in health and safety among one group of Canadians, sex workers, many of whom face elevated risks of violence and premature death.

Our team is made up of community partners, people who have had experience working in the sex industry, and academics and students from across Canada. Many of these people have worked for over two decades to raise public awareness about these issues. The purpose of a collaboration of this kind is to ensure our study reflects the experiences, and speaks to the interests of, as wide an audience as possible. This is to ensure the knowledge we produce is directly applicable to the people we are working with, and easily translated into practical change at different policy levels.

Projects

The research program consists of seven inter-connected research projects exploring different aspects of sex work in Canada. Each project will collect data from the same locations across the country.

Project 1: Knowledge Exchange about Violence and Resiliency in the Sex Industry

Project leaders: Dan Reist and Cecilia Benoit, University of Victoria

An important aspect of our national study is to create knowledge that can be shared. As such, the primary task of Project 1 is to synthesize our information and share it with the people who need it most.

For example, we can provide community organizations with the research findings helpful for them to secure funding to run their programs. Or, we can provide targeted information to policy makers to ensure the rules and regulations they create better serve sex workers. And, we can report on our findings in the popular media to help dispel myths held about sex workers by the broader Canadian public.

This process is collaborative, involving the critical feedback of our entire team: research participants, community partners, governmental organizations, students and researchers.

Project 2: National Survey of People Working in the Canadian Sex Industry

Project leader: Cecilia Benoit, University of Victoria

Project 2 involves conducting face-to-face and online interviews with sex workers across Canada. The purpose is to determine the amount of violence sex workers experience in the context of their everyday lives, and the levels of resiliency they are able to establish in the face of adversity. Factors we will be looking at are:

How do municipal and provincial policies concerning sex work (for example, bawdy house and solicitation laws) and their enforcement (by police and the courts) shape the lives of sex workers?
How do sex workers' relationships with their clients, employers and/or romantic partners protect and/or harm sex workers?
What are the individual characteristics that leave some sex workers particularly vulnerable to violence and poorer overall health and well-being?

Project 3: Survey of People Working in the Canadian Sex Industry and Their Romantic/Intimate Partners

Project leader: Mikael Jansson, University of Victoria

This project explores key issues related to sex workers’ romantic partnerships. Our main goal is to better understand the nature of the intimate relationship and the challenges partners face in supporting sex workers to keep safe and healthy.

Our research team is hoping to discover how:

sex workers and their partners work together to achieve a strong and fulfilling romantic relationship
the actions of partners promote sex workers’ workplace safety and health
partner characteristics (for example, employment status and income) impact sex workers’ risk behaviours
laws, regulations, policies and services impact on the health and safety of sex workers, their partners, and their families

Project 4: Positioning Sex Buyers in the Nexus of Violence, Gender and Health

Project leader: Chris Atchison, Simon Fraser University

Looking at the issue of sex worker health and safety from a slightly different perspective, Project 4 focuses on the relationship between paying clients and sex workers. Important to this project are:

the reasons why sex buyers purchase sex
the decisions sex buyers make in regard to health and safety (their own and that of sex workers)
the personal, situational and structural factors that shape the interaction between sex worker and client

This project is comprised of an online survey followed by qualitative face-to-face interviews with a small group of respondents.

Project 5: Supervising Sex Work: Challenges to Workplace Safety and Health

Project leaders: Rachel Phillips, University of Victoria, Bill McCarthy, University of California at Davis, and Lauren Casey, University of Victoria

The goal of Project 5 is to better understand managers' experiences in the sex industry and to learn about their perspectives on health, safety and well-being in their workplaces. Managers play an important role in setting and maintaining workplace practices in some sex work businesses and they are often a key point of contact for law enforcement, clients and workers. It is therefore essential to include their often overlooked perspective on health and safety and to address misinformation and stereotypes about management. Interviews will be conducted with managers working in a variety of sex work businesses in the six research sites.

Project 6: The Effects of Prostitution Law on Vulnerabilities, Resiliencies and Health

Project leader: Frances Shaver, Concordia University

Project 6 examines how Canadian laws are implemented in the six cities chosen as research sites. It looks at how municipal police enact sections of the Criminal Code of Canada; how inspectors, city officials, and licensing boards attempt to regulate sex work; and the effect that can have on sex workers’ health, security and resiliency. It investigates the role of outreach and service providers who often act as a liaison between regulatory agencies and sex workers.

Researchers

Led by a sociologist at the University of Victoria, the research program involves researchers from five universities in Canada and one in the United States of America.

Cecilia M. Benoit (Principal Investigator)

PhD (Toronto, 1989)
Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
Scientist, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnT5Mfdw4Jo

Cecilia Benoit was born and raised in Newfoundland, with Mi’kmaw and French ancestry. She is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria and Scientist at the Centre for Addictions Research of BC. Her research examines the multiple dimensions of health inequities embedded in laws, policies, programs and research agendas and searches for evidence-based solutions. In addition to research focused on the historically-suppressed occupation of midwifery and the organization of maternity care in Canada and internationally, she has been involved in a variety of projects that employ mixed methodologies to investigate the social determinants of health inequities of marginalized groups, including Aboriginal women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, young people confronting health stigmas linked to obesity and asthma, street-involved youth in transition to adulthood, pregnant women and their families dealing with poverty, substance use, and other challenges, and people involved in the sex industry. Dr. Benoit is currently leading two CIHR-funded projects that adopt an intersectionality lens: “Team Grant on contexts of vulnerabilities, resiliencies and care among people in the sex industry” (2011-2017) and “Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act: A structural intervention impacting health equity for sex workers” (2016-2018).

Chris Atchison

Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University

Chris Atchison completed his Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) and Master of Arts in the Department of Criminology at Simon Fraser University and is currently writing his doctoral dissertation in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto. His dissertation research critically questions the nature of the gendered power relations that exist between the buyers and sellers of sex within the domain of heterosexual prostitution. He has published and taught extensively in the area of mixed methods research within the social sciences and is a leader in the development of computer-assisted research design and analysis techniques. During the past 10 years, Chris has focused his attention on developing innovative methods of employing computer technology to a wide variety of social justice projects in an effort to help provide a space for the voices of stigmatized, marginalized and disenfranchised groups to be heard within wider social, political and academic circles.

Lauren Casey

Doctoral Student, Social Dimensions of Health, University of Victoria
Research Associate, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

During the past several years, Lauren Casey has worked professionally for several regional, national and international organizations committed to the reduction of health inequalities in Canadian society and, more particularly, among sex work populations. In 2003 she held the appointment of Executive Director, PEERS (Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resource Society), and she also held the position of Executive Officer, Canadian National Coalition of Experiential Women, a national Canadian consortium committed to the advancement of equality and human rights for sex workers.

She has created, developed and delivered successful government-funded harm reduction programs, and has been the recipient of several awards for her contribution to the betterment of health and well-being of vulnerable populations in Canadian society. She is currently working with a team of researchers on a CIHR Health Ethics Catalyst Grant entitled Sex Industry Health, Safety and Human Rights (2010), which will serve as a catalyst to provide a venue for sex workers to engage with policy makers and researchers and voice their experiences and contribute to new forms of knowledge.

Mikael Jansson

PhD (Western Ontario)
Scientist, Centre for Addictions Research of BC
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria

Mikael studied sociology at the University of Alberta and demography at the University of Western Ontario. His current research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand marginalized populations and low-prestige occupations. His current research focus is on intimate partnerships. He has completed a longitudinal study of street-involved youth to see how their lives, and in particular their health status, change as a result of their street involvement. Mikael is also a co-investigator on three other research projects that follow people over time. One is a panel study of a random sample of young people in Victoria. The other two studies are of three personal service worker occupations (food and beverage servers, hair stylists and sex workers) – one study in Victoria and the other in California. A recent focus of his studies is familial support and he has applied this to an understanding of the transition from youth to adulthood and the support for couples. He welcomes expression of interest from students interested in working with him at CARBC on the data from these data sets. Students can be fully funded from external sources or partially funded by these research programs.

Bill McCarthy

PhD (University of Toronto)
Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, University of California at Davis

Bill's current research involves four topics: examining the context of adolescent sex and its consequences for education, mental health and problem behaviour across the life course; examining homicide patterns in two Canadian and two American cities throughout the 20th century; analyzing the backgrounds and health of service workers from two comparable cities, one in the US and one in Canada; and the study of juvenile crime.

Rachel Phillips

PhD (University of Victoria, 2010)
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Centre for Addictions Research of BC
Sessional Instructor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria

Rachel Phillips is a health sociologist with a special interest in stigmatized populations. Her broad research interests include social determinants of physical and mental health, gender, stigma, work, parenting and substance use. She is especially committed to community-based research models that bring a critical sociological lens to revealing the complex relationships between socioeconomic contexts, identities and health. Her doctoral research focused on how stigmas are transmitted to workers who provide health and social services to stigmatized clientele (stigma by association) and she is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow on a project (HerWay Home) to develop a one-stop service model for pregnant women affected by poverty, inadequate housing and substance use. Rachel believes that her research perspective is greatly enriched by her service in the non-profit sector and she currently volunteers as a member of the board of directors with two non-profit agencies in Victoria (PEERS Victoria Resources Society and the Greater Victoria Child and Family Counselling Association).

Dan Reist

MTh (Northwest Baptist, 1979)
Assistant Director (Knowledge Exchange), Centre for Addictions Research of BC, University of Victoria

Dan leads a team based in Vancouver that focuses on communicating current evidence in a way that supports the evolution of effective policy and practice. With a background in continental philosophy and hermeneutics, Dan is quick to acknowledge that evidence is far more than statistics about patterns of use and harm, and includes attention to the ways we experience and talk about drugs and drug use in our cultures and communities.

Dan has for the past several years contributed to policy dialogues in British Columbia related to substance use and addictive behaviours and has represented BC in many national and international discussions. He is convinced that the substance use field needs to be much broader than traditionally defined and has helped develop BC's multi-systems approach to substance use. He champions the careful use of language to describe substance use and the related risks and problems, and seeks to bridge the ideological divides and professional barriers that have too often undermined effective responses.

Frances M. Shaver

PhD (Universite de Montreal, 1987)
Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University

Since 1990, Frances has participated in three Canadian government-funded research projects focusing on people working in the sex industry (PWSI), two as the principal investigator and one as a co-investigator. The first explored gender differences in the work patterns of street-based sex workers in Montreal and San Francisco, while the second compared the working experiences of sex workers and hospital workers in Montreal and Toronto. In the third and most recent of these studies, Shaver, along with Jacqueline Lewis (Principal Investigator) and Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale (University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada) partnered with several community organizations in Toronto and Montreal (Exotic Dancers’ Association of Canada, Maggie’s, Stella, and Peel Public Health) to conduct a five-year Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada study to examine the impact of public policy on the health and well-being of PWSI in two major Canadian cities. This Sex Trade Advocacy and Research project (STAR) produced two reports for policy makers and a series of information pamphlets for workers in the sex industry. Dr. Shaver acts as a knowledge mobilizer to the general public, as well as a scholar.

Community partners

A wide range of community partners actively participate in the program to help define the research questions and interpret the findings.

BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses

BC Society of Transition Houses provides support and training to transition, second and third stage houses, safe homes, children who witness abuse programs and other programs in the violence against women sector. Through research projects and partnerships, we publish and promote promising practices for supporting women, youth and children fleeing violence.

#325 – 119 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1S5

Tel: 604-669-6943
Toll-Free: 1-800-661-1040
Email: info@bcst
http://www.bcsth.ca/

HIM- Health Initiative for Men

With five health centres throughout the Lower Mainland, Health Initiative for Men is a non-profit society that aims to strengthen the health and well-being of gay men. HIM offers the full spectrum of gay men’s sexual health testing, as well as professional counselling, sexual health education, and an engaging mix of social and volunteer opportunities.

#310 - 1033 Davie Street

Vancouver, B.C. V6E 1M7

P: 604-488-1001 ext.235

Mobile: 604-369-9704

Carrier Sekani Family Services

With the guidance of their Elders, Carrier Sekani Family Services is committed to the healing and empowerment of Aboriginal families by taking direct responsibilities for health, social and legal services for First Nations people residing in Carrier and Sekani territory.

987 - 4th Avenue
Prince George, BC V2L 3H7

Tel: 250-562-3591
http://www.csfs.org

Healthy Women, Children & Youth Secretariat

Women in BC have made social, economic, and political gains in many areas; however, further opportunities for advancement exist. Building on existing initiatives and exploring new opportunities to advance the full potential for women requires partnerships with other levels of government, ministries, health authorities and other non-government agencies and organizations to coordinate and unify policy pertaining to women's issues within the population.

4-2 - 1515 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC V8W 3C8

Victoria Tel: 250-387-6121
Vancouver Tel: 604-660-2421
Elsewhere in BC: 1-800-663-7867
www.health.gov.bc.ca/women-and-children/

Men’s Trauma Centre

Crime Victim Support and Counselling Services. Our mission statement is to provide psychological and practical support to males 16 years and older who suffer from the effects of trauma in order to facilitate their emotional healing.

#102 – 1022 Pandora Avenue
Victoria, BC V8V 3P5

Tel: 250-381-MENS (6367)
Toll-Free: 1-866-793-6367
Fax: 250-381-3679
Email: info@menstrauma.com
www.menstrauma.com

PEERS Victoria

PEERS provides support, resources and programs specifically for past and current sex workers—any gender—as well as help with housing, training and volunteering opportunities, advocacy and public education around sexual exploitation and the issues of adult sex work.

#1 - 744 Fairview Road
Victoria, BC

Tel: 250-388-5325
Email: info@peers.bc.ca
http://www.peers.bc.ca

Pivot

Pivot's mandate is to use the law to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion. Our name is a metaphor for our approach to social change. By making the most tangible violations of human rights the focal point of our efforts, we exert maximum pressure in order to shift society toward greater equality and inclusivity.

121 Heatley Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6A 3E9

Tel: 604-255-9700
Email: getinvolved@pivotlegal.org
http://www.pivotlegal.org/

Positive Living North

Positive Living North is a community-based organization which provides education, prevention and HIV/AIDS support services in the Prince George and Smithers/Bulkley Valley regions. We are Aboriginal-focused but extend our arms open to those in need of services regardless of race, colour, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age or sexual orientation.

#1 - 1563 - 2nd Avenue
Prince George, BC V2L 3B8

Tel: 250-562-1172
Toll-Free in BC: 1-888-438-2437
Email: info@positivelivingnorth.ca
http://www.positivelivingnorth.ca/

Stepping Stone

Stepping Stone is a charitable not-for-profit organization that offers supportive programs and outreach to women, men and transgender sex workers and former sex workers.

2151 Gottingen Street
PO Box 47032
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 5Y2

Tel: 902-420-0103
Email: rene@stepping-stone.org
http://www.steppingstonens.ca/

Victoria Sexual Assault Centre

The Victoria Sexual Assault Centre supports, empowers and advocates for women who are survivors of sexualized violence and childhood sexual abuse and works to end this violence.

#511 - 620 View Street
Victoria, BC V8W 1J6

Tel: 250-383-5545
Email: vwsac@vwsac.com
http://www.vwsac.com/

Sex Work in Canada

Sex Work in Canada (full document)

Reference:

Benoit, C., Shumka, L. (2021; updated). Sex Work in Canada. Available at: http://www.understandingsexwork.ca

Moving Forward

The research project seeks to advance our understanding of sex work and the matrix of factors that influence the health of sex workers in Canada.

Purpose

Gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping the health and safety of people working in the Canadian sex industry. By “people working in the sex industry” we refer to persons who are 19 years or older who receive money for sex or explicitly sexual services.
Share what we learn about sex workers with a broader Canadian public in order to dispel myths that marginalize sex workers.
Change public policies that inadvertently place sex workers in a position of vulnerability to violence, stigma, and poorer physical and mental health.

Project design

What makes our study unique is that it considers the multiple factors that might impact the health and well-being of sex workers. Therefore:

Our study is national in scope. We are conducting research in six cities located in five provinces. Doing this allows us to determine how the urban context and the policies implemented at municipal and provincial levels impact sex workers.
While sex workers are the focus of our study, we are also interested in how the people closest to them may serve to protect or, in some cases, place them in a position of greater vulnerability. Therefore, our study consists of seven different sub-projects, each of which considers the issue of sex worker health and safety from a different perspective. Please explore the links in our diagram to look at how the relationships sex workers have with police and regulatory agencies, managers, clients, and their intimate partners, are of vital concern.
While there are many assumptions made about who sex workers are and what they "look" like, the goal of our study is to be representative. We are seeking the participation of sex workers from different backgrounds.

The basic questions we are asking

Why are some people working in the sex industry especially vulnerable to violence and poor health?
Why do other sex workers enjoy relatively positive health and well-being?
What are the factors that engender resiliency or an ability to persevere in the face of adversity among certain segments of the sex worker population?
How can we better address the health disparities between sex workers and create safe and secure working environments?

Updates

(February 27, 2017)

Our study on occupational choice decision among sex workers made national news, including the Globe & Mail, CBC and the National Post.

“Some sex workers choose industry due to benefits of occupation” – Globe & Mail (link) (PDF)

“UVic study seeks to shed light on sex work as an occupation choice” - CBC (link) (PDF)

“Some sex workers enter the industry because it’s more lucrative than low-paying service jobs, B.C. study finds” – National Post (link) (PDF)

Several other papers picked up the story too, including The Indo-Canadian Voice, Victoria Times Colonist, Radio Canada and the Canadian Occupational Safety Magazine.

“Is sex work an occupational choice” – Indo-Canadian Voice (link) (PDF)

“Study finds sex work can be an occupational choice for some in industry” – Times Colonist (link) (PDF)

“Sex workers facing increased safety risks” – Canadian Occupational Safety (link) (PDF)

“Le travail du sexe est souvent un choix, selon une recherche de l’Université de Victoria” - Radio Canada (link) (PDF)

Cecilia was also interviewed by Radio Canada, CBC’s All Points West, CBC’s Daybreak North, CFAX Radio and Calgary's News Talk 770.

(April 15, 2016)

Our research on sex buyers is featured in the article "Decriminalizing Prostitution: Sould buying and selling sex be legal?" by Sarah Glazer in CQ Researcher (link) (PDF)

(February 29, 2016)

Great news! Our application to the CIHR Operating Grant competition was successful!

Researchers on the new grant are:

Dr. Cecilia Benoit, University of Victoria (Nominated Principal Applicant)
Chris Atchison, University of Victoria (Principal Applicant)
Dr. Mikael Jansson, University of Victoria (Principal Applicant)
Dr. Gillian Abel, University of Otago
Dr. David Aveline, Mount Royal University
Dr. Lauren Casey, University of Victoria
Dr. Evelyn Field, Mount Royal University
Samantha Magnus, University of Victoria
Dr. Treena Orchard, Western University
Dr. Rachel Phillips, University of Victoria
Dr. Bill Reimer, Concordia University
Dr. Frances Shaver, Concordia University

A huge thanks to all our community partners, including:

Knowledge Users from:

Collaborators from:

Supporters from:

We will be conducting a new round of interviews in Victoria, Calgary, Kitchner-Waterloo-Cambridge, Montreal and St John's starting fall 2017.

(November 4, 2015)

Our research on sex buyers is featured in the article "Thirty Years of Failure" in Policy Options (By Robert Matas) (PDF)

(October 15, 2015)

Our team applied to the CIHR Operating Grant : Population Health Intervention Research (Fall 2015 Competition).

"The purpose of this funding opportunity (FO) is to support research on timely interventions (e.g. programs, policies, social enterprises and resource distribution approaches) that have been initiated by others (e.g., policy makers, practitioners, communities) and have the potential to impact health and health equity at the population level. Population health intervention research involves the use of scientific methods to produce knowledge that attempts to capture the value, cost and differential effects of these interventions, the processes by which they bring about change and the contexts within which they work best. Researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers are encouraged to work together to build the evidence base to support policy and program development and decision-making in health and other sectors." (CIHR website)

We described the overall objective of our project in our grant application this way:

"This project will be the first to gather rigorous, empirical evidence about the impact of PCEPA’s prostitution laws on the health and safety of sex workers. As an implementation evaluation study, our research will involve the systematic assessment of the effect of the legal intervention on health equity outcomes, while accounting and controlling for various mediating influences that also may be impacting health and safety outcomes of the targeted population. Our overall objective is to determine the impact of Canada’s new prostitution laws, as detailed in PCEPA, on sex workers’ health, safety and access to health, social and protective services.Our approach to this topic is grounded in intervention theory; we will apply an adapted version of Burris et al.’s (2010) public health law research model to our research questions (see Appendix A). The anticipated outcomes of this project will be to develop timely, evidence- and community-based recommendations to inform health and safety intervention protocols designed to address the health and safety needs of sex workers in Canada."

(August 18, 2015)

Cecilia, Mikael and Fran presented papers at the Second International Conference on Public Policy in Milan, Italy, 1-3 July 2015. See: Sex Industry Workers & Confidence in the Police in Canada, Analyzing and evaluating recent prostitution legal change in Canada: The value of robust measures and a rigorous methodology. and Social and legal environments related to Canadian prostitution law: Exploring how place matters.

(May 7, 2015)

Chris and Cecilia interviewed for this article in the National Post: Barely illegal: New prostitution laws may drive sex work underground — but can it stop it? (PDF)

(April 7, 2015)

Cecilia interviewed for article: Monitoring Week: Surveilling the Sex Trade (PDF)

(January 12, 2015)

Reports (French) and English) from our September 21-22, 2014 symposium and workshop are now available.

(December 10, 2014)

Team grant results on sex workers' unmet health care needs in article in the Georgia Straight, "Canada's new sex-work laws ramp up risk for workers." (PDF)

(December 3, 2014)

Cecilia interviewed for Times Colonist article, Stigma, fear keeps sex workers from doctors... (PDF)

Cecilia interview by on CBC On the Island, "Addressing sex workers' health needs". (audio file)

(November 9, 2014)

Rachel had a commentary in the Times Colonist, New prostitution law a missed opportunity. (PDF)

(November 7, 2014)

Cecilia spoke to Terry Moore about Bill C-36 becoming law.

(September 30, 2014)

Below are some media reports following the release of our working paper and international symposium and workshop:

National Post - "Most sex workers satisfied with their jobs and don’t see themselves as victims, survey finds" (PDF)

Maclean’s - http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/first-national-prostitution-study-sheds-new-light-on-sex-work-in-canada/

Calgary Herald (reprint of NP Stephen Maher article above): http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/national/Most+workers+Canada+themselves+victims+national+study/10229110/story.html

Ottawa Citizen (reprint of NP Stephen Maher article above):

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Most+workers+Canada+themselves+victims+national+study/10229110/story.html

o.canada.com (reprint of NP Stephen Maher article above): http://o.canada.com/news/national/most-sex-workers-in-canada-dont-see-themselves-as-victims-national-study-finds

Editorial: Still plenty of value in debate over prostitution laws

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/editorial-still-plenty-of-value-in-debate-over-prostitution-laws

Cecilia and Chris spoke to Debbie Wilson: CBC Radio Jo Ann Roberts Our All Points West (afternoon) program (Sept 22)

https://soundcloud.com/cbcvictoria/canadian-sex-workers-dont-feel-exploited

short link: http://ow.ly/BS0xm

Cecilia interviewed by Liz Liz McArthur, News Director, CFUV 101.9 FM on September 30, 2014: link

Cecilia was interviewed for the Simi Sara Show Friday, September 26th - Fri Sep 26 - First National Study Sheds Light On Canada’s Sex Work Industry

Mikael Jansson was interviewed Sept 25 by Rob Breakenridge Talk 770, with Corus Radio in Calgary. (link)

Cecilia interviewed by SHELLEY JOYCE CBC interview radio Kamloops (sept 23)

Cecilia interviewed by Ardie Pasad (sp?) 100.3 The Q! phone interview (sept 22^nd)

Cecilia spoke to Roszan Holmen and was interviewed by Terry -- C-FAX 1070 Terry Moore Show (Sept 22)

Cecilia spoke to Lisa Cordasco, Reporter, CBC Radio News (Sept 20)

Chris interviewed with Dave Taylor of NewsTalk 770 - September 24, 2014.

Chris interviewed: International Business Times.

(September 18, 2014)

We are pleased to present a copy of our Team Grant working paper, we look forward to receiving feedback from those who have been following our research. Our national report will be presented and critically assesed by a panel of international experts in Ottawa on September 22, 2014 at our symposium entitled, Building on the Evidence: An International Symposium on the Sex Industry in Canada

(July 16, 2014)

Chris Atchison and Natasha Potvin were mentioned in this CBC News report: "Prostitution bill critics treated as hostile witnesses at committee".

(July 15, 2014)

Fran Shaver has an op-ed in the Globe & Mail: "Prostitution laws: 30 years of Conservative failure".

(July 14, 2014)

Fran Shaver submitted a brief (English/French): "Bill C-36: Entrenched in Personal Moral Values and Inaccurate Stereotypes", to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

(July 11, 2014)

Fran Shaver argues in The Montreal Gazette that we already have the legal tools to make sex work safer.

(July 11, 2014)

Chris Atchison presented a brief to the Justice and Human Rights Committee examining Bill C-36.

(July 11, 2014)

This report summarizes the discussions at the fourth Team Meeting of the CIHR Team Grant on Gender, Violence and Health, Contexts of Vulnerabilities, Resiliencies and Care among People in the Sex Industry that took place on May 3-4 at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec: Team Grant IV meeting report.

(July 10, 2014)

Chris Atchison on CBC Ottawa Morning: "giving voice to the people who buy sex"

(July 7, 2014)

Chris Atchison says the government needs to take into account the research on the prostitution industry: CTV news

(June 30, 2014)

Rachel Phillips is welcomed as the new Executive Director of PEERS Resource Society in Victoria, BC in the Times Colonist on June 27.

(June 29, 2014)

Cecilia Benoit and Rachel Phillips took part in a media conference in Victoria on June 27 that was organized by faith groups opposed to Bill C-36. Here are two articles on their position, one in Victoria News and another in the Times Colonist in which Cecilia is quoted.

(June 25, 2014)

Rachel Phillips wrote an op-ed about Bill C-36 in the Times Colonist on June 25, stating "C-36 dismisses the concerns of people in the sex industry, ignores three decades of Canadian research and, in a surprisingly arrogant manner, dismisses the spirit of the 2013 Supreme Court of Canada ruling."

Cecilia Benoit was interviewed about Bill C-36 on the Rob Breakenridge Show (time signature 1:30) on June 24.

(June 24, 2014)

University of Victoria Media Release:

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA EXPERT ADVISORY

Sex industry legislation perpetuates stereotypes: study

University of Victoria researchers have highlighted preliminary findings from the largest and most comprehensive study of the sex industry undertaken in Canada in a brief (English version/ French version) to the Justice and Human Rights Committee, which is poised to begin examination of Bill C-36—the proposed legislation governing the sex industry—in Ottawa on July 7.

Faculty members Cecilia Benoit and Chris Atchison are available for comment about the findings of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-funded study as they relate to specific provisions of the bill. The study is based on coast-to-coast surveys in English and French of buyers and sellers of sex as well as industry managers, spouses and partners, and others involved with the creation, enforcement and regulation of applicable laws. The team expects to release the full report in early September.

One of the key findings states that the “commodification” provision of the proposed legislation—286.1(1)—is based on a false assumption that sellers of sex are weak, without control, and are always victims. Their research shows that over 80 per cent of sellers of sex agree or strongly agree that they feel empowered to set the terms and conditions of the service. Further, it shows that for buyers and sellers, advertising—internet advertising in particular—acts as a safety mechanism. Benoit and Atchison contend that proposed legislation will also make it impossible for either sellers or buyers seek police assistance if they've been victimized.

Benoit is a professor in the Department of Sociology and a scientist at UVic’s Centre for Addictions Research of BC. In the past 20 years, Benoit has interviewed over 500 female, male and transgender sellers of sexual services. Her research was referenced in the Bedford case.

Atchison is a research associate in UVic’s Department of Sociology. In the past 18 years, Atchison has interviewed close to 3,000 sex trade clients and has extensively researched the physical and virtual communities where sellers and buyers interact.

For more info: www.understandingsexwork.com

(June 23, 2014)

Our research team has written a brief, "Bill C-36 and the Views of People Involved in the Canadian Sex Industry" in response to Bill C- 36: "The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act". The brief, which was recently submitted to the Justice and Human Rights Committee of the House of Commons, highlights some emerging findings from our national research program which suggest that the main provisions of Bill C-36 will result in a variety of harms affecting people involved in the Canadian sex industry. This brief is also available in French.

(June 17, 2014)

Chris Atchison and Rachel Phillips are quoted in a June 5 Times Colonist article about the new prostitution legislation proposed by the federal government. Chris was also heard on C BC Radio Kitchener-Waterloo speaking about the proposed prostitution bill, and was quoted in MetroNews on June 6. Chris was also interviewed for a June 17 CBC News report on the newly proposed Bill C-36, noting that the new law does not demonstrate an understanding of the number of Canadian purchasers or their motivations to purchase. This article was also carried by the Huffington Post.

(May 14, 2014)

Chris Atchison is quoted in a May 13 Georgia Straight article exploring speculations that the federal government may try the Nordic approach when it amends the criminal code to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that struck down prostitution laws.

(March 26, 2014)

Cecilia Benoit published an online op-ed about decriminalizing prostitution in the Vancouver Sun on March 14, writing that "it is time for Canada to take the crime out of sex work" and to empower and protect all workers with effective social policies. She also spoke to CBC Radio on March 18 about the Ministry of Justice's public consultation on sex trade legislation in the context of her research with sex workers.

(March 21, 2014)

Chris Atchison was interviewed on February 27 on CFAX 1070 (time signature 06:00) about the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to strike down Canada's prostitution laws. He also published an op-ed on March 6 in the Winnipeg Free Press, saying that to fail to acknowledge the complexities of the industry runs the risk of amplifying the harm the government says it is concerned about. Chris was also interviewed about his research study by the UK Telegraph.

(February 10, 2014)

Cecilia Benoit was interviewed for the February 9 Calgary Herald about Calgary city councillors considering a motion that would make it more difficult for sex workers to work in the city.

(January 8, 2014)

Cecilia Benoit provided comment on the Supreme Court decision to strike down Canada’s prostitution laws for an article published in the December 20 Times Colonist. She was interviewed on CKNW (use drop-down menu: Dec 21, 2 pm) on December 21 and again on December 23 on CBC Radio's On the Island. In both cases, she spoke about the court rulings on the three prostitution-related prohibitions now ruled as violations of constitutional guarantee to life, liberty and security.

(October 8, 2013)

On June 6-7, 2013, the team assembled at the the Bedford Regency Hotel in downtown Victoria, BC, to share updates and to explore the successes and ongoing challenges of the research to date. This involved reviewing the emerging findings about the people involved in the Canadian sex industry (sellers, their partners, buyers and managers), the legal structures that regulate sex work in Canada, and the apparent consequences for the people involved in this industry. This included a discussion of the sites we have visited and how we have gone about collecting the data. Full Report

(July 9, 2013)

Listen to Cecilia Benoit's interview on CTV where she participates in a discussion called "The Real Face of Alberta's Sex Trade: A Debate on the Direction of Canada's Sex Trade Laws". The interview can be accessed by going to http://www.albertaprimetime.com/Stories.aspx?pd=5330.

(June 20, 2013)

Cecilia Benoit and Mikael Jansson have now finished interviewing in Calgary and are looking forward to returning home to Victoria in the next few days. If you would like to contact them, you can write to them at cbenoit@uvic.ca (Cecilia) and mjansson@uvic.ca (Mikael). They are also reachable by phone: Cecilia at 250-853-3132 and Mikael 250-853-3134.

They are both very excited about documenting the opinions, experiences and suggestions that all the participants have shared with them ever since they started meeting with sex workers and their partners last year. They are humbled by the generosity and patience of the people that they have met and answered their many questions and discussed the many topics that Cecilia and Mikael asked them about - sometimes for hours on end.

(June 18, 2013)

Cecilia Benoit was interviewed last week by Jason Van Rassell who works for the Calgary Herald. The article appears in the paper today. You can read it here.

(June 13, 2013)

Most people in Canada who are interested in sex work are aware of the challenge raised by Terri-Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott. They successfully argued in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that three sections of the criminal code dealing with sex work were unconstitutional because these sections increased the danger of sex work. This ruling was appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada who heard the case today. It is a long recording but it is fascinating to listen to the argument made by the lawyers and the questions raised by the judges. It is possible to listen to the hearing on a link from this page.

Search for hearings in the "2013" year and the "spring" session.
Scroll down to "June 2013".
Click on "Archived" for the hearing on June 13.

This should open the recorded version of the hearing.

(June 12, 2013)

Cecilia Benoit was interviewed by CBC Victoria about some of the presentations at the conference on sex work in Victoria last week. You can listen to the interview here.

(June 10, 2013)

Cecilia and Mikael are now back in Calgary after a brief visit to Victoria last week. The annual conference for Sociologists in Canada happened there last week. Cecilia and Mikael and several other members of the research team discussed some of their analyses based on the information that participants have shared this last year. We hope to post their presentations on this website in a week or two for those who are interested. This is a link to the agenda and summary of papers presented at the conference.

Cecilia and Mikael are looking forward to hearing from you if you have any questions about the study or if you would be willing to sit down with one of them to share your experiences. Their numbers are: Cecilia 403-471-2126 and Mikael 403-471-4242.

(May 11, 2013)

Rachel and Sinead would like to extend a very grateful "thank you" to all of the people in St John's who participated in our interview. Our time in the city was brief but the knowledge and perspective we gained through the interviews will take us a long way in better understanding management in adult industry businesses. St. John's is such a beautiful place and we tried to get in as many walks around the vibrant neighbourhoods as we could. These pictures are from our time in the city, including a picture of us at Middle Cove.

Rachel and Caitlin are in Kitchener-Waterloo interviewing for the management project this week. They can be reached at 226-791-0287.

(May 6, 2013)

Cecilia and Mikael are going to Calgary today and they have just received notice of their local Calgary phone numbers: Cecilia 403-471-2126 and Mikael 403-471-4242.

They look forward to hearing from those who are interested in participating in the study and will answer any questions that you might have about the study. Mary Clare already sent out many messages over the last two weeks to those who advertise their services in Calgary. A few sex workers have already responded and arranged for interviews this coming week.

(April 13, 2013)

Cecilia and Mikael have been busy putting up posters in Waterloo and Kitchener. Their posters have been welcomed almost everywhere. You can now see them in local coffee shops, bars and restaurants, tattoo places, smoke shops, and of course in all of the better sex toy shops. They are now working their way south towards Cambridge with their posters. Be sure to let them know if you have seen their posters or if you can suggest other places where they should put them up. You can reach Cecilia at 226-808-3444 and Mikael at 226-220-9192.

(April 12, 2013)

We are pleased to report that data collection for Project 2 has wrapped up in Victoria! Thank you to all our participants here for their valuable insights. We are also pleased to report that we have NOT been experiencing the freezing rain or electricity problems Mikael and Cecilia have had to navigate in Kitchener and Waterloo! Not to rub it in, but check out this photo of what Victoria's Dallas Road looked like yesterday.

Rachel and Sinead have just arrived in St. John's to begin interviewing sex work managers for Project 5. Good luck!

(April 11, 2013)

The coffee shops in the neighbourhood where Cecilia and Mikael are staying were busy this morning. The freezing rain in the Tri-Cities was a new challenge for the researchers. They were among the many people who woke up to discover that they were without electricity and, what may be worse for some of us, without access to the internet. Cecilia and Mikael and the other people lucky enough to get refuge in the café were anxious to charge up their computers and use the internet.

Fortunately, the interviews they had scheduled for today happened to be planned for places that were open. Nevertheless, travelling to and from the interviews was challenging for participants.

We are a little curious as to whether the many outages and closures today might affect the business for sex workers in the area. It might be that potential clients feel isolated at home and choose to make appointments. On the other hand, we expect that clients and workers had difficulty keeping their appointments.

(April 1, 2013)

Cecilia and Mikael have left St. John's and are now starting to contact sex workers in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. If you care about health, safety and sex work, they would like to hear from you. The new posters with the local phone numbers are just back from the printer. You can contact them by email, text or phone: Cecilia(cbenoit@uvic.ca, 226-808-3444) and Mikael (mjansson@uvic.ca, 226-220-9192). They look forward to hearing from you.

(March 25, 2013)

Rachel is currently in Fort McMurray interviewing for Projects 2 (experiences of people working in the Canadian sex industry) and 5 (managers of adult entertainment businesses). If you are in the Fort McMurray area and would like to participate in a confidential interview, please contact Rachel at 250-516-1042 or rachelph@uvic.ca.

(March 8, 2013)

The weather in St. John's was beautiful today and Mikael rode his bike out to Cape Spear when one of his interviews was cancelled. This is about a one-hour bike ride from St. John's and is the most easterly point in Canada. There are often big waves there and if you look carefully in the distance you can see Iceland to the left and Scotland pretty much straight ahead.

(March 7, 2013)

Mikael and Cecilia are learning that there are very few support services for sex workers in St. John's. On the other hand, there are great organizations that seek to help those in need there. One that we learned about recently is a program called Choices for Youth. They have a shelter for young men and run a number of support programs. Kerri (Ext 24) and Steven (Ext 61) work there and the phone number is 754-3047. Another great place is Thrive. When we visited, there were ads for male only counselling groups around a number of different issues. Angela Crockwell is a very nice person (709-754-0865).

(March 6, 2013)

About 25 people came to hear Cecilia's presentation in the sociology department lecture series today. Many asked her interesting questions about the information she collected from sex workers in Victoria during the pre-test in the summer of 2012. One person in attendance argued that their personal values and morals did not agree with the data and analysis that Cecilia presented and therefore believed that the information given to Cecilia and her team by the participating sex workers was false.

What are your thoughts on sex work? Cecilia and Mikael are in St. John's until March 30, and welcome hearing from sex workers who would like to have their voices heard. Please contact them if you would like to learn more about the research project and, in particular, if you would like to participate in an interview. Call Cecilia at 709-351-4415 or Mikael at 709-351-6774.

(February 25, 2013)

Cecilia was interviewed by a reporter from the St. John's newspaper, The Telegram, and the discussion was covered in an article about sex work in today's edition (read it here in Acrobat format, 2.6Mb). The ad that Cecilia placed in the classified section about her study appeared in the paper for the first time today. It appears in the Escort section. She has already received quite a few calls as a result of the article and the ad.

(February 24, 2013)

Cecilia is giving a talk in the Sociology Speakers Series at Memorial University on March 6, 12:00-13:15, in the Arts and Administration Building, Room A1045. The title of the talk is "Contexts of Health, Safety & Resiliency in the Canadian Sex Industry." Click here for an Acrobat copy of the poster for the talk (200kb).

(February 23, 2013)

There are now posters about the the sex worker study and the imtimate partner study in many places in St. John's. Coffee shops and fancy lingerie stores have been very welcoming. Hopefully we will get some more posters up in more places this coming week.

(February 22, 2013)

It is still winter and lots of snow in St. John's. Nevertheless Cecilia and Mikael have been busy since their arrival on the 19th with several meetings. They have already scheduled and conducted several interviews for the research projects.

(February 21, 2003)

This is one of the posters that we made for St. John's. It would be great if you would let us know where you have seen it by sending us a message, texting or phoning.

(February 19, 2013)

Cecilia and Mikael arrive in St. John's today and now have new phone numbers that are local numbers: Cecilia 709-351-4415 and Mikael 709-351-6774.

They look forward to hearing from you. Please get in touch with them if you would like to schedule an interview or if you have suggestions about where and how they should contact potential research participants.

(February 13 2013)
Project 4 lead investigator Chris Atchison interview

Guest authors Dalia Vukmirovich and Chris Atchison turn the focus from sellers of sex to buyers of sex and say we know very little about them - so they are out to study them, men and women, and are looking for participants. Please read the full interview here: http://t.co/xd38JcI.

If you are interested in topics related to sex work, sex, sexuality, and/or sex and gender roles and stereotypes, check out Chris's website (www.sexsafetysecurity.ca) or subscribe to his Sex, Safety and Security facebook page which provides daily updates on current research being conducted on these topics around the world.

(February 8 2013)
Update on Project 5

Sinead, Natasha and Rachel had a successful time in Montreal interviewing managers, meeting community members, and spreading the word about the management project. It was a great trip and a wonderful chance to visit a marvelous city. We are very grateful to all of the managers who participated in the project so far - we have learned a lot! Sinead and Rachel have returned to Victoria but Natasha, who speaks English and French, is still available to do interviews in Montreal. Her email is natashapotvin@hotmail.com and her phone number is 438-932-4043. If you are interested in the management study in Montreal, please give Natasha a call. Our contact information in Victoria is rachelph@uvic.ca / 250.853.3232.

(February 2, 2013)
Going to Edmonton

Cecilia and Mikael completed the data collection in Fort McMurray on February 1, 2013 and today took the bus to Edmonton to spend a few days visiting family and meeting with other researchers at the University of Victoria. The picture shows what Highway 63 looks like when one of the many trucks with big loads come the other way.

We are planning to start data collection in St. John's, Newfoundland on February 18.

(January 25, 2013)
Private dances at the club

The club located on Fort McMurray's main street, just across from Keyano College, has a new service available to escape the chills of Old Man Winter. "Private Dances" are now offered to customers in addition to the usual options—dancing and drinking every day.

(January 24, 2013)
Poster at MacDonald Island complex. Not posted in the public library. Poster was not "deemed worthy" by the marketing committee because the poster was "not family friendly."

We have experienced great cooperation from the organizations that we have approached about putting up the recruitment poster. Mikael took a picture today of the poster in the aquatics area of the MacDonald Island Park complex which is the largest community recreation, leisure and social centre in Canada. We were a little surprised that we could not see the poster in the public library located in this complex because when Cecilia phoned before we dropped the poster off at the front counter, the person she spoke to expressed strong support for the research project.

We are not sure what the opposite of "family friendly" is, and Cecilia was unable to obtain further clarification from the responsible person. We now have a small competition among the members of the research team to come up with a term and definition. We are pretty certain that this is another example of discrimination that leads to the stigma felt by sex workers and their families.

(January 23, 2013)
Panic button for sex workers developed at the University of British Columbia

A group of researchers, including Isabel Chen, is developing a panic button specifically for sex workers who do not have a safe place to deliver their services to clients. More here.

(January 17, 2013)
Mikael Jansson presents at Keyano College in Fort McMurray

About 70 students attended the talk on research methods that Mikael gave at Keyano college on Thursday night. There were many students there who study nursing and social work. A smaller number of students were in education, engineering and general interest programs. Following the talk, the students had many interesting questions about the talk that used the research project Understanding Sex Work to illustrate sociological research methods. Many of the questions reflected their professional interests but many questions also reflected a desire to understand the differences and similarities between sex work and other work. A copy of the presentation is here (pdf, 400kb).

(January 10, 2013)
Posters in Fort McMurray

We have many posters for Project 2 in Fort McMurray now. We have approached many health and fitness centres and all have been very welcoming to us. We post there because some participants in Victoria and Montreal have seen our posters where they work out.

Cecilia had a very postitive conversation about the research project at one of the health and well-being centres this morning. We have learned a great deal from sex workers in Fort McMurray already and are hoping to reach more workers before we leave at the end of the month.

Please get in touch with us if you can suggest some other places for our posters.

(January 8, 2013)
Cecilia Benoit will give talk at Keyano Colleage in Fort McMurray on Monday, January 14 at noon

The talk will be held in the Doug Schmidt Theatre (Room 273). The slides are posted here (pdf, 330kb).

(January 3, 2013)
No Men's Sleeveless Shirts

We noticed ths interesting dress code restriction on the door of one of the nightclubs in Fort McMurray.

(January 2, 2013)
Fort McMurray Today!

The ad for Project 2 is now in the Fort McMurray daily.

(January 1, 2013)
Update on Project 2: National Study of Health, Safety and Rights of Sex Workers

My research team and I have been conducting interviews with sex workers since November, 2012. Thus far, we have interviewed a large sample of sex workers from different backgrounds who are working in the regions of Victoria and Montreal. Female, male and transgendered sex workers have come forward for interviews and many of the interviews have been conducted in French.

We will continue to conduct interviews in Montreal and Victoria for a few more days in January 2013.

We have also begun to conduct interviews in the Fort McMurray region, which is another one of our research sites. We are looking for sex workers from the area who are 19 years and older. We are offering $60 for participating in an in-person interview that will be approximately 1.5-2 hours long. We plan to be in Fort McMurray until the middle of February 2013.

If you are willing to participate, please contact me on my cell (text/voice) at 780-972-0166 or send me an email to cbenoit@uvic.ca.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Cecilia

(January 1, 2013)
Update on Project 3: Survey of People Working in the Canadian Sex Industry and Their Romantic/Intimate Partner

We are now in Fort McMurray and are looking forward to learning from sex workers and their partners.

This project explores key issues related to sex workers' romantic partnerships. Our main goal is to better understand the nature of the intimate relationship and the challenges partners face in supporting sex workers to keep safe and healthy.

Our research team is hoping to discover .....

How sex workers and their partners work together to achieve a strong and fulfilling romantic relationship.
How the actions of partners promote sex workers' workplace safety and health.
The link between partner characteristics (for example, employment status and income) and sex workers' risk behaviours.
The impact of laws, regulations, policies and services on the health and safety of sex workers, their partners and families.

Throughout the fall of 2012, we met with a wide spectrum of sex workers and their partners in Victoria and Montreal and have already learned a great deal from them.

I look forward to hearing from you if you would like to participate in our research project with your partner.

Happy New Year!

Mikael

cell 780-972-9890 or email mjansson@uvic.ca

Understanding Sex Work

Research in Action

Science Fact or Science Fiction: Are All Sex Workers Victimized?

Team Grant Working Paper Summary Report

Team Grant Working Paper

Sex Industry Legislation Perpetuates Stereotypes: Study

Feedback

Project and Team

Project 1: Knowledge Exchange about Violence and Resiliency in the Sex Industry

Project leaders: Dan Reist and Cecilia Benoit, University of Victoria

Project 2: National Survey of People Working in the Canadian Sex Industry

Project leader: Cecilia Benoit, University of Victoria

Project 3: Survey of People Working in the Canadian Sex Industry and Their Romantic/Intimate Partners

Project leader: Mikael Jansson, University of Victoria

Project 4: Positioning Sex Buyers in the Nexus of Violence, Gender and Health

Project leader: Chris Atchison, Simon Fraser University

Project 5: Supervising Sex Work: Challenges to Workplace Safety and Health

Project leaders: Rachel Phillips, University of Victoria, Bill McCarthy, University of California at Davis, and Lauren Casey, University of Victoria

Project 6: The Effects of Prostitution Law on Vulnerabilities, Resiliencies and Health

Project leader: Frances Shaver, Concordia University

Cecilia M. Benoit (Principal Investigator)

PhD (Toronto, 1989)Professor, Department of Sociology, University of VictoriaScientist, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

Chris Atchison

Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Simon Fraser University

Lauren Casey

Doctoral Student, Social Dimensions of Health, University of VictoriaResearch Associate, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

Mikael Jansson

PhD (Western Ontario)Scientist, Centre for Addictions Research of BCAdjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria

Bill McCarthy

PhD (University of Toronto)Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, University of California at Davis

Rachel Phillips

PhD (University of Victoria, 2010)Post-Doctoral Fellow, Centre for Addictions Research of BCSessional Instructor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria

Dan Reist

MTh (Northwest Baptist, 1979)Assistant Director (Knowledge Exchange), Centre for Addictions Research of BC, University of Victoria

Frances M. Shaver

PhD (Universite de Montreal, 1987)Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University

BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses

HIM- Health Initiative for Men

Carrier Sekani Family Services

Healthy Women, Children & Youth Secretariat

Men’s Trauma Centre

PEERS Victoria

Pivot

Positive Living North

Stepping Stone

Victoria Sexual Assault Centre

Sex Work in Canada

Sex Work in Canada (full document)

Reference:

Moving Forward

Purpose

Project design

The basic questions we are asking

Updates

(February 27, 2017)

(April 15, 2016)

(February 29, 2016)

(November 4, 2015)

(October 15, 2015)

(August 18, 2015)

(May 7, 2015)

(April 7, 2015)

(January 12, 2015)

(December 10, 2014)

(December 3, 2014)

(November 9, 2014)

(November 7, 2014)

(September 30, 2014)

(September 18, 2014)

(July 16, 2014)

(July 15, 2014)

(July 14, 2014)

(July 11, 2014)

(July 11, 2014)

(July 11, 2014)

(July 10, 2014)

(July 7, 2014)

(June 30, 2014)

(June 29, 2014)

(June 25, 2014)

PhD (Toronto, 1989)
Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria
Scientist, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

Doctoral Student, Social Dimensions of Health, University of Victoria
Research Associate, Centre for Addictions Research of BC

PhD (Western Ontario)
Scientist, Centre for Addictions Research of BC
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria

PhD (University of Toronto)
Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology, University of California at Davis

PhD (University of Victoria, 2010)
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Centre for Addictions Research of BC
Sessional Instructor, Department of Sociology, University of Victoria

MTh (Northwest Baptist, 1979)
Assistant Director (Knowledge Exchange), Centre for Addictions Research of BC, University of Victoria

PhD (Universite de Montreal, 1987)
Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Concordia University

(February 13 2013)
Project 4 lead investigator Chris Atchison interview

(February 8 2013)
Update on Project 5

(February 2, 2013)
Going to Edmonton

(January 25, 2013)
Private dances at the club

(January 24, 2013)
Poster at MacDonald Island complex. Not posted in the public library. Poster was not "deemed worthy" by the marketing committee because the poster was "not family friendly."

(January 23, 2013)
Panic button for sex workers developed at the University of British Columbia

(January 17, 2013)
Mikael Jansson presents at Keyano College in Fort McMurray

(January 10, 2013)
Posters in Fort McMurray

(January 8, 2013)
Cecilia Benoit will give talk at Keyano Colleage in Fort McMurray on Monday, January 14 at noon

(January 3, 2013)
No Men's Sleeveless Shirts

(January 2, 2013)
Fort McMurray Today!

(January 1, 2013)
Update on Project 2: National Study of Health, Safety and Rights of Sex Workers

(January 1, 2013)
Update on Project 3: Survey of People Working in the Canadian Sex Industry and Their Romantic/Intimate Partner